Why sitting long hours in office chair Hurts So Much?

Chances are you will eventually despise your work station. Today’s modern society works on average 8 hours shifts. 6.29 hours on average get spent sedentary sitting.

A 2017 study looked into the sitting behaviors of office workers. They found that sitting had adverse effects on office workers’ health and job performance.

This research was conducted by Journal of Lifestyle Medicine; The pool of participants was 477 Iranian office workers who answered a two-part questionnaire to collect this data.

• In fact, 73.6% of people felt exhausted during the workday.
• 6.3% of those people suffered from hypertension & 11.2% reported hyperlipidemia.
• An incredible 53.6% & 53.2% of participants reported symptoms of neck, shoulder, and lower back pain.

Tight Hips along with a Bad Back

We spend most working hours sitting and this is only increasing as more occupations shift to working on computers.

• The lack of movement from sedentary jobs causes stiffness in the muscles and can even make some of us tired.

Also, poor sitting posture may cause compression issues with the discs in your spine that can lead to premature degeneration, this is where how chronic pain starts.

Weakens Glutes, Legs, & Thights

Remember Grandpa Joe from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory? Nobody wants to be a Grandpa Joe.

• Sitting all day and not depending on your lower body to hold you up leads to muscle atrophy. The weaker your legs, the higher the chance of injury from everyday activities.

You’ll Get Skinny Fat

Pretty straightforward, Sitting around all day will make you fat.

• Most of that lard goes straight to your gut, which is why skinny fat has become an American epidemic among adult males.

You May Get Very Fat, Like Unhealthy Fat

Big may be beautiful, but it ain’t healthy. The obese demographic has significantly increased in the past 20 years.

• In some developed countries, 50% to 65% of the entire population are overweight or obese, which in effect only 1/3 of the people have normal body weight!

People with a high percentage of body fat sit for 2.25 hours per day more than normal-sized people with equivalent quality chairs. Three factors that helped obesity speed up this epidemic are:

1. Access to larger portion sizes of meals

2. Bad quality food because of mass productions.

3. Inadequate exercise because of increased media use.

Increase Risk for Diabetes

Sitting all day is not very good for us. In fact, a sedentary lifestyle in combination with improper diet increases risk of diabetes.

• Spending over 2 hours per day sitting either watching tv, on the computer, or any other sedentary things has been correlated to a significantly higher risk of correctional cancer.

Increase Risk of Cancers

Sitting for over 2 hours a day increases the chances of contracting colorectal cancer. No matter if it’s watching tv or going on your work commute, none of us are safe from colorectal cancer.

Spending over 40 hours per week sitting makes you 112 percent more likely at risk of diabetes. In one study that examined the effects on five days of continuous bed rest; Researchers found an increased insulin resistance, which is a precursor to diabetes.

Varicose Veins

Sitting for too long may cause too much blood to collect within the legs. Leading to varicose veins or spider veins, which is a miniature form.

• Though largely not harmful, these swollen and unsightly veins may in rare cases lead to more serious conditions, like blood clots.

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)

This is a type of blood clot most common in the legs.

When a little of this clot breaks off, it can cut off the flow of blood to vital organs such as your lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism.

• This is a medical emergency that can lead to major complications or even death. Sitting for longer than expected on a long trip, can even cause DVT.

Depression and Anxiety

Your body releases endorphins when you exercise, by sitting around all day your body misses out on these natural highs.

• Risk of depression and anxiety is higher in the sedentary lifestyle.

Michelle Kilpatrick of the University of Tasmania, collected data from 3,367 state government employees who took a 4-week long credited psychological assessment.

• Kirkpatrick and colleagues found that those who sat for too long of stretches during work experienced increased rates of psychological distress.