You might have heard of the phrases like sedentary or inactive career or lifestyle. This kind of lifestyle refers to living a life with a lot of sitting and lying down, with only a bit or no movement or exercise. So, are you also having a sedentary career? Does your job require long hours of just sitting in one place?
For example, you have to sit for almost 8 hours a day in office jobs. Similarly, during the pandemic, most of us have to work from home, where we have to stay in a place with no potential physical activities or movements. Lack of physical activities and exercise undoubtedly have adverse effects on your physical and mental health. In addition, individuals having a sedentary career are prone to medical issues like MSDs or Musculoskeletal disorders.
Is there a relation between a sedentary career and severe health issues?
Yes, there is a direct relationship between sedentary work and bad health outcomes. Several studies have shown that you might face bad health conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and even diabetes when you sit for long hours.
Being highly sedentary for long periods harms blood circulation. Movement is necessary for eliminating toxins from the body. So, if you even shift your position at your workplace, this could be counted as a bit of activity and could help improve your circulation. So, trying to take some breaks during work and moving around can be helpful.
How does a sedentary job affect your heart health?
Being sedentary for long hours can cause heart disease. Heart disease can be referred to as a cardiovascular disorder that harms the structure and function of your heart. Moreover, people with sedentary jobs or lifestyles face high blood pressure at a relatively higher rate than those with an active lifestyle.
Hypertension or high blood pressure is the root cause of many heart diseases. Your body contains good cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and bad cholesterol, called LDL cholesterol. Having a sedentary career may diminish HDL cholesterol supply. As a result, the excellent cholesterol fails to remove the bad cholesterol from the body. And this accumulation of bad cholesterol within the body is a potential root cause of various heart diseases.
A sedentary lifestyle affects mental health and causes hormonal imbalances.
An inactive lifestyle, poor diet, addiction to technology, and less social interaction, are all means that contribute to significant mental health problems. What is mental health all about? It is all about a proper balance of hormones that affect your brain, like serotonin, endorphins, and dopamine. When you keep sitting for long periods, the levels of hormones become low, and you start to feel depressed. Anxiety and chronic stress are the main factors that lead to an imbalance in your hormones. A routine of exercise, such as running, brisk walking, jogging, swimming, etc., helps you fight depression and anxiety, thus helping you develop a sense of well-being and balanced hormones.
Furthermore, a sedentary career can negatively affect your metabolism and cause hypothyroidism. The thyroid glands are responsible for regulating our growth hormones and allow your body to repair itself from daily stress. Hypothyroidism causes your body to produce low growth hormones, and the metabolic rate of various body functions is affected. Furthermore, low growth hormones also cause weight gain, trouble sleeping, and problems like hair loss.
Combat a sedentary lifestyle, and give your body healthy stress.
A sedentary lifestyle or job comes with many health issues, which might become severe. You need to adequately stress your mind and body in a healthy way to provide your body with the stimulus it needs to thrive. Providing your body with healthy stresses helps prevent chronic problems that may appear sooner or later in your sedentary career.
So, if you have to sit for long hours during your job, there are a few ways you can help yourself by including some activities in your lifestyle. First, it will help if you take frequent breaks from sitting at least every hour in one place. You can remind yourself that it’s time to take a break and take a short walk. Allow your blood to circulate. Moreover, you may invest in a standing desk. Take stairs, no elevators. You can park your vehicle a bit far, so you have to walk a few steps to get to it. And sometimes, you may also try walking to your workplace, or you can use a bicycle or a bike. Sounds fun?
Everything you eat and every activity you perform impacts your hormones. When your hormones are disturbed, the functions of your whole body are affected. To learn more about hormonal imbalances and their effects, visit our site Fantastic Life, created by expert naturopaths and nutritionists. After all, it is your responsibility to learn, understand, and take care of your body, to lead a healthy and happy life.