Do you work sitting all day? Take care of your health

This text was written by a TecMundo columnist; Learn more at the end.

The world is more settled than ever before. Chairs are everywhere and our brain does not hesitate to use them, saving energy. Sitting is comfortable, but excessive sitting is harmful to human health. In Caroline Williams’ book “To move” highlights We spent most of the last century inventing technologies that made movement unnecessary.

We were very effective in this, but we paid the price with our health.

Understand the relationship between sedentary behavior and health, learn about one sports equipment brand’s research, and learn how you can minimize the risks to your health of spending too much time per day sitting.

Sedentary behavior: one of the evils of the century

Sedentary behavior consists of body positions with low energy expenditure, such as sitting, lying down, or lying down (without sleeping).

When researchers investigated why we sit for so long, they realized there was a social norm: Spending more time sitting is thought to be the best strategy for being productive; more productive, as if an individual were sitting there for hours at a time. What we have now discovered is that this is not the case.

All studies that objectively measured time spent sitting found that sitting for more than 6 to 8 hours per day was associated with the development of health problems in adults. Excessive sitting time has been linked to at least 35 ailments and dangerous health conditions.

Does the new resident smoke?

You may have heard the saying, “Sitting is the new smoking.” But this is not true. When we analyze the evidence on the harms of sedentary behavior compared to the harms of smoking, there is a very large risk of smoking in the chair.

While smoking causes 2,000 excess deaths per 100,000 people per year, only 190 excess deaths occur per 100,000 people who spend long periods of time sitting. However, sitting for long periods of time is also harmful to your health..

ASICS experiment with office breaks

ASICS’ research found that mental status scores (a measure of mental health) began to drop after just two hours of continuous sitting, and stress scores increased significantly after four hours, highlighting the need to take regular breaks to refresh yourself.

For two weeks, 80 workers from 16 countries participated in an experiment. They worked non-stop for the first week, without a break. The second included daily work breaks during which they exercised for 15 minutes.

Pausing with body movements improved participants’ mental state by 22%. Confidence increased by 13%, anxiety levels decreased by 12%, and perceived stress levels decreased by 14%.

Productivity increased by 33% and focus by 28%; This reveals the impact of just 15 minutes of exercise on performance during the workday. In another study, Asics had already discovered the minimum duration of physical activity for a boost in mood: just 15 minutes and 9 seconds!

In addition to determining the mental effects of physical activity on desk workers, the experiment also investigated the effect of movement on brain activity using electroencephalography. After exercise, activity in the frontal, central, and limbic regions of the brain increased, leading to improved focus, reduced stress, and a better sense of calm. We actually activate interesting brain regions when we move.

#DeskBreak was created to promote the campaign on social media; A movement that takes a 15-minute break from sitting, takes a photo of the empty table and shares it on social media. With each photo shared, 5 euros will be collected for charity. Find out how to join here.

Asics argues: ““Your desk may pose a danger to your mental health.”So ““Use your right to move your mind”campaign statement. A practical tip to naturally interrupt sitting time is to drink plenty of water; because the natural urge to go to the bathroom will cause you to get up from your chair and take a few steps, in addition to dehydration. A double dose of health.

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Fábio Dominski He holds a PhD in Human Movement Sciences and a degree in Physical Education from Santa Catarina State University (UDESC). He is a university professor and researcher at the Laboratory of Sport and Exercise Psychology (LAPE/UDESC). he does scientific dissemination on social media and in podcast available on Spotify. Author of Physical Exercise and Science – Facts and Myths.