Demolish your body? Stay put!

Sitting is the new smoking. Sounds heavy, doesn't it? But there is a grain of truth in it. In this blog we tell you what (too) much sitting does to your body and what you should do better.

We're not built for it
And yet we do it and we do it a lot. Behind your computer, during lunch at the table, in the car, on the couch in front of the TV, during a meeting. We sit down a lot. In fact, compared to other Europeans, we Dutch do the most. Of course it's nice to just plop down, but it's not healthy.

The effects of too much sitting
The effects of too much sitting on your body are not negligible. To name but a few examples:

• Loss of condition and muscle mass
  When you sit you hardly use your muscles. This does not benefit your muscle mass and condition.

• And that in turn has an effect on your insulin
  Because if you don't use your muscles enough, your insulin will not work as well and the sugar in your blood will be absorbed less efficiently. In the long term, too much sitting even increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.

• Too little blood circulation
  It causes less blood circulation in your body. Sufficient blood circulation is important to supply all your organs with oxygen and nutrients. Have you ever noticed that you feel dull after sitting for a while? Just sayin'....

• Reduced fat burning
  The enzyme lipoprotein lipase (LPL) breaks down fat in our blood. If you sit too much, your body makes less LPL, so you burn less fat.

• Back and neck problems
  Take a look at yourself, you probably sit with a hunched back and drooping shoulders. Understandable, because sitting upright requires considerable focus and effort. But this crooked posture causes incorrect pressure on your spinal discs, your spine and the surrounding muscles. In the long run this will cause permanent back and neck problems.

• Less strong bones
  Good, weight-bearing loads on your bones are essential for keeping your bones strong. With too little movement and load, your bones don't get enough signals and stimulation to stay strong.

Get up! Tips for sitting less
Well, it's clear to you: you need to get up! Stand more, sit less. But how?

• Meeting or phone call? Conduct it while standing!
• Get 3x a glass of water instead of 1x a carafe.
• Go for a walk during your lunch.
• Don't feel like walking for lunch? Then at least have lunch at a standing table.
• Walk up to a colleague instead of emailing or chatting.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

And our own favourite: a Desk TreadMill. This treadmill and desk in one shines at our office. It allows us to have meetings, make phone calls or just type this blog while we are walking.