I posted an article about the dangers of sitting awhile back but if you haven’t heard, studies suggest that sitting for prolonged periods of time (not only at work but in the car as well!) could be detrimental to your health. “Sitting” is now regarded as the new “smoking”. And this is too bad, since most people work for a living and spend roughly SIX to EIGHT hours of their day on their bottoms, bums, keisters, tookus, hienees, rears-you get the picture! Why is sitting so bad for you? For one, according to a new study, sitting for prolonged periods of time prevents the muscles in your legs from contracting, therefore keeping blood flow normalized throughout your body. This could lead to issues with your endothelial health – and this could significantly increase your risk for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, weight gain, heart disease, and other health complications. But: You have got to see the amazing thing they’ve discovered… Current studies show that the sitting for long periods of time could increase your risk for many different chronic diseases and conditions. The reason: Lack of contraction activity of the muscles could lead to less circulation through your body, blood pooling, and endothelial dysfunction. However, a new study shows some pretty promising results! You see, researchers from Indiana University (who would have thought, Indiana, right?) anyway, they have discovered that short walks – even slow walks – during the day, could REVERSE the damage associated with prolonged sitting. Here’s what the study found: The authors wanted to address the effects that prolonged sitting has on endothelial function and if breaking that time – with brief periods of activity – would prevent the damage to endothelial function. They recruited 12 non-obese men and subjected them to sitting two, three hour sitting times followed by (experimental group) brief periods of activity. They found that those men who sat for long periods of time – without activity – showed a significant decline in superficial femoral artery endothelial function. However, they noted that breaks in sitting activity – defined as sitting time broken up with five minute intervals on the treadmill at 2.0 mph – prevented the sitting induced decline in superficial superior artery endothelial function. They concluded: “Three hours of sitting resulted in a significant impairment in shear rate and SFA FMD. When light activity breaks were introduced hourly during sitting, the decline in FMD was prevented.” For many people around the world, the majority of their day may be done in a sitting manner. And that could lead to an increased risk for many health conditions, due to increased weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, and the loss of endothelial function. However, a new study sheds some light on one way to REVERSE this, possibly leading to better health. A new study shows that breaking up your sitting time with bouts of activity – and yes, it can be slow – could reverse the damage to your endothelial cells, therefore improving your health. So, if you’re one of the many who sits for six or eight hours a day, (this includes children, kids, little-ones-you get the picture) taking a quick five minute break may lead to improvements in your overall health – and the health of your heart! Remember, it’s all about being pro-active. That’s one of the best ways to insure the best performance of your life! God bless
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 13:43:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015