Are You Sitting Too Much?

This may come as a surprise, but you can over sit. Yes, you can sit too much and this over excessive sitting can damage your back, and maybe your neck… long term.

 

Take a minute to think about how often you’re sitting each day to determine if it could be leading to some of your neck and back problems. If you’re at work and you’re sitting at a computer let’s say, you’re probably sitting too much. That would mean you’re “over sitting” and you need to change something up to stay healthy.

 

It’s commonly accepted among back experts that lower back pain is related to prolonged sitting. And let’s face it, in today’s world we spend plenty of time during our day doing exactly that—we sit in the car, especially if you commute, we sit most of the day at work (computers are killers if you know what I mean) and we even find a comfy spot and sit to watch television after our workday is over and usually we sit there through at least a couple of hours of programming.

 

It seems that the only time we’re not sitting is when we’re moving from one location to the next. I hate to tell you this, but it is the truth.

 

Because this is how we’re living with today’s busy society, it should come as no surprise to you that back pain can be a pretty common problem. Our chairs and car seats can reek havoc on our backs.

 

I heard something and I’m going to share it with you now. They said that Sitting is the New Smoking. Now I know that sounds crazy, but here’s what the means to you. While we’re not suggesting that you stop sitting, what you should do is take some simple steps to minimize the impact by making your environment more back friendly.

 

Here are a few suggestions:

 

  • Take interval breaks throughout your day and one of the easiest ways to do this is by using your smartphone to prompt you.

 

  • Change your position as often as you sensibly can and if you’re in an office setting, set your timer on our smartphone to prompt you like I said.

 

  • Get up and walk every 45 minutes even if you just visit the restroom and come back.

 

  • Stretch your spine throughout the day, and the easiest way to do that is to stretch it like you would at a yoga session, but if you don’t know how to do that, Goggle it. There are many free online stretching apps and videos.