Hours of sitting might sound tempting, especially if you have an 8+ hours long day that requires you to stand or move around a lot. But like many other things in life, too much of something can be bad for you. The same goes for too much sitting.
Those whose job or/and lifestyle requires spending an excessive amount of time in a seated position will tell you that they feel a lot of negative consequences of it. One of them is being incredibly tired. That’s why in this article we bring you a couple of ideas on how to give your body a proper rest after sitting all day.
Why is too much sitting bad for you?
Resting is good, but we humans aren’t built to do it too much. In fact, we were born to stand and move. Most of the systems in our body function better in standing position. And moving is more than beneficial for us – it is necessary for our bodies to stay healthy.
Additionally, when you think about our evolutional development, most of it was connected with movements. For example, hunting and agriculture in the beginning, as well as different types of manual labor humans were doing over the centuries.
Our sedentary jobs and overall lifestyle might seem like a peek at our development, as they appear desirable since you won’t get tired like when you go hunting. But it seems it’s against our nature to be that much immobile, despite the initial attraction.
So, without further ado, here are a couple of things you can do to fight the negative aspects of sitting and tiredness that follows.
Try not to sit constantly
The first thing you can do to prevent feeling tired after sitting all day is not actually after it but during it. During long periods of sitting, make sure you stand up and take breaks from it. You can walk around for a while or even do some stretching exercises if the circumstances are right and you feel up to it. You’ll immediately feel the benefits of moving your mussels as the level of overall stress will be reduced.
If you have trouble remembering to stand up and go for a stroll, you can use some of the apps to remind you. Or simply put an alarm on your phone or smartwatch to ring once every hour so that you can do your walking routine. The recommended walking time is around 10 minutes.
Another thing you can do is mind your posture while sitting. Keeping your back straight sitting (as well as standing) prevents back pain and it has an overall great impact on your body shape and tiredness.
Do some exercises that help
After a long day of sitting the best thing to do to relax and rest is to do some exercises. These are some pretty simple movements from which your muscles will benefit a lot. You don’t even need too much equipment (if any). Not to mention you can do it at home, no need for a gym visit. Here are some examples:
- Half-kneel stretch: Do a half-kneel, flatten your lower back, and inhale. While in that position, push your tights as if you’re trying to make your knees meet.
- Press up: Lie on your belly and press up with your arms while the rest of your body stays on the ground as relaxed as possible.
- Spinal twist: Sit tall on a chair with feet on the floor, your legs hip-width apart and lift through the spine and rotate. A bit ironic this one is done sitting, but what matters is that it helps.
These are some examples, but you shouldn’t stop there. There are many other options that might work better for you. Search for online videos and apps, as there are many of them created with the idea to help exercise people who sit a lot.
What else you can do
Other than moving after an interval of sitting and helping your body relax and heal with some exercises at the end of a workday, you can also get pieces of equipment that help. For example, buy an as comfortable office chair as possible. Or opt for a standing desk so that you do not sit as much while working.
When it comes to periods after working and sitting, other than exercising, you can treat yourself with a massage chair or visit a massage parlor, whatever seems easier.
Wrap up
They say sitting is the new smoking and there are many reasons for that. The good news is, it might be much easier for you to fight the consequences of too many seated hours than it is for a smoker to fight the consequences of smoking or successfully stop this deadly habit.
To give your body a proper rest after too many hours of sitting, you can do some pretty simple exercises, get equipment that helps and make standing breaks.
