Great Video Spreading Awareness of the Dangers of Sitting—Part I

I stumbled across two videos that did a great job explaining the dangers of sitting. This blog will highlight the first video, and our next blog will do the same for the second video. 

Video 1: Why Sitting is Bad for You

Viewing Time: 5:05 min.

Views: 974,462

This awesome video is part of the TedEd Lessons Worth Sharing series. In the video Murat Dalkilinc investigates the hidden risks of sitting down. Not only is the video animation engaging but also the video is really educational and covers a lot of points that have not been mentioned in other articles and media coverage. It’s only five minutes of your time and definitely well worth the watch. Here are a few of the key points from the video:

• The longer you stay put, the more agitated your body becomes. It sits there counting down the moments until you stand up again and take it for a walk.
• The human body is built to move, and you can see evidence of that in the way it’s structured. Inside us are over 360 joints and about 700 skeletal muscles that enable easy, fluid motion.
• Our body depends on us moving around to be able to circulate properly. Our nerve cells benefit from movement, and our skin is elastic, meaning it molds to our motions.
• A common way of sitting is with a curved back and slumped shoulders, a position that puts uneven pressure on your spine. Over time, this causes wear and tear in your spinal discs, overworks certain ligaments and joints, and puts strain on muscles that stretch to accommodate your back’s curved position.
• Sitting for long periods also temporarily deactivates lipoprotein lipase, a special enzyme in the walls of blood capillaries that breaks down fats in the blood, so when you sit you’re not burning fat nearly as well as when you move around.
• Being stationary reduces blood flow and the amount of oxygen entering your blood stream through your lungs. Your brain requires both of those things to remain alert, so your concentration levels will most likely dip as your brain activity slows.
• Researchers have worked out that, worldwide, inactivity causes about 9% of premature deaths a year. That’s over 5 million people.
• So what seems like such a harmless habit actually has the power to change our health.

One of the shortcomings of the video is it doesn’t cover practical solutions that can help people avoid prolonged periods of sitting. Standee Co. offers some great, in expensive solutions including stand-up desks and anti-fatigue mats.