You have to sit down while you’re driving, but continuing the practice of sitting and sitting and more sitting can plague you with what scientists are calling “sitting disease.”
Here are some quick yet scary facts regarding sitting disease posted at JustStand.org, a website created to combat the trend of sitting and sitting and more sitting. Here we go:
- For people who sit most of the day, their risk of heart attack is about the same as smoking” ~ Martha Grogan, cardiologist, Mayo Clinic
- Today, our bodies are breaking down from obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, depression, and the cascade of health ills and everyday malaise that come from what scientists have named sitting disease … Every two hours spent just sitting reduces blood flow and lowers blood sugar, increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.”~ James A. Levine, MD, PhD
- Prolonged sitting should be considered within occupational health and safety policies and practices just like other elements of posture.”~ British Journal of Sports Medicine
Because the body works on the physical, mental and spiritual level, plaguing the physical aspect with sitting disease can easily serve to mar the mental and spiritual aspects. Yes, that can mean sitting disease, or any physical malady for that matter, can exacerbate your driving phobia or create new mental health issues while it’s at it.
The solution? Stand up and get moving (but please stay seated while you’re driving, of course!).
Check out 11 tips for beating out sitting disease from WebMD.com: http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/do-you-have-sitting-disease?
