What prolonged sitting does to your body and brain.

In an age of sedentary desk based work, avoiding sitting for prolonged periods is almost impossible for most of us. But why is sitting so bad for us and what can we do about it?

Before we dive into what happens to our bodies when we’re sitting, it’s useful to look at what a lack of movement does to our brains. Brain evolution can be seen as an outcome of movement. To survive, we had to forage and hunt for food, so our brains adapted in response to the physical activity involved in looking for food.

Movement is a stimulus to the brain! Have you ever noticed how going on a walk brings a fresh thought or insight to a problem you couldn’t solve sitting at your desk looking at your screen?

Movement also affects our well-being and mood. Muscles in action release chemicals into our bloodstream that reduce inflammation, improve immune and cardiovascular health while anti-depressants lift our mood.

So how does sitting affect our muscles and bones?

Most of us round our shoulders, with our chests caving inwards. Our abdominal and back muscles are under used and we often unintentionally stick our chins out when looking at a screen, causing our necks to curve excessively.

How can yoga alleviate the effects of sitting for a long time?

Yoga poses that arch our backs ‘widen’ the chest and ‘open’ the armpits, while poses like lunges stretch and lengthen the front thigh and hip which are held in a shortened position when sitting. Any movement is a good antidote to sitting, but one of yoga’s special tools is proprioception or awareness of the position of the body in space.

Body awareness is not about ‘improving’ posture, it’s noticing that your back is rounded, your shoulders are hunched or your chin is sticking out. If you’re sitting like this most of the day, supported by a the back of a chair, your stomach and back muscles aren’t working as they would be if you were sitting upright without support. This is many hours not using these important muscles!

You can test this yourself by prodding your back muscles on either side of your spine at waist level and just below your ribs towards your front. Try this in an upright position and also when slumped and rounded.

My 3 favourite things to do when you’re at your desk:

🪑Change how you sit on your chair (Can be done as you read this :)

Move your buttocks close to the edge of the chair and place both feet flat on the floor, noticing the position of your pelvis and lower back, which will be tilted slightly forwards. You might feel that you’re sitting on your sitting bones, which means you’re sitting in alignment with the natural curve of the lower (lumbar) spine. When we slump against the back of a chair our spines are curved the other way with our bellies inactive and squashed.

Try to sit like this for as long as you can (a cushion helps to pad your sitting bones) and resist the urge to stick your chin out when you become engrossed in something on your screen!

⬆️ Standing stretch next to your desk ↖️↗️

Stand with your feet hip width apart, raise your arms, interlace your fingers (palms facing up or down) and press your hands as far upwards as you can. Breath in as you do this and when you breath out bend sideways. Repeat the reaching upwards on your next inhale and bend to the other side, exhaling.

👣 Take regular walking breaks

Put a timer on to remind yourself to walk a short distance. With each step press the ball of your foot into the floor, so that you fully lift your back heel off the floor. At this moment, squeeze your gluteal muscles as much as possible. It works really well if you slow down and take your shoes off!