Sitting Is The New Smoking

Sitting Is the New Smoking

Lets face it! We here in Vancouver, and North America sit a lot! Despite having an active and engaged community of people here on the west coast, the truth is two thirds of North Americans sit for part, if not all of their work days. That’s a lot of time sitting!

On top of that, if we aren’t adjusting our posture regularly, many of us experience significant discomfort as a result – opening the door for many other MSK issues.

Some hazards of a sedentary lifestyle include metabolic problems, type 2 diabetic and according to Mayo Clinic cardiologist Martha Grogan, “for people who sit most of the day, their risk of heart attack is about the same as smoking.” 

BUT! There is good news! By getting up and moving more, and by being proactive about how much time you spend sitting, you have many opportunities to counter these harmful effects!

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada recommends at least thirty minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity—such as brisk walking or bike riding—at least five days out of the week.

If you work Monday to Friday, consider adding a few steps to your commute, or taking two 15 minute walk breaks each workday.

In addition, our friends at the Canadian Chiropractic Association have compiles some helpful tops to help break up our sitting time during the day:

  • Create a schedule to remind you to stand up and move. Programming your day can help you stick to something you may otherwise forget to do. A good goal is 5–10 minutes of activity per hour. For example, if you have a job that involves sitting most of the day, plan to spend five minutes every hour up from your chair and moving around the office (like getting coffee, walking around the building, or taking a restroom break) and spend the other five minutes doing stretches.
  • Walk around on your lunch break. Invite coworkers from your office to go for a walk with you at lunch. You can check out a nearby park or take a new route around the neighbourhood.
  • Park further away and walk. Whether you’re running errands or parking at work, you can choose to park further away and walk those extra few steps to your destination.
  • Walk around the house while talking on the phone or during commercial breaks of your favourite show. You might find other opportunities throughout the day too!

Little changes can go a long way to improve your posture and decrease a number of health risks.

A visit with your Vancouver Chiropractors Dr. Tyler Hunsberger and Dr. Jerry Wright is always another proactive step you can take to get control of your MSK health! Routine adjustments can easy the load of long days sitting at the office or at home.

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