“Sitting is the new smoking” has never been more true than now, when spending long periods of time sitting has become normal, especially for women who do not move around much.
You spend most of your day sitting, whether you are working at a desk, commuting, or just relaxing at home. It is important to know how this seemingly harmless activity is actually hurting your health.
Too much sitting can cause many health issues, such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. If you want to be healthy in the long term, you need to deal with this problem. You need to know about the risks of long-term sitting and the signs of “sitting disease.”
So, let’s explore how sitting can hurt your physical and mental health. It shows how a sedentary lifestyle can cause anxiety, depression, and a loss of muscle and bone health.
What’s a Sedentary Lifestyle?
A sedentary lifestyle means spending a lot of time sitting or lying down.
Women who have a sedentary lifestyle don’t get much physical activity. This can include things like reading, using a computer, watching TV, or sitting for a long time. We need to move our bodies often to stay healthy.
The human body is designed for upright posture. When you stand up straight, your heart and circulatory system work better.
One more good thing about standing up is that it makes your bowels work better. [6]
On the other hand, being active makes you more energetic and increases your endurance. It also keeps your bones strong.
How Sedentary Are Women Over 50?
Many women over 50 lead more sedentary lives than they should. This can happen because of work, hobbies, or even because of health issues.
Most days, women over 50 sit for six to eight hours. Whatever your lifestyle is like, it is important to find ways to stay active. Sedentary behavior is strongly linked to weight gain and obesity.
Women who sit for prolonged periods are more likely to gain weight and have a higher body mass index (BMI). [4]
Regularly walking, stretching, or doing light exercises can make a big difference in staying healthy.
Over three million avoidable deaths happen every year around the world because people are not active enough. That is 6% of all deaths. It is the fourth most common cause of death from a disease that does not spread.
Additionally, it is the reason behind 21% to 25% of cases of breast and colon cancer, 27% of diabetes cases, and 30% of cases of ischaemic heart disease. [1]
An inactive lifestyle can increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular events by 25 to 30 percent. [2]
Some studies show that women over 55 who lead a sedentary lifestyle are twice as likely to develop heart disease compared to those who stay active. [3]
Inactivity is also associated with a 30–40% increased risk of depression and anxiety. [5]
This means that women who engage in regular physical activity have significantly better mental health and lower stress levels compared to those who are inactive.
READ ALSO: These Small Lifestyle Changes Can Help Women Over 50 Lose Weight Faster
Physical Health Impacts
We spend a lot of time sitting these days, whether it is at a desk, in front of the TV, or on long commutes.
Even though sitting for long periods of time might not seem like a big deal, it can be very bad for our physical health.
There are serious health risks that come with sitting for long periods of time, especially for women over 50 who may already be having health problems related to getting older.
Let’s take a look at the physical health impacts of sitting for too long.
• Impact on cardiovascular Health
More and more research shows that sedentary behavior, like sitting for long periods of time, is linked to higher risks of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases .
For cardiovascular problems, longer periods of sitting are linked to higher risks, even when other activities like moderate-to-vigorous exercise are taken into account [7].
• Muscle weakening and joint problems
Sitting for long periods of time can weaken your muscles and hurt your joints.
This is especially true for the lower back, where sitting for long periods of time can make the discs between the vertebrae bulge.
This can become a long-term issue that makes the body less stable [8].
This lack of movement also makes muscles less able to contract, which can have bad biological effects [9].
There are muscles in your legs and glutes that help you walk and keep your balance. If you sit for too long, they get weaker and waste away.
This can make it more likely that you will get hurt when you fall or strain yourself while doing physical activities.
READ ALSO: The Best Easy Exercises That Burn the Most Calories For Women Over 50
• Body weight
Lack of physical activity can also cause weight gain and obesity.
A 5% rise in the risk of obesity has been linked to every extra two hours of sitting per day [10].
This is made worse by the fact that sitting for long periods of time slows down the digestive system, which means that fats and sugars are stored as body fat [11].
• Hips and back
When you sit down, the muscles that bend your hips get shorter.
This can make your hip joints hurt. It is also bad for your spine because it can compress the discs in your spine. This can cause you pain and early degeneration [12, 13].
Over time, this can also cause nerves to get pinched, which can cause conditions like sciatica.
When you sit for long periods of time, especially if your posture is bad, your neck and shoulders can get stiff and hurt. This happens a lot when you strain to look at computers or other screens.
This makes the neck stick out forward and the shoulders tense up, which causes pain and discomfort over time [14].
READ ALSO: Fast and Easy Exercises to Fix Neck Hump (Dowager’s Hump) At Home
Mental Health Effects
Many mental health problems, like depression and anxiety, are strongly linked to a sedentary lifestyle, which means spending a lot of time sitting and not doing much physical activity.
