How to Avoid 'Sitting Disease'

Being heart healthy means moving around

Do you have “sitting disease”? According to the American College of Cardiology, sitting is the new smoking! Too much sitting can be bad for your health, even if you exercise regularly.

Try to move more and sit less. This can help reduce many types of cardiovascular disease like heart attacks, stroke, peripheral artery disease, and coronary heart disease.

Exercise can lower blood pressure, lower bad cholesterol, improve circulation, and reduce body weight. It also helps maintain the right balance of hormones to reduce the inflammation that leads to the fatty buildup in your arteries.

In addition to improving heart health exercise can also:

• Improve mood and reduce depression by boosting “feel-good” hormones.
• Promote sleep.
• Improve sex drive.
• Keep stress levels in check.
• Build lean muscle mass, which helps you burn calories even when not exercising.
• Improves balance and prevents falls.
• Lowers blood sugar levels, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Prevent osteoporosis and arthritis.
• Prevents some types of cancer.

How much should you exercise?

According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, written by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, you should aim for 2 1/2 hours of moderate intensity exercise plus two strength training sessions a week. I know I struggle along with many others to carve out time each week to meet these requirements. In this month’s American College of Cardiology “Cardiology Magazine” two studies were highlighted. They outlined a benefit to breaking up these minutes and making them part of daily life. Even moving for just 5 minutes every 30 minutes led to measurable benefits. This can be as simple as walking around your house or office swinging your arms, dancing to music, gardening, or doing household chores.

Think of three ways you can break up the time you spend sitting each day to promote moving more and sitting less.

• Stand up and walk around the room while participating in conference calls.
• If working from home, do burst chores like vacuuming a room or sweeping a floor throughout the day.
• Set an alarm or utilize activity trackers to remind you be too active once an hour.
• Follow an exercise app such as wall Pilates strength training that offer short workouts that can be done without any equipment.

More heart smart education can be found on the American College of Cardiology “CardioSmart” webpage.

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