What Does Prolonged Sitting Syndrome Do to Your Body?

Sitting and relaxing is a good thing to do. However, if you sit for long periods at home, school, in your vehicle, or on the couch, too much of a good thing can actually be harmful to your health!

That’s because all this sitting on our buttocks for long uninterrupted periods isn’t good for us. In fact, it can be downright dangerous. Studies have shown that excess inactivity can lead to a serious condition known as prolonged sitting syndrome.

You might not have heard of prolonged sitting syndrome, but the effects it can have on your body can lead to many negative health issues from the top of your head and all the way down, including:

• Increased stress levels: If you’re sitting most of the day, you’re not benefiting from the reduced stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression that getting up and moving around can bring
• Stiff neck: Keeping your neck in one position (usually while you’re staring at a screen of some sort) can cause a stiff or sore neck
• Upper body pain: Being hunched over a computer keyboard all day, especially if you’re not using an ergonomically designed chair or workstation, is extremely unhealthy for your upper body and can result in painful premature spine degeneration
• Hip problems: By gluing ourselves to a chair, our hip flexors can shorten, which can cause problems in your hip joints
• Weakened leg muscles: The muscles in your legs and buttocks get weaker the more you sit, which can make them more prone to strain or injury, and lessen their ability to support you when you walk or run
• Appearance of varicose veins: Varicose veins are caused by the pooling of blood in your legs from inactivity, which can be dangerous on many different levels
• Weight gain: Those extra pounds will start to pile up because you’re not burning fats and sugars as efficiently as you should be when you’re not moving

As we all know, weight gain can lead to various health issues, such as hypertension and diabetes