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Sedentary Lifestyle: Dangers and Solutions

Hello FlokqSeptember 15, 2021

Since social distancing and WFH were introduced, a sedentary lifestyle has become a common phenomenon. Sedentary lifestyle literally means ‘sedentary lifestyle’. This term refers to a lifestyle that involves more sitting or problems at one point in a long period of time than being active. According to the ‘Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Trusted Source’, adults need to be active for at least 150 minutes a week.

If these goals are not achieved, you will be at risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer, heart disease, and even death. This is caused by a decrease in metabolism due to lack of physical activity. This decrease then affects the body’s ability to control blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and the breakdown of fat. The following is an elaboration of the risks of a sedentary lifestyle and its solutions:

Dangers

1. Obesity

Obesity is a term that refers to the condition of excess weakness in the body. This condition occurs if the calories you consume are more than the calories into energy. This is usually caused by genes, overeating, consuming excess fatty foods, and being physically inactive. Excess fat also triggers the potential for diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer, and arthritis.

2. High Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is the force of your blood to push against artery walls. The heart beats to pump blood into the arteries. Your blood pressure can rise and fall to suit your body’s condition. If your blood pressure remains high over time, your heart will pump harder and may cause serious health problems such as heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney failure.

3. High Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in every cell in the body. Your body needs some cholesterol to produce hormones, vitamin D, and digestive substances. The body makes all the cholesterol it needs, it can also be found from animal sources such as egg yolks, meat, and cheese.

However, excess cholesterol can combine with other substances in the blood and form plaques. Plaque sticks to the walls of your arteries and results in atherosclerosis. This is what causes coronary artery disease that interferes with your blood flow.

4. Type 2 Diabetes

You will develop this diabetes if your blood glucose or blood sugar levels are too high. Glucose is your main source of energy, and insulin helps glucose get into the body’s cells. Diabetes interferes with the way insulin works and glucose stays in your blood. Too much glucose in your blood can cause health problems. With a sedentary lifestyle, you can unknowingly trigger this disease.

5. Osteoporosis

This disease can rarely be detected early. Osteoporosis is a disease that thins and weakens bones. Your bones become brittle and break easily, especially the hip, spine, and wrist bones. In the United States, millions of people already have osteoporosis or are at high risk due to low bone mass.

Solutions

1. Walk More

Some research suggests walking for 30 minutes per day to reduce the potential for heart attacks. If you don’t have that time, walking for 5 minutes can also balance the stiffness of the body after sitting all day. You can practice it by walking to work or up and down the stairs of your house. An afternoon walk in the park complex is also good for your health.

2. Stand Up

You can also stand for a few moments every 20 minutes if you don’t have time to walk around. In order not to interrupt your work, you can do work such as follow-up that can be done via cellphone or while waiting for a print file. If your job involves typing on a laptop more, you can place your laptop on a stack of flat objects such as thick books up to a height you can comfortably reach when standing. A table with an adjustable height can also be a good solution for your sedentary lifestyle.

3. Chores

During WFH, of course, you are more likely to be at home. You can balance your sitting and lying time by sweeping, taking out the trash, cleaning the ceiling dust, to the part under your bed. Maybe rearrange your wardrobe? Or rearrange the position of your living room furniture. Whatever you can do at the time, do it.

4. Home Gym

You can try exercising yourself at home. With just a yoga mat and running shoes, you can turn your room into a personal gym. Starting from push-ups, sit-ups, planks, to strenuous exercises such as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). If you’re bored, you can look up workout routines and forms from YouTuber trainers like Chloe Ting and Frasser Wilson who provide workout videos for free. You can even find lots of easy exercises that will be very beneficial for your health.

5. Ditch the Car

With the ease of online motorcycle taxi applications, you can order a motorbike or car from and to wherever you want. This lifestyle is easier than walking to your destination, but also more dangerous for your health. If you have a sedentary lifestyle, you can balance it by walking to your destination whenever possible. Like a mini market which is 300 m from your house, or a 10 minute walk to the bus station.

It doesn’t matter if you like office work that involves more desk work, but you also have to pay attention to your health. You can start by adopting healthy habits and consuming lots of important nutritious foods. Happy WFH!

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