It has been three weeks since the nation-wide lockdown has been mandated all over Australia due to the novel coronavirus causing the pandemic - Covid-19.
This has prompted households to go to the old telly or laptop to binge-watch and take the stress out of waiting till the lockdown is lifted. However, after three weeks of series catch-ups, Koreanovelas and themed movie-nights, you’ll be surprised to notice that a familiar shape carved on your couch – yours.
image c/o The Jakarta Post
Time to re-think this. According to experts, physical inactivity contributes to over three million preventable deaths worldwide each year (6% of all deaths.) It’s the fourth leading cause of death due to con-communicable diseases. According to studies excessive sitting contributing to a sedentary lifestyle increasing the possibility of getting the following cardiovascular diseases, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cancer (specifically breast and colon cancers).
Moving your muscles helps your body digest the food that you eat guaranteeing that your body absorbs all the nutrients that it needs and that the fats and sugars are digested properly. When digestion is not at its optimum function, you retain those sugars and fats in your body.
Prolonged sitting may also cause clots in your leg veins which when left untreated cuts off the blood flow to other parts of the body, including the lungs which can cause a pulmonary embolism. Aside from the seemingly harmless stiffness of the neck and the shoulders, it can contribute to more painful results arising from possible herniated discs and spine degeneration.
So before this becomes an issue that you will regret, here are some tips that you can do to make sure that you break the sedentary cycle that you may be caught up in right now:
Make sure you sit properly while you watch TV. Always focus on your spine. Make sure that you sit upright and not slouched into the couch. You can also research on yoga poses that you can do to make sure that your spine is in the correct position.
Stand up and do some ironing while watching. Hit two birds with one stone. Get your ironing board and set it up in front of the TV while watching your favourite series.
Have a binge-watching break. Find time to stop what you’re watching, stand-up and walk around. You can set a timer to remind you or you can stop after a set number of episodes. This way, you can check on other things – like the dishes waiting to be washed.
Walk while talking to friends on the phone. On your break, call back your friends and walk while talking to them. Go up and down the driveway to give your leg muscles a work-out while connecting to a friend.
Remember that this lockdown is temporary, and you don’t want to get permanent damage on your body by wasting away on your couch.
Keep safe and be healthy.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/49518-sitting-cancer-heart-risk.html
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/the-dangers-of-sitting