In the age of technological progress, when new inventions can significantly simplify a person’s life, freeing him from physical exertion, more and more people spend their time at the computer or relax lying in front of the TV. It is less common to meet children in playgrounds. Fewer teenagers are involved in sports clubs. This activity is called a sedentary lifestyle and is characterized by minimal and irregular physical activity.
What Is Sedentary Lifestyle
A sedentary lifestyle (lack of activity) is one of the most acute problems in the modern world, which negatively affects the human condition, can cause many serious diseases and even death. Changing the habit of moving a little, starting to play sports, or at least daily in the morning to do exercises or walk to work, prevents laziness in a person.
As a result, physical activity today turns into a real feat. Grayer faces, obese figures, and lethargy of movements are found on the street. Among young people, the number of chronic diseases with which older people used to be sick is increasing every year. All these are the results of the negative impact of sedentary life on a modern person. In this article, we will take a closer look at how a sedentary lifestyle affects human health.
Impact Of A Sedentary Lifestyle On Health
If you often stay in a sitting position or lying on the couch, then this can have an extremely negative effect on health. It can lead to the emergence of a variety of pathologies and the development of serious diseases and habits.
1. Obesity
Refusal from activity and sports has a bad effect on the figure and provokes an increase in body weight. With the lack of motor activity, the metabolism in the body slows down and the number of calories burned decreases. As a result, the excess calories are deposited as fat.
Therefore, the body loses its elasticity and various diseases appear:
- Diseases of the heart and blood vessels
- Diabetes
- Diseases of the genitourinary system
- Bone pathology
- Mental disorders due to decreased self-esteem and depression
Any load, on the contrary, will help maintain a normal weight, keep the body in good shape, and increase self-confidence.
2. Habit of Drinking Alcohol
A sedentary lifestyle not only increases various health problems but also leads to the development of bad habits. The most common of which is; alcohol abuse. According to John Hopkins, a sedentary lifestyle enhances the risk of alcohol abuse in a person.
People who lead inactive life tend to look for easy ways that can please them. By drinking alcohol, they get a feeling of relaxation. However, this feeling lasts only for a few hours.
Excessive drinking habit is extremely dangerous for health. If anyone of you suffers from this addiction, you need to get help. There are many alcoholism treatment options that are available to cure a person within a month.
3. Heart Problems
Most of all, the heart suffers from a sedentary lifestyle. People who do not exercise much and do not play sports, increase the risk of developing diseases of the organs of the cardiovascular system, for example, coronary artery disease or hypertension. Even refusal from the simplest morning exercises impairs the blood supply to organs and body systems.
The result of deterioration in blood supply is a decrease in the activity of enzymes that are responsible for burning the fat layer and the destruction of triglycerides in the blood. It provokes the formation of plaque on the walls of blood vessels.
It can cause a heart attack. Only active sports will help restore the work of the heart and circulatory system and will have a beneficial effect on the general condition of a person.
4. Muscles and Bones
With insufficient mobility of a person, lack of sports, and a decrease in activity, his body becomes weak, muscle tissue atrophies and bones become fragile. Therefore, for a person who has a sedentary lifestyle, the daily performance of elementary procedures becomes more difficult.
Also, a sedentary lifestyle and constant sitting posture lead to serious back problems:
- Violation of posture
- Osteoporosis
- Arthritis
- Rheumatism
- Fragility of bones
This is due to changes in the muscles that support the spine: they weaken and lose their elasticity.
5. Diabetes
Doing even basic exercise regularly can help keep your blood sugar levels under control. If in life a person is not active and avoids physical education and sports, this leads to an increase in blood sugar, an increase in insulin production, and the development of diabetes mellitus.
Therefore, a sedentary lifestyle is dangerous for life in general. The high sugar content also leads to strong effects on the digestive system. Therefore, people who spend most of their lives sitting suffer from colon and rectal cancer.
6. Accelerating the Aging Process
At the tips of human chromosomes are the so-called telomeres, which shorten as the body ages. And in the complete absence of any human mobility, these chromosomal regions are shortened many times faster than with an active lifestyle. As a result of which there is a manifestation of age signs and the premature appearance of aging symptoms.
7. Mental Disorders
Probably the most unpleasant consequences of a sedentary lifestyle for the body are mental disorders. Since with a decrease in a person’s activity and the absence of physical activity in his life, bodyweight increases, muscle elasticity is lost, and a person begins to treat himself with disgust and becomes insecure. As a result:
- Depression develops
- There is a feeling of anxiety
- Intellectual abilities decrease
- Memory deteriorates
And playing sports and actively improving your appearance will help increase self-esteem and belief in yourself.
8. Sleep Disturbance
A person’s sedentary lifestyle can affect sleep and its quality. The fact is that the body, in the absence of movement, practically does not feel the need for relaxation. Only the rejection of a sedentary lifestyle and regular exercise can normalize sleep and completely get rid of insomnia.
Summing Up
It is very simple to avoid the negative effects that a sedentary lifestyle has on our bodies. The main thing is to overcome laziness and start moving more. Load your body with sports or gymnastics, walk a lot, and refuse the use of the elevator. It will have a positive effect on the health of everyone: children, youth, mature, and elderly people.