According to this meta-analysis of eighteen studies which included 794,577 participants, being sedentary (usually classified as taking fewer than 3,000 steps per day) was associated with a 112 percent increased risk of diabetes and 147 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease).

 This study also compares chronic sitting with smoking and suggests a similar mortality rate!

According to Tom Rath, the bestselling author of ‘Eat, Move, Sleep,’ which sold more than 6 million copies.

Sitting more than six hours a day greatly increases your risk of early death. No matter how much you exercise, eat well, avoid smoking, or add other healthy habits, excessive sitting will cause problems.

As soon as you sit down, electrical activity in your leg muscles shuts off. The number of calories you burn drops to one per minute, and enzyme production, which helps break down fat, drops by 90 percent.

After two hours of sitting, your good cholesterol drops by 20 percent. Perhaps this explains why people with desk jobs have twice the rate of cardiovascular disease.

Another study, this conducted by Rory Heath and published in the British Medical Journal, states. 

During waking hours, 65 percent of an average person’s day is spent sedentary; that is 9–10 hours for adults. Sitting at work accounts for 60 percent of total daily sitting on a weekday, but even on weekends, people still sit for 8 hours.

*Lung cancer risk increases by 54%

*Uterine cancer risk increases by 66%

*Colon cancer risk increases by 30%

The risk of anxiety and depression is significantly higher in those who sit more, while increased activity shows better subjective mental health and vitality.

If these studies don’t scare you, I don’t what will. Being scared is good, it propels us into taking action.

Another way of looking at it is that you are no scared, but at least you are aware, you have some information that you think is useful and now the next step is to take action, otherwise there is absolutely no point acquiring this knowledge. 

Simple Changes you can make to reduce your overall sitting time and also improve your posture without any exercise.

First : Adjust How You Use Your Phone 

Most people hunch over their phones, worsening neck and back pain. Simply raising your phone to eye level can make a significant difference.

Second: Use a Sit-Stand Desk

My setup is pretty elaborate. Of course, I have been working from home for more than years now and this is the result. However, it was not always like this.

Earlier I used to figure ways out. In Hindi, the word is Jugaad. I used various props that helped me alternate between sit and stand. If you have a desk job, you will be in front of the screen 6-7 hours at least.

So the idea is to alternate between sitting and standing every 10-20 minutes. Any new position is better than the old one.

For example: Right now I am sitting, now I am standing. Now I am standing in a unique stance. The idea is to keep changing your posture. Standing for long hours is also not good. Overtime, you will find your sweet spot. 

The other thing is to elevate your screen. As you can see I am using a small wooden table to elevate both my screens. Because of this step my back pain, my neck pain is close to zero. 

Most of your postural problems will reduce significantly if you start to follow these two steps. 

In addition, this 5 min simple yet effective stretching and mobility routine will help you lot as well. It’s divided into three parts

A simple 5 min effective stretching routine you can do a few times a day to improve your posture.

Part 1-Activate your feet

Your strength builds from ground up. Strengthen your foundation and that is your feet. I had a flat feet since childhood which has caused me a lot of joint issues in the past few years.

*Golf Ball Rolls: I  keep a golf ball handy and for couple of minutes roll it under both my feet everyday. This increases blood circulation. 

*Strengthen My Tiabialis: I strengthen my tibialis. The tibialis anterior is a muscle that helps with foot movement and ankle stability. Strengthening it has also largely helped me with my flat feet. 

*Squat On Your Toes: A powerful practice that you can do is to always squat on your toes whenever you are doing this movement. This will bulletproof your overall foot strength 

Your posture will improve once you start to activate your feet. Do these drills at least 5 days a week. It takes less than 10 min but will have a solid impact on your overall posture. 

Part2-Take Care Of Your Hips And Hip flexors

When you sit a lot, your hip flexors are in the flexed position and they get super tight. This causes an anterior pelvic tilt which is harmful for your posture. A great exercise to open up your hip flexors is the cresent pose. Do these for a few minutes everyday to open up your hip flexors. 

Hip strengthening excises are also important. A common cause of lower back pain are weak hips. Glute bridge, squats, are effective movements by which you can build hip strength.

Within weeks you’ll notice that your lower back pain will start to reduce as your hip strength starts to increase. 

Most people have tight chest musculature and weak upper backs.

The best movement are pipe rotations. Do them slowly. You can also use a band to do this movement.

The next movement is my favourite and very effective at stretching a lot of your musculature including your shoulders, chest, forearms and wrist. They are called door holds. 1 min hold each side is the way to do them. Long Static holds give good results. 

Neck Stretches

The front part of your neck gets very tight because we use our phone in a flexed position. So it’s important to stretch the front neck with this simple hold. At least 90 sec hold. Maintain breathing with the hold. 

It’s a good idea to strengthen your neck with neck flexion exercises. 

It’s important to do these exercises slowly and mindfully. Stretch till the point of slight discomfort. Maintain breathing. Never overstretch and if you are sore the next day, allow 1-2 days for your muscles to recover. 

Make sure to read the other article on Poor Posture leading to Shallow breathing, Breathing | Three Beginner-Friendly Breathing Techniques

I have share a few powerful breathing techniques that will help you boost your energy levels and therefore your health. Oxygen is the most alkaline substance on planet earth.

As shallow breather we are accelerating our aging, being mindful about our breathing and training ourselves to breathe deep and effectively can have a profound effect on our health. 

Thank You.

Stay healthy, Stay fabulous!