Ten Things You Should know about Sitting
Being aware of the posture may help us in consciously improving our overall body posture.
- Most of us just sit too much: On an average person sits more than 8 hours a day. White collar job, office workers sit as much as 15 hours a day. Your typical day starts with sitting at breakfast, sitting on your way to work, sitting at work, sitting on your way home from work, sitting for dinner, and then sitting to watch TV.
- Sitting for prolonged period slows down your metabolism: 60 – 90 minutes of inactivity is enough to slow down the enzymes responsible for regulating blood sugar.
- Sitting is harder on your back as compared to standing: Sitting tenses your hamstring and causes a flattening of back curve. This distortion of spine increases the internal strain of back. Sitting upright is particularly hard on the back.
- Sit with thighs wide apart. An open hip angle of greater than 90 reduces back tension. Sitting in a reclined posture, even with slouched back against the cushion can reduce tension in the spine. This reduces the hamstring tension and shifts some of the upper body weight onto the back cushion.
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- Sitting provides more stability and control to the back as opposed to many types of standing jobs sitting is easier on the musculo-skeletal system.
- An hour of daily exercise does not help prevent the negative health effects of sitting. Running, biking and other types of exercise are good for improving fitness, but it does not counteract the negative health effects of prolonged sitting.
- You need to stand and move each hour to maintain health. Movement like standing, walking, and slight leg-muscle activity stimulates your metabolism and rejenuvates your body.
- Adjust your chair as the chair should fit your physique, and it should allow for change of posture and movement. Adjust the back rest cushion to fit your curve, adjust the seat height for a comfortable leg support, and set the backrest to allow supported relining of back.
