Sitting is one of the most common activities humans do. We spend hours, even days, in our chairs at work and home. Most of the time, we don’t even realize just how much those sitting moments affect our health. But in fact there are some specific ways that sitting in a chair can negatively impact your health. If you spend long hours sitting at work or at home, then you know how difficult it can be to maintain good posture for extended periods of time. Luckily there are solutions available that you can use to help keep your back healthy while keeping any back pain away from you. In this article we will explore the habits that make your sit more unhealthy and provide tips on how to change that so your next sit will be healthier than before.

The Health Benefits of Sitting

Sitting is one of the most common activities that humans do. It is estimated that humans spend upwards of 70% of their waking hours sitting. It is also estimated that about 30% of people experience back pain at some point in their lives. Sitting is also believed to have been one of the first activities that humans began to evolve from animals. It is believed that early humans used sitting as a way to socialize with one another and for bonding. Sitting, then, may be one of the health benefits of sitting, but what are these benefits? Here are a few of the more commonly cited health advantages of sitting: -Maintaining a Healthy Body Weight -Sitting can contribute to a healthy body weight due to the fact that it burns an average of 3 calories per minute. For example, if you sit quietly at a desk for an hour, you will have burned approximately 180 calories. If you are looking to maintain your weight, sitting is an efficient way to do it.

How Sitting Physically Damages Your Back

Sitting, like almost any activity, has the potential to cause damage to your back. While some benefits of sitting such as maintaining a healthy body weight can be positive, other potentially negative aspects of sitting can be damaging to your back. The most immediately damaging aspect of sitting is improper sitting posture. “Sitting posture” is the term used to describe how you are sitting, and it is considered to be the most unhelpful way to sit. Sitting with your back curved, your shoulders rounded forward, and your hips rounded backwards will place your lower back in a position that is extremely at risk for injury. Your lower back is made up of bones, joints, and ligaments, which are all susceptible to damage from various activities that we perform throughout the day. When sitting, if you put it into a position of stress, the bones, joints, and ligament can get damaged, potentially causing pain and discomfort.

The Bad Habits That Make Your Sit More Unhealthy

There are a few bad habits that make your sit more unhealthy than it has to be. Some of these bad habits include: Poor Posture - What we just discussed as the damaging aspect of sitting posture also applies to poor posture. If you are sitting with poor posture, you are placing a significant amount of pressure on your back, joints, and ligaments. Long Hours - Long hours spent sitting can cause damage to your body due to the strain that your muscles and joints are experiencing while you are sitting. Long hours sitting on your feet or lower back, for example, can cause damage to your muscles and joints due to the strain of the activity.

Tips on How to Sit Healthier in the Future

- Switch up your sitting habits- Try switching up your sitting habits to make your sit more healthy. For example, if you are mostly sitting at your desk, then get up and walk around the office or stand up and walk around the room for a few minutes. This can help to stimulate blood flow to your body and reduce the strain on your muscles and joints due to the inactivity. - Keep your feet elevated - Keeping your feet elevated while sitting can help to reduce the damage caused by sitting. This can be done by sitting on a stool that has an elevated seat or by sitting on an elevated kitchen counter or table.

Conclusion

Sitting can be one of the health benefits of sitting. There are several bad habits that make your sit more unhealthy than it has to be, such as poor posture, long hours spent sitting, and keeping your feet elevated while sitting. You can change those habits to make your sit healthier by switching up your sitting habits and keeping your feet elevated while sitting. There are several potential health benefits of sitting, such as maintaining a healthy body weight and burning an average of 3 calories per minute while doing so, and how sitting physically damages your back if you don’t take care to sit correctly.