The Impact of Sitting All Day – Part 5
In this series of articles on the impact of sitting all day I have looked at
- the impact on muscles (in part 1)
- the general impact on the body (in part 2)
- the impact on your heart and the increase risk of cardiovascular disease (in part 3)
- the increased risk of certain cancers (in part 4)
I now want to look to focus on what you can do to counteract the impact of sitting all day i.e.
- Sitting up straight (see part 1)
- Taking a Break
Here are the Top 5 most common excuses for taking a break from sitting at your desk
- Going to the bathroom
- Getting a drink
- Stretching
- Going to the printer
- Getting food
Here is the number 1 excuse why people don’t take a break.
I am too busy!
We all know we should take regular breaks, but how many of us do, not many, the reason is that we assume it is too time consuming. If you are one of those people read on, because I am about to shock you.
In 2008 researches demonstrated that those who took
regular breaks of 4.5 minutes
had narrower waist, lower body mass indexes and more importantly reduced the negative health impacts of sitting. That is under 5 minutes of standing or walking rather than sitting!
Healy et al, 2008, Breaks in Sedentary Time – Beneficial associations with metabolic risk, Diabetes Care, Volume 31, No4 pages 661 – 666 see http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/31/4/661.full#T1
While pinpointing just exactly how long or frequent these breaks need to be is still up for investigation, most people can manage under 5 minutes of walking or standing rather than sitting.
More recent research show signs of improved glucose metabolism with one minute and 40 seconds of walking every 30 minutes for a nine-hour sitting period, this is certainly very good news for anyone struggling with weight issues. I certainly believe one minute and 40 seconds of walking every 30 minutes is a realistic target for everyone including those with the most demanding jobs!
Peddie et al, 2013, Breaking prolonged sitting reduces postprandial glyecmia in healthy, normal-weight adults: a randomized crossover trial, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 98, No 2 pages 358 – 366 see http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/98/2/358.abstract
Dunstan et al, 2012, Breaking up prolonged sitting reduces postprandial glucose and insulin responses, Diabetes Care, Volume 35, No 5, pages 976 – 983 see http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/35/5/976.full
In summary, getting up and walking for under 5 minutes around at least twice an hour can keep your skeletal muscles turned on and lower the risk of a wide range of chronic diseases.
Related Posts
More factors that contribute to muscle cramps
Previously I discussed how dehydration & lack of sodium or potassium may cause muscle cramps. I now want to explore other nutritional factors. Calcium Calcium plays an essential role in muscle contractions. Some active people report their problem with cramping disappears when they boost their calcium intake. This anecdotal evidence is disputed by scientists who state that when dietary deficiencies of of calcium occur, calcium is released from the bones to provide what the body needs for proper muscle contraction. If you are plagued by muscle cramps, it may be worth trying to increase your intake of dairy or other calcium rich foods to see if it helps. Magnesium Just as muscles need calcium to contract they need magnesium to relax. Roffe et al demonstrated that magnesium helps reduce leg cramps that occur in the middle of the night.
Reference
Roffe C1, Sills S, Crome P, Jones P (2002), Randomised, cross-over, placebo controlled trial of magnesium citrate in the treatment of chronic persistent leg cramps. Med Sci Monit. 2002 May;8(5): p326-30.
Headaches – How to tell when they are serious
More than 10 million people in the UK get headaches regularly, making them one of the most common health complaints. The most common treatment is to take a pain killer. In previous blog posts I have explored other treatments including
Most headaches aren't serious and are easily treated. However it is important that anyone with a headache “that is out of the norm” should see their GP as soon as possible. Particularly if the headache is more likely to be serious i.e.:- it occurs suddenly and is very severe – often described as a blinding pain unlike anything experienced before
- it doesn't go away and gets worse over time
- it occurs after a severe head injury
- it's triggered suddenly by coughing, laughing, sneezing, changes in posture, or physical exertion
- you have symptoms suggesting a problem with your brain or nervous system, including weakness, slurred speech, confusion, memory loss, and drowsiness
- you have additional symptoms, such as a high temperature (fever), a stiff neck, a rash, jaw pain while chewing, vision problems, a sore scalp, or severe pain and redness in one of your eyes
Tips for a healthy stomach
The stomach is the body's food processor. It takes about 4 hours for a moderate meal to be processed. It takes 7 seconds for food to travel from your mouth to your stomach. Your stomach can hold 1.5 litres of food and drink. Chew each mouthful at least 20 times Chewing produces saliva which start the digestive process efficiently, enabling the food to the broken down thoroughly. Eating to quickly often means you don't chew each mouthful enough and causes problems such as heartburn and indigestion. Swallowing large lumps of food causes problems for the gut as undigested food ferments, creating toxins and gases that irritate the stomach lining; it also prevents absorption of nutrients and creates digestive problems. Digestive enzymes Digestive enzymes help to minimize indigestion, acide reflux, bloating and gas. There are three main clasifications of digestive enzymes:
- Amylases: which break down carbohydrates
- Lipases: which break down fats
- Proteases: which break down protiens
