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Writer's pictureWah Toh Tit Tar

BEWARE: Sitting for more than 6 hours a day

We spend most of our days in a sitting state especially during study and working. Irregular sitting posture can easily cause backache. What is the correct and healthy sitting posture? Can you sit for a long time if you maintain the correct sitting posture? How to relieve back pain all the time? Can the deformity of the spine be restored due to poor sitting?




How does a sedentary lifestyle affect your body?

Adolescents who do not pay attention to sitting posture can easily cause scoliosis, but more than 90% of idiopathic scoliosis is not very serious in the early stage of the onset, so the condition is easily overlooked by children and parents.


The spine of a normal person should be a straight line from the back, and the trunk is symmetrical on both sides. If the spine is damaged during the growth and development of adolescents and children, and it is not treated in time and effectively, the spine will show s-shaped or c-shaped scoliosis. For children and adolescents with spinal injuries, parents and schools should pay attention to avoid scoliosis. Therefore, if parents see that the child has unequal shoulders from the front or sees that the back is not right or left, they should be suspected of "scoliosis", and pay attention to it, correct and treat it in time.


When it comes to preventing scoliosis and lordosis, many parents mistakenly think that it is enough to keep their children in a good sitting posture after school. 


In fact, parents should pay attention to the following four points when they are infancy:

1. Don't let the child sit for a long time;

2. Correct the children sit upright, do not slouch on the bed/sofa crookedly;

3. The height of the table and chairs for children to read and eat should be suitable for his height;

4. Don't let children participate in high-intensity exercise prematurely.

Is sitting really so dangerous?

After sitting for a long time, the body's metabolism will be reduced to the lowest state, the blood flow is slow, and the joint mobility is reduced, which brings all kinds of troubles such as backache, fat accumulation, edema and so on.


Research published in the journal Nature (China,2017) shows that sitting more than 6 hours a day for more than a year will increase body weight significantly and increase blood lipids accordingly. Women will also lose bone at a rate of 1% per year. If you sit for more than 6 hours a day for 10 years-the lifespan may be reduced by up to 7 years, the probability of dying from cardiovascular disease is increased by 64%, and the probability of breast cancer and prostate cancer is increased by 30%.


Office workers are often unable to escape sedentary, keep an eye on the following two points can reduce the harm of sedentary to the human body:


Every hour of sitting, even in the correct sitting posture, you must stand up for a few minutes;


Keep exercising for about 30 minutes every day.


The PROPER sitting posture: 

1. Open your legs and lean your waist;

2. With your shoulders back and your elbows flat;

3. Chin lifted slightly, eyes flat.





Source:

Picture: freepik.com


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