Sitting Is The New Smoking: 3 Ways to Get Moving in Your Daily Life
I am always looking for ways to inspire my students to stretch by giving them visual examples of what I’m explaining. I use rubber bands, balls, towels, dry sponges, and more to show what is happening inside our bodies that we can’t see.
Don’t be a bent straw.
Recently, I have been using a drinking straw to encourage my students to not be a “bent straw.” (You can see my visual explanation here in this Facebook video.)
I bend it twice in opposite directions to simulate a person in a sitting position.
Then, I dip the bottom end of the straw in my water cup and try to sip the liquid through, but nothing happens. Not one drop of water can make it through the bent straw.
I open the straw back to a straight position. When I sip, the water flows.
This is my example of how excessive sitting reduces blood flow and circulation in our bodies, causing numerous health issues!
Sitting Disease is a real thing.
Here’s why you don’t want to be a “bent straw”: sitting disease.
Studies show that “sitting is the new smoking.”
As this University of Washington article explains, a 2011 study “found that prolonged sitting was associated with an increased risk of 34 chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.”
Yuck!
Our modern-day lifestyles set us up for lots of sitting. We sit in our cars on the way to and from work. And even if we work from home now, we sit at our desks all day, maybe only standing up a couple times to grab lunch or take a break. We sit down to eat, sit to watch TV, sit to read a book. Our lives revolve around so much sitting.
In fact, this article notes that the average American spends 21 hours out of the day in a seated or reclined position. YIKES.
Here are a few tips to help you stand up and get moving:
1. Take regular breaks from sitting.
During the work day, make it a regular practice to take a break to stand. For every 20 minutes you are seated, take 10 minutes to stand. Experts recommend that out of that 10 minutes of standing, you should spend at least 2 minutes stretching.
Check out some of these stretch tutorials:
>> Office Workers, This is For You: 2 Great Assisted Stretches for Inner Arms, Chest, and Wrists
>> Back in Action: 2 Upper Body Stretches Using A Chair
2. Change up your habit of sitting on your sofa or comfy chair while watching TV.
Instead, sit on the floor instead and stretch while you catch your favorite TV program.
Check out my recent video on Facebook to learn stretches you can do on the floor.
You can also lie down on the floor and prop your legs up over your sofa or chair. This increases blood flow to your feet and legs and also acts as a great low back reliever.
3. Walk and “read.”
Instead of sitting to read, try listening to an audio book or podcast as you go for a walk.
Hopefully this real-life story will inspire you to get moving.
I see my neighbor walking early every morning through my kitchen window. He seems to stay close to home and mostly walks our street back and forth for at least an hour. He has been doing this for months.
I have watched his body totally transform before my eyes. I have been so excited for him that I had to stop him recently to tell him. I congratulated him on his dedication and weight loss.
He said that he has lost 20 lbs already and feels better than ever. He decided to use the hour that he used to be in the car going back and forth to work everyday to walk instead.
What a success story and a true inspiration—not just to me, but to everyone who knows him!
Don’t be a bent straw—let’s stop sitting and get moving instead!