10 Common Effects of Prolonged Sitting in Office & Easy Solution

Sitting requires less energy than standing or moving around. According to research, prolonged sitting hours have been historically associated with several health issues. These symptoms comprise obesity and metabolic disorders, a group of ailments marked by elevated blood pressure, excessive blood glucose levels, extra fat mass around the waistline, and abnormal cholesterol levels.

The likelihood of dying from heart disease or cancer appears to be increased by excessive sitting altogether and remaining seated for extended periods. Many researchers have found that people experience back pain from prolonged sitting. Generally, research appears to support the idea that exercising more often and sitting less improves the quality of life.

If you have the choice, begin by working while standing on an adjustable standing desk rather than remaining seated in front of a computer for prolonged hours. Even slow exercise might have a massive impact. You will primarily be burning more calories while also fighting the effects of prolonged sitting. Exercise keeps your muscles toned, mobile, and mentally healthy, particularly as you age.

List of the Ten Prominent Effects of Sitting for Longer Hours 

Human beings are meant to stand upright, but many spend most of their days sitting at their workplaces. Incorporating a bit of movement will eventually make your blood circulatory system, along with your cardiac system, more efficient. Your bowels run more smoothly when sitting upright on a mobile height-adjustable desk.

Bowel motion issues are frequent among high-risk patients who are bedridden. Conversely, when you exercise, your total energy output and stamina increase, and your joints keep their strength. Here are some of the common effects of prolonged sitting on muscles:

1. Lower Body Becomes Weak

They become wasted if not used. Your muscular lower body musculature is not used to support you if you spend the entire day sitting in a chair. In turn, this causes these tissues to shrink and weaken. Your physique will be at risk of harm if you don't have strong leg and core muscles to stabilize you.

2. You Start Gaining Weight

Your muscles produce compounds like lipoprotein lipase when you move, and this enzyme aids in the digestion of the sugars and calories you consume. As per researchers, the production of these chemicals is reduced, and your chance of having a wider rear end increases when you spend a large portion of your time sitting down. Even if you work out, your risk of developing obesity is higher.

3. Your Back Hurts and Hips Become Tight

Sitting will be bad for your hips and back, just like your lower body muscles. Your hamstrings shorten when you sit. Therefore your alignment while sitting can be painful for your spine, especially if you've poor posture or aren't using an ergonomic chair. Additionally, having bad posture when sitting can squeeze the vertebrae in your spinal cord and speed up their aging, both of which can cause long-term pain.

4. You May Feel A Sudden Burst of Depressive Emotions

The mental impacts of remaining seated are less well known than many of the physical consequences. However, those who sit more often are more likely to experience despair and anxiety. This may be caused by the lack of fitness-related advantages for mental health in people who spend their weekdays sitting instead of exercising. If so, frequent exercise could help to reduce these risks.

5. Risk of Cancer

Recent research indicates that a sedentary lifestyle may raise your chance of developing certain cancers, such as pulmonary, uterine, and malignant neoplasms. There is some confusion over the causes of this.

6. It Negatively Affects Your Heart

In research comparing two comparable groups of transit vehicle operators, who spend most of the day seated, and operators or security personnel, who don't, researchers initially recognized that something was wrong. Even though their foods and habits were very similar, those who sat had a roughly two-fold higher risk of developing heart disease than those who stood.

7. Risk of Diabetes

Research has demonstrated that spending merely five days in bed might enhance your insulin sensitivity, which means that your blood sugar level will rise above the recommended levels as a result. Thus, those who devote more time seated have a higher risk of developing diabetes.

8. You May Develop Varicose Veins

Sitting for extended periods might result in spider veins or peripheral arterial diseases. This occurs because sitting makes the blood circulation in your legs stagnate. Normally, varicose veins are not harmful. However, they can result in thrombosis, which can have significant consequences.

9. A Deep Vein Thrombosis

On a lengthy airline or car ride, excessive sitting might result in deep vein thrombosis (DVT). An internal blockage in your major blood vessels is a deep thrombosis. DVT is a major issue because if a piece of a hematoma in the thigh vein separates and spreads, it could block off the circulatory system to other body areas, especially your lungs, resulting in thromboembolism. There could be serious conditions or even death due to this medical issue.

10. Tight Shoulders or Neck

Spending a lot of time slumped over a computer could cause neck and shoulder aches and stiffness. Try to find the best sitting position for hip pain instead to help with lower back pain prolonged sitting.

How Can the Risks of Sitting be Prevented for Your Health?

If you have continuously been experiencing neck pain from sitting at a desk, you still have time to change your performance and improve your well-being if you don't get enough exercise each day. Include extra exercise throughout your day. 

You can include workouts in your day in a variety of ways, including:

• Leave your vehicle at home and go for a walk or a bike ride.
• Instead of using the elevator or escalator, take the steps, or at the very least, ascend it on foot.
• Park farther away from your destination and continue on foot.

Try to remain more active at work

• Utilize the stairs rather than the elevator.
• Rather than messaging your coworkers, chat with them in person.
• When you can, spend your lunchtime hour away from your workstation and go for a quick stroll in the outdoors.
• Plan meetings where you can walk.
• Use adjustable standing desk converters and count your calories burned sitting vs. standing.

Incorporate exercise indoors

• Don't allow inclement weather to keep you from exercising! Exercises involving your muscle mass include squats, sit-ups, and lunges.
• You could also attempt hands-on activities like doing yoga, taking part in martial arts, dancing, Pilates, swimming in an indoor pool, playing squash, or lifting weights indoors.