Sedentary lifestyle: a bad habit for your health

If you spend most of your time in front of the computer working or if you are driving from home to work and vice-versa and complement it with a few hours in front of the TV, then you may have sitting disease. This is a fairly new concept for sedentary lifestyle that may put your health at risk. A growing number of research studies shows that long periods of physical inactivity raise your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity. Combating the “sitting disease” may be challenging for most of us, when our job involves sitting at the desk, but there are a few ways that can help us become more physically active. Here is a list of useful tips put together by WebMD that may help get yourself moving: (1) Mixing standing and sitting: Sitting constantly is unhealthy, but standing still for long stretches of time can cause problems, too, such as a bad back or sore feet. Its better to frequently shift between sitting and standing(2) Take regular breaks: Starting physical exercise with small goals such as stretching up t 6 times a day can help you notice a difference (3) Adopting new habits: Standing uses more muscles and burns more calories than sitting, so train yourself to stand whenever you talk on the telephone. Pace during staff meetings if your boss will allow it. Ask friends to go for a walk during lunch instead of chatting in the break room. Use the stairs instead of the elevator(4) Embrace new technology: Telecommute from a park on a sunny day, or walk around outside while participating in a conference call. (5) Rethink your commute. Its dangerous to try to exercise while youre driving, but if you take a bus or train to work, you can stand, clench, and relax your muscles or get off a stop early and walk several blocks(6) Watch more television if you vow to be active when you watch: use a treadmill, march in place or tidy the room while watching TV...

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