What happens to your body when you sit all day
What happens to the body if you sit for more than 8 hours a day (photo: Freepik)
People who spend extended periods sitting at work may face various health problems. This lifestyle can negatively impact both mental and physical well-being, reports Eat This, Not That!
Fitness trainer Emily Schofield explained that a sedentary lifestyle can have a catastrophic impact on overall health, metabolism, and joint function. Prolonged inactivity can lead to numerous physical health issues, including poor posture, loss of muscle strength, and weight gain.
Neck pain may develop
When people sit for long periods, they tend to focus more on their work than on maintaining proper posture. This can exacerbate kyphosis or spinal rounding, leading to neck pain that starts at the base of the skull and extends to the upper shoulders, often causing headaches.
Most posture-related abnormalities are reversible with conscious effort. Increasing daily movement and spending more time standing can help mitigate these issues.
Muscle mass loss is possible
A sedentary lifestyle can significantly compromise your muscular system.
Age-related muscle atrophy, known as sarcopenia, causes men and women to lose 3% to 5% of their muscle mass per decade after age 30. This decline accelerates in postmenopausal women and men, particularly after age 60.
A nutritious diet and daily physical activity are the best ways to prevent muscle loss. Muscles require significant energy for maintenance.
"If you never challenge your muscles, your body decides it doesn't need to devote the resources required to maintain muscle mass because your body considers muscle mass non-essential," the expert explained.
Weight gain may occur
Spending most of your day sitting means fewer calories are burned. Frequent snacking can then lead to rapid weight gain.
Attempting to lose weight while maintaining a sedentary lifestyle becomes nearly impossible.
Increasing physical activity and building muscle mass significantly enhance weight loss efforts. Muscles are highly metabolically active and burn far more calories throughout the day, even at rest.
Earlier, we reported on three exercises that can help you look younger in just a few weeks.
This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.