Studies have found a link between mentally passive activities like watching TV or listening to music and a higher risk of depression [15].
People may also have less time for physical activity and less time to interact with others, which is linked to lower overall health [16].
• Impact on sleep
Sedentary behavior can have a big effect on the quality of your sleep.
Research shows that a lot of time spent not moving, no matter how active you are, is linked to bad sleep quality and sleep problems [17, 18].
It has been shown that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) can help people sleep better, especially middle-aged women [20].
• Anxiety and depression
Spending more time sitting down, especially in front of a screen like a TV or computer, may raise the risk of mental health problems by making people less social and limiting the growth of social networks [21].
Notably, the light from LED-backlit displays can stop your body from making melatonin, which can mess up your biological clock and make it harder to sleep, which can make anxiety and depression worse [22].
READ ALSO: Here’s How Effective Melatonin is for Memory and Longevity
• Social isolation and mental fatigue
Prolonged sitting and sedentary behavior can make you feel alone, which is a major cause of mental health problems.
It limits opportunities for socializing and being active, which are both important for mental health [22].
Physical inactivity can also make you mentally tired and hurt your ability to think clearly, which can make depression and anxiety worse.
Long-term Effects of Sitting
• Effects on longevity
Long periods of sitting can significantly shorten your lifespan.
According to a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, spending a lot of time sitting makes you more likely to die too soon from any cause, such as cancer or heart disease [23].
No matter how much you exercise, this risk will still be there. This shows that what you do outside of exercise has a big effect on how long you live.
• Osteoporosis and weakening bones
Being inactive weakens bones and raises the risk of osteoporosis and fractures, especially in women who have stopped menstruating.
Bone density decreases with age, but things in your daily life, like sitting for long periods of time, can speed up this process.
So, doing weight-bearing exercises and making sure you get enough calcium and vitamin D are important things you can do to lessen these effects.
• Increased risk of diabetes and obesity
Long periods of sitting are linked to a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes, especially in overweight women who have gone through menopause.
If you spend most of your day sitting down, the risk stays even if you do moderate to vigorous physical activity [11, 24].
This sedentary way of life also makes it easier to gain a lot of weight and become obese because fats and sugars are not broken down and used properly [25].
• Muscle atrophy and flexibility issues
When you do not use your muscles for a long time, you lose muscle tissue, which is called atrophy.
This condition makes you weak and limits your mobility. It also makes you less flexible and less balanced, which raises your risk of falling and getting hurt.
You can fight these effects by adding strength training and flexibility exercises to your routine.
Steps You Can Take to Reduce The Risks of Too Much Sitting
1. Build more activity into your day
It is important to do more throughout the day to lower the risks that come with sitting for long periods of time.
First, think about where you sit most of the time and come up with ways to stand or move around more.
For example, if you usually sit on the couch at home, you might want to do more active hobbies or cook more complicated meals to get up and move around more.
It can be very helpful to set a timer at work to remind you to stand up every 30 minutes.
Small ‘exercise snacks’ can also have a bi
g effect, such as walking while talking on the phone, using smaller cups that need to be refilled more often, or choosing the stairs over elevators [26, 27, 28].
2. Be active indoors
It is important to stay active inside, especially if you work from home or spend a lot of time inside.
Adding movement to your daily routine can be as simple as stretching right after you wake up or doing squats while you brush your teeth.
If you like coffee, you might want to walk to get it or do some stretches while it is brewing.
If you sit for long periods of time, try using a standing desk or doing light exercises like calf raises or glute clenches while you are sitting.
Try these short at-home workouts to help you stay active.
3. Nutrition and hydration tips
While you are focusing on exercise, do not forget how important it is to eat well and stay hydrated.
If you want to refill your water bottle or glass more often, use a smaller one and make sure you stand up and move every time.
This keeps you hydrated and cuts down on the time you spend sitting.
Eating less processed foods and more whole foods is one way to support an active lifestyle. This can also improve your health and give you more energy, which makes it easier to stay active.
READ ALSO: Top Nutrition Tips to Support Healthy Aging in Women Over 50
Closing Thoughts
We have looked at the many negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle, especially on women’s health, and found that long periods of sitting are bad for both physical and mental health.
Our research using strong evidence has shown that long periods of sitting are linked to a higher risk of health problems like heart disease, osteoporosis, obesity, and mental health problems like depression and anxiety.
Regular exercise and healthy eating can lower these risks, showing how important it is to take action against the dangers of prolonged sitting.
Remember that to lower the health risks of sitting for long periods of time, we need to move around more and change our habits and environments.
Small changes today can lead to big health gains tomorrow, ushering in a new wellness era that prioritizes active living over inactivity.
♡ Love ♡,
Schellea
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