Sitting Is Not the New Smoking Anymore

 

“I like to write standing up to reduce the old belly, and because you have more vitality on your feet. Whoever went 10 rounds sitting on his ass?” ~ Ernest Hemingway

 

After an admittedly brief online search, the earliest date to which I can attribute the phrase “sitting is the new smoking” is in the early 2000’s by Dr. James Levine, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic. I use this phrase frequently and pledge to stop doing so, because I cannot in good conscience pretend that what was identified 24 years ago is still new.

 

Prolonged sitting can be hazardous to our health in a variety of ways. This is not news anymore. Some of the key health risks include increased risk of cardiovascular disease, weight gain and obesity, increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, poor posture and musculoskeletal problems, increased risk of cancer, mental health decline, premature mortality, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and possibly more.

 

I’ve owned a standing desk for a decade—the emphasis on own. I take breaks from my chair throughout the day; stretch every morning and most evenings; am back on track to a regular yoga schedule; focus my workouts on strength and mobility training; and integrate chiropractic visits and massage therapy sessions into my schedule as often as possible. Throughout my day in the office, I frequently push my chair away and do alternate kneeling hip flexor stretches on a comfortable pad with elbows comfortably propped on the desk while working.

 

I eat small portions of a healthy and balanced diet and maintain consistent hydration. I’m in better than average shape for my age, and with all of this effort, I still feel the negative effects of prolonged sitting. It just plain hurts after I spend a day at the desk. I’ve also relinquished my quest to find a magic chair that will make a difference and ease the discomfort that sitting causes.

 

I’m not complaining. Well, maybe I am. In spite of the frustration, I’m grateful. I wonder what my body would feel like if I was doing none of the things I just mentioned. I’m grateful for the opportunities I take to move my body and am grateful for the additional information available in this issue to help all of us strive for a healthy body, including massage therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic, ergonomics, cold plunges, cryotherapy and a perspective on reflective aging.

 

Thank you for joining us this month on the path to feeling good, living simply and laughing more.

"By too much sitting still the body becomes unhealthy: and soon the mind. This is nature's law." ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1839