Why Sitting at a Desk All Day Could Be as Bad for Your Health as Smoking

Having desk jobs has become the norm for people in the working world. But sitting in one place from 9 to 5 is actually doing detrimental things to your health. In fact, it could be as bad for your health as smoking is.

To start taking better care of your health, here is what happens to your body when you sit at your desk all day.

Your Back Suffers

Sitting in one place for long periods of time puts a lot of stress on the muscles of your back and neck, as well as your spine. This stress is exacerbated if you have notoriously bad posture. To ease this stress, you could find an ergonomic chair or invest in the best posture corrector on the market.

But even if these help you be more comfortable, it’s still a good idea to get up and walk around every now and again to ease the stress on your spine.

Causes Damage to your Heart

A study was done comparing two important groups of people: drivers who sit all day and conductors on trains who don’t. Despite the fact that their diets were mostly the same, the sitting drivers were more prone to heart disease than conductors who stood most of the day.

Sitting all day actually slows down the circulation of blood in your body, which allows certain materials to be deposited along the arteries more easily which can lead to heart disease.

Increases your Risk of Dementia

Sitting for extended periods of time, even if your doing work, can be pretty boring for your brain. As kids, we’re used to running around, engaging with the world, and expanding our imaginations. Being at a computer all day puts your brain in a docile state, leading to some neurons not being fired anymore.

Although there are plenty of causes for dementia, there’s no reason you should increase your risk even more. Get up and move around, do something creative, and start challenging your brain again.

Negating Your Exercise

If you are someone that does get exercise on a regular basis, it’s not going to do you any good if you’re still sitting for hours every single day for weeks and months. It’s actually counterproductive to all the exercise you are doing if you’re sitting for 7 hours every day. Even if you’re doing 7 hours of exercise per week. You’re just not going to shed those extra pounds quickly.

Increasing your Risk for Deep Vein Thrombosis

Many people have heard the term before but aren’t sure what it really is deep vein thrombosis is when a clot forms in the clog, usually from sitting too long. This clot can then break apart and get lodged somewhere else in the body. Such as the lung or even the brain.

If you notice pain and swelling in your leg after sitting for a long period of time. Then you may want to see a doctor. You often won’t see any other symptoms of a clot until it’s too late.

It may seem inevitable, being stuck to your chair throughout an entire workday. But you can improve your health by getting up every 30 minutes and just take a short minute walk. Take a trip to the bathroom, refill your canteen of water, or just do a small lap around your workspace. Your body will definitely thank you in the future.

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