21 Signs You Might Be Sitting Too Much and How Active Breaks Can Help
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Introduction
We all know that sitting for long periods isn't good for us. If we pay attention, our bodies often signal that it's time to move: dry eyes, headaches, neck pain, and lower back discomfort are just a few of the common symptoms many of us experience after prolonged sitting.
While these signs are familiar, there are other, less obvious indicators that might surprise you.
In this article, we'll explore 21 signs you might be sitting too much and how incorporating active breaks into your daily routine can make a significant difference to your health and wellbeing.
21 Signs You're Sitting Too Much
In the digital workplace prolonged sitting has become the norm for many of us.
Long hours of sitting, whether for meetings, email correspondence, or project work, promotes a sedentary lifestyle with potentially serious health implications.
We’ve collated some of the 21 signs that you might be sitting too much.
1. Trouble Concentrating: Sitting for extended periods can decrease blood flow to the brain, leading to diminished concentration levels. This makes sustaining attention on tasks more challenging than it would otherwise be.
2. Lack of Focus: Mental fatigue is a common consequence of prolonged sitting. This fatigue diminishes the brain's ability to maintain focus over long periods, impacting productivity and the quality of work.
3. Low Mood: Physical activity stimulates endorphin release, known as the body’s feel-good hormones. A sedentary lifestyle cuts down on these natural mood lifters, often leading to a downturn in emotional well-being.
4. Increased Fatigue: Both the body and mind start to tire more quickly without regular movement. This type of fatigue not only affects physical capabilities but also overall mental alertness.
5. Memory Issues: Reduced oxygen circulation to the brain, a side effect of sitting too long, can impair cognitive functions, including memory. This makes it harder to process and retain information.
6. Irritability: The discomfort and fatigue from constant sitting can heighten irritability, affecting both personal and professional relationships.
7. Decreased Motivation: When energy levels and mood are low, motivation naturally dips. This can make even routine tasks seem daunting and can decrease job satisfaction.
8. Social Withdrawal: The impacts on mood and energy can make social interactions less appealing, leading to withdrawal from colleagues and social activities.
9. Stress: An impaired ability to handle workload efficiently, a direct consequence of reduced cognitive function and physical discomfort, leads to elevated stress levels.
10. Chronic Back Pain: Poor posture and lack of movement can exacerbate or lead to chronic back pain, a common complaint among those who sit for prolonged periods.
11. Neck Strain: Staying hunched over a computer can cause significant strain on the neck and shoulder muscles, leading to persistent discomfort and pain.
12. Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI): Repetitive motions, especially in an ergonomically unsound setup, can lead to conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome, impacting hand and wrist function.
13. Hip Tightness and Discomfort: Sitting for long hours can lead to tightened hip flexors, which affects posture and can lead to discomfort in the hip area.
14. Decreased Flexibility: Limited movement can reduce muscle flexibility and increase the risk of injuries, making the body more prone to sprains and muscle strains.
15. Weight Gain: Sitting reduces the number of calories burned throughout the day, contributing to weight gain over time.
16. Increased Body Fat: A sedentary lifestyle can lead to increased accumulation of body fat, particularly around the midsection.
17. Slower Metabolism: The metabolic rate declines in the absence of sufficient physical activity, decreasing the efficiency at which your body burns calories.
18. Difficulty Losing Weight: With a slower metabolism and reduced physical activity, shedding excess weight becomes a much more challenging task.
19. Bloating and Discomfort: Prolonged sitting can slow down the digestive process, leading to uncomfortable bloating.
20. Constipation: Reduced movement means less stimulation of the bowels, which can lead to decreased regularity.
21. Heartburn and Indigestion: Sitting, especially in a slouched posture, can increase abdominal pressure and exacerbate digestive issues like heartburn and indigestion.
Recognising these signs can help you make a change away from a sedentary routine to a more active one that benefits your physical and mental health.
How Active Breaks Can Help
Active breaks help counteract the negative impacts of a sedentary work life, promoting not just physical well-being but also a more dynamic, engaged professional experience.
The typical office environment, characterised by long hours of sitting, whether for meetings, email correspondence, or project work, promotes a sedentary lifestyle with potentially serious health implications.
The Active Breaks programme is designed to give people the tools and strategies to make a change to their sitting habits and incorporate movement into their workday routine.
Active Breaks aren’t just pauses from work, they are an essential intervention to enhance health, energy, productivity and creativity.
Improving Physical Health
Sitting for long periods can severely hamper your blood circulation, leading to swelling in the extremities and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Active breaks that involve standing up, stretching, or walking can help kickstart your circulation. Just a few minutes of moving around every hour increases blood flow to different parts of your body, delivering oxygen and essential nutrients that help prevent fatigue and maintain organ function.
Prolonged sitting can lead to muscle stiffness and pain, particularly in the lower back, neck, and shoulders. Integrating simple stretches and movements into regular breaks can alleviate these discomforts.
Regularly changing your posture and taking the time to realign can also help address the musculoskeletal strain associated with sitting.
Boosting Mental Well-being
Physical activity stimulates the production of endorphins, chemicals in your brain that act as natural painkillers and mood elevators. Even brief periods of exercise during the day can lead to significant improvements in overall mood.
Activities like a brisk walk or a few minutes of yoga can help dissipate the stress and anxiety that often accompany long hours of work, creating a more cheerful and relaxed atmosphere.
Fatigue often sets in during long periods of sedentary work, leading to a decline in focus and productivity. Active breaks help combat this by re-energising your body and refreshing your mind.
Short bursts of activity, such as jumping jacks, quick walks around the office, or even some light jogging in place, can reinvigorate your senses and sharpen your cognitive functions. This renewed energy makes it easier to tackle complex tasks and maintain productivity throughout the day.
By making active breaks a regular part of your work routine, not only do you benefit from reduced physical ailments and enhanced mental health, but you also contribute to a more vibrant, energetic, and productive workplace.
Summary
Recognising the signs of excessive sitting in today's increasingly sedentary work environments is an important first step to making a change.
Prolonged inactivity range can lead to back pain and muscle stiffness and more serious health issues including cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome. It can also create challenges for our attention, reducing concentration, lowering mood, and impacting our productivity.
It is essential, therefore, to take proactive steps to counteract these effects.
Integrating active breaks into your daily routine is a simple yet effective strategy to enhance both your physical and mental wellbeing. These breaks, consisting of short periods of physical activity, not only improve circulation and reduce pain but also boost your mood and energy levels, thereby enhancing your overall productivity and engagement at work.
Start small by incorporating a few minutes of movement into every hour of your workday. Whether it’s stretching, walking, or light exercises, every movement break makes a difference to your day.
Don’t wait until you feel the strain of inactivity. Take action today.
Additional Resources
Balancing an active lifestyle with the demands of a sedentary workday presents a unique challenge—one that requires not just awareness but action.
The Active Break Workbook is your essential guide to bridging this gap, providing you with practical strategies, exercises, and insights to transform your workday from sedentary to dynamic.
In this workbook, you'll find personalised plans to introduce regular movement into your routine, overcome common barriers, and seamlessly integrate activity into your workday.
Embrace the change and make movement an integral part of your daily life.
