Even if you are an active person who doesn’t smoke, sitting down for more than three hours a day can cut down your life expectancy by two years. The following list describes specific health conditions that can arise from sitting too much, but being sedentary actually makes it more likely that you will die earlier from any cause.

There is a proven link between sitting and heart disease, first studied in bus drivers in the 1950s. While their diets and lifestyles were similar, the only factor that differed was how much they sat. Researchers found that bus drivers who sat for 90 percent of their work days had double the risk of having heart attacks than their colleagues who as conductors climbed about 600 stairs each work day. Subsequent studies have only bolstered the case against sitting to safeguard cardiovascular health.

Why exactly is heart disease linked to sitting? When you sit, blood flow slows down. This can result in a buildup of fatty acids in our blood vessels which can lead to heart disease, including high blood pressure and stroke.

The more you sit, the higher your odds for colon, endometrial, and lung cancer. For older women, the probability of getting breast cancer also increases. The worst part - vigorous exercise for the recommended 30 minutes a day does not protect you from this increased risk of cancer from sitting for long periods of time daily.

The Wall Street Journal reported that in 2011, scientists found that people who worked 10 years in sedentary jobs compared to those who had never worked sedentary jobs were twice as likely to contract colon cancer and had a 44% increased risk of rectal cancer.

Doctors hypothesize that sitting changes the way your body reacts to insulin, possibly slowing down its rate of burning sugar and carbohydrates for energy. Plus, you burn fewer calories by sitting all day, and being overweight also raises your odds of diabetes.

Your chance of developing osteoarthritis, a condition in which your bones become weak and brittle, is much greater if you sit too much. When it comes to bone health, you have to stay active to preserve it. The best way to prevent bone loss is to sneak in movement throughout your day: stretch, take walks after meals, lift weights.

Another side effect of sitting for too long is that blood can pool in your legs, putting extra pressure on your veins that can cause them to swell or twist into what doctors call varicose veins. The resulting varicose veins and spider veins - broken blood vessels - can cause aches.

Although scientists aren’t sure about the exact cause yet, a sedentary lifestyle can add anxiety to your life. Psychology Today explains it may have to do with the fact we’re often alone when we’re sitting, and usually engaging in screen-based activities that can disrupt your sleep.

If you sit still for too long, you can develop a clot in your leg called deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The clot can even travel from your leg to your lung! And because DVT shows no symptoms besides swelling and some pain, it can be very dangerous. Providing blood flow to your legs is yet another reason to break up those long sitting sessions with activity.

Being sedentary, by definition, involves minimal energy expenditure. In other words, sitting limits the number of calories you burn which can cause you to gain weight. Additionally, when you sit, your body’s production of the enzyme that your body produces to break down fat in your blood (lipoprotein lipase) drops by about 90 percent. Your body can’t use fat, so it stores it.

You may be thinking - sure, I sit for a lot of the day, but I work out! Unfortunately, you’re not exempt from the dangers of sitting even if you work out for half an hour every single day!

The evidence that sitting is dangerous is loud and clear. But what are we supposed to do in this day and age when some many of us work desk jobs and so much of our lives take place online?

Stationary sitting leaves your muscles completely inactive. The BackStrong C1 has a saddle-like seat that moves, which keeps your blood flowing and counteracts the dangerous effects of being sedentary.

Sources:

• https://medlineplus.gov/healthrisksofaninactivelifestyle.html
• https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2731178
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/the-big-numberthe-average-us-adult-sits-65-hours-a-day-for-teens-its-even-more/2019/04/26/7c29e4c2-676a-11e9-a1b6-b29b90efa879_story.html
• https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/the-dangers-of-sitting
• https://www.businessinsider.com/why-sitting-sedentary-lifestyle-is-so-bad-for-you-2018-5#scientists-have-started-to-understand-just-why-sitting-might-be-so-bad-for-us-it-seems-to-cause-gradual-subclinical-injury-to-the-heart-over-time-1
• https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/sitting-disease-how-a-sedentary-lifestyle-affects-heart-health
• https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303343404577516853567934264
• https://www.beaumont.org/health-wellness/blogs/how-sitting-too-much-can-lead-to-heart-disease