Is Sitting the New Smoking?
Have you ever heard of the phrase, “sitting is the new smoking”?
For many of us, our daily activities require us to be sitting for the majority of the day. We sit in traffic on our way to and from work, we sit at an office desk continuously and tirelessly trying to meet deadlines, and we sit on our couches in front of the television to relax after a long day. Sitting has become habitual. It has also become a body’s nightmare in terms of pain and injury, especially in the back. Just like smoking, the more we sit, the more we are hurting ourselves and our bodies in the long run. With that said, the sooner we are able to adjust our lifestyles and make some changes to our daily habits, the sooner we can adopt a healthier, more balanced life and avoid health complications.
Picture yourself on your morning commute. There’s traffic for miles, you’re already running late as it is, and you begin to stress over the fact that you’re never going to make it in on time. As you’re hunched over the steering wheel, you can feel your muscles begin to tighten in your chest and shoulders, but there isn’t anything you can do. You finally make it to your office with your heavy shoulder bag weighing you down and you plop yourself in your chair for several hours. Time passes, and as you’re diligently working to meet those crazy deadlines your boss ordered, you slowly begin to forget about the fact that you haven’t taken a break to stretch. Or, maybe you are one of those people who have acknowledged that you haven’t stretched, but feel as though that isn’t something to be spending time on. You have more important priorities other than stretching which may be true, but down the road, you’re ultimately hurting yourself more.
Once the work day is done, you hop in your car for yet another commute filled with traffic and agitated drivers, and just like this morning, your posture isn’t the greatest. But, after a long day of stress and hard work, you can only focus on getting home and calling it a night. Have we just explained a typical day for you? These types of activities may not seem like a big issue; however, repetitively living this way is going to cause severe and chronic pain that can have a dangerous impact on your life. There are many ways, though, where you can be proactive when it comes to your sedentary lifestyle, and we are going to explain them below. But, before we do, remember that small, continuous changes are going to produce results. You cannot expect to improve overnight. These changes are something you must learn, accustom yourself to, and always stick with moving forward.
Let’s start by focusing on the way you drive. In order to correct your hunched posture, adjust your seat so that you are at a 90-degree angle with the steering wheel. This way your legs won’t be stretching to reach the pedals which ultimately causes your back to slouch. Gradually adjust the seat to this position until you are comfortable. Although a 90-degree angle is perfect for when you’re driving, in the office, the back of your chair should be at about 135-degree angle. This will reduce compression in the lower discs of the spine. Also, it is extremely important to get up and move every half hour. Don’t worry; we’re not talking about doing lunges or jumping jacks in your office. A simple walk to the water cooler or bathroom would do just fine.
One way to learn and adopt these new practices is using the Alexander Technique, a method that team Body Soul swears by. The Alexander Technique is an educational method whereby participants will learn how to correct their poor postures in order to improve mobility, performance, alertness, as well as relieve stress and tension caused by these faulty habits. Why do we love it so much? This technique isn’t just about teaching new ways to improve our musculoskeletal system. It’s about learning to regain control in the way in which we carry out every day activities in terms of posture. It focuses on creating a new lifestyle, one that will eliminate chronic pain and last a lifetime. There’s a reason why it’s been practiced for over a hundred years now!
So, there you have it. Perhaps all these years of unexplained, chronic pain has been related to the habitual sedentary lifestyle you have been living. Like smoking, habits can be hard to break, though. Fortunately, there are techniques out there to help kick these unhealthy habits to the curb, and we hope you’ll take the ones aforementioned into consideration. Now.. get outside and MOVE!
References:
http://www.amsatonline.org/faq
http://www.prevention.com/health/health-concerns/bad-habits-your-back-pain