The office is such an innocent place to look at; a quiet, clean and tidy place where you can work efficiently. It’s such a safe place, far away from any dangers, and most of all, far away from health risks – but wait, is it?
Recent studies show (and it might still come as a surprise) that one of the things that pose a serious risk on office workers’ health is their … act of sitting. Yes, in this day and age, even sitting can pose serious risks to someone’s health, and take note that using the adjective serious is not an exaggeration.
But to be clear, it’s not the mere act of sitting that brings danger to one’s health, but the long hours of sitting that one spends every day. Now, we are using the word ‘danger’ here, but again, it is not an exaggeration.
Today, discover what serious health issues can someone experience by simply sitting for long hours every day. Here they are:
Health Risk #1 It Doubles Your Chances of Heart Risks
For a healthy lifestyle, it’s time to look at other things than what you are eating. You might have perfected a balanced diet, and have turned around from your sinful cravings (i.e. sweet, fatty, and oily foods). It will indeed lead you to a healthy body, but if you still end up every day sitting at your office cubicle all day, then you must know that you’re health is still at risk.
Studies show that people who spend a large part of their day sitting are about twice as likely to get heart disease than those who don’t.
Health Risk #2 Afraid of Heart Risks? There’s More!
Aside from heart risks, people who spend a lot of time sitting all day drive their chances up on other risks as well. These are stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. The more long hours of sitting every day occur, the more you pull yourself closer and closer to these serious health risks. Would you want this to happen?
Health Risk #3 Back Problems
A sitting position is one of the most comfortable positions you can ever do – but not when you’re doing it for long hours. Here’s what happens when you sit: it puts huge stress on your back muscles, neck, and spine, and imagine if this HUGE STRESS stays in you for long hours e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y, you’ll get the picture of how you actually punish yourself with that habit.
Having an ergonomic hair can be a great idea, but it should not be the end solution. To keep your spine in line, stand and move around for 1 to 2 minutes every half hour to lower the stress that sitting puts on your back. It’s one of the best ways on how to reduce back pain in different situations. You should also try using a back massager to furtherly help you lower the risks of your long hours of sitting.
Health Risk #4 It Gets You Closer To Having Deep Vein Thrombosis
Deep Vein Thrombosis, more commonly known as DVT, is a clot that forms in your leg because of sitting for long hours. Things will get serious if the clot breaks free and lodges in your lung.
When this occurs, people might notice swelling and pain, but what’s more dangerous is, DVT might sometimes not show any symptoms, even when they are present.
That’s why whether you feel any symptoms of DVT or not, it’s better to break your habit of sitting for long hours before it’s too late.
Health Risk # 5 Varicose Veins
Because of a lack of any physical activities, sitting for too long results into the pooling of blood in your legs, and when this happens, it puts pressure in your veins. As a result, it can swell, twist or bulge, and this is what science calls varicose veins. It manifests on one’s legs as “spider veins”, which is actually bundles of broken blood vessels nearby. Varicose veins can cause aches, and these aches can certainly affect your performance at work and may lead to more serious problems.
Now that you’ve learned the unseen risks of sitting for too long every day, and discovered that they are indeed serious, now is the perfect time to change your unbreakable habit. Because the more you put off this change, the closer you’ll get in touch with the serious risk we’ve mentioned above.
Better break from the habit now before it’s too late.
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