myFM: are you sitting down?

“Sitting is as unhealthy as obesity and smoking.” What?! 

No sitting is impossible, but the issue is the length of time that we sit. Do you have a smart device like a watch that dings at you to stand up a few times a day? I’ve been known to ignore mine, but what was I doing for my body when I did? 

We sit for hours, then transfer to another chair or car, then back to your desk, and with sitting linked toobesity, increased blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes and hypoglycemia, and even cancer, we need to add this to our awareness.I came across an analysis of 13 studies of sitting time and activity levels and found that those who sat for more than eight hours a day with no physical activity had a risk of dying similar to the risks of dying posed by obesity and smoking. Increased death and sitting are now in the same sentence and that’s all the wake-up call that we need. 

The sedentary lifestyle that we seem to live more now than ever is NOT helping our health and how we feel every day. We know everything is connected in the body and because of that all the sitting, or worse, sitting on the wrong chair without support can even lead to headaches, which lead to taking more pain meds, which make the detoxification pathways work more, and that has a knock-on effect. It’s a vicious circle that is negatively affecting your health. 

A few of the tips you’ll find in the show notes of EAT THIS with Lianne, episode 117 on liannephillipson.com when I talked to the CEO and inventor of the CoreChair.com/eatthis are: 

• Take a break from sitting every 30 minutes. Listen to your watch when it tells you to. Or set a timer. Seriously, time waits for no one and 30 minutes can easily become over an hour if you’re focused on something. 
• Stand up while talking on the phone or watching television. Walk around the kitchen island as you are on a conference call or do what I do and take a colleague a cup of tea as I make myself one and his desk is on the other side of the office to mine. 
• If you work at a desk, try a standing desk — or improvise with a high table or even kitchen counter. If you want to be super flash, get a treadmill desk. That’s movement and productivity at its best. 

It’s the little things that can make the biggest impact, so add this to your focus, even if it’s two laps around the kitchen before you hit the snack drawer! 

Listen to this morning's audio!