Can a sedentary lifestyle impact overall health?

Question

Hi doctor,

I work from home and sit for a long time. So, how does sitting too much affect the body and health due to not moving much? What are the differences between where you sit a lot and where you move and exercise more? Can you explain how much physical activity or exercise is needed to balance out a sedentary lifestyle and its impact on overall health? And please share some exercise tips and improve overall health.

Please help.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I can understand your concern.

Yes, sitting for long hours will eventually lead to low physical activity and make your life more sedentary. It mainly leads to slow recovery or over-burnout.

Do not make drastic life changes or restricted diets that you cannot sustain for longer. Start with small goals like 3000 steps a day or having four glasses of water, and it can be customized as per your lifestyle and needs. Check for your blood reports, including vitamin screening with hemoglobin as it can lead to low energy levels and low metabolism, which can also lead to weight gain. Check your vitamins like B12 and vitamin D. Check for the obesity stage by calculating your BMI (body mass index) with no random calculations or assuming to be obese. Identify lifestyle changes or stress factors because you have not mentioned more details to guide you. I need details like age, height, and weight to help you further, but I can help you here with a few changes to start with:

1. Get up and stretch yourself after every 45 minutes to 1 hour, as sitting for long can be damaging to our posture. At work, walk the length of the office every hour or two to keep your back happy, your muscles supple, and your blood circulating.

2. Indulge into some deep breathing exercises. It will help you keep calm or even put you to sleep. Practicing some pranayam can surely help here.

3. Plan your week in advance so that your traveling time becomes your rest day.

4. Use the long corridors and long waits for a quick brisk walk in airports or stations. Take stairs rather than escalators. After all, you have to sit for hours for work, so make the most of the time you have while you wait at the station.

5. If you are using a car, then park your car away from the destination and try to walk.

After 15 days of being active, start with a small home-based workout, like five minutes of spot jogging, five minutes of stretching, five minutes of brisk walking, two minutes of leg raises, five push-ups, etc.

Then, gradually, go back to adding weights.

I hope this helps you.

Revert in case of queries.

Regards.