Resolve to Live Longer

Want to live longer? if so, you can resolve to do something simple more often: Stand UP.

Sure, we know it sounds simplistic but besides giving you a better attitude, getting up from your desk or couch can have a big impact on your health, according to recent studies equating more time sitting with a shorter, less healthy life.

Research on Living Longer

The results of 18 studies involving 794,577 people found “the average adult spends 50 to 70 percent of their time sitting.” After examining time sitting with health, they found people who sat the most had a 112% increase in risk of diabetes; and a 49% greater risk of dying prematurely.

This was true even if the research participant regularly exercised. The reason, “The most striking feature of prolonged sitting is the absence of skeletal muscle contractions, particularly in the very large muscles of the lower limbs.”

Lack of muscle contraction means less glucose burned, resulting in surplus blood sugar which contributes to diabetes and other health risks. In other words…  sit down and die sooner, or stand up and live longer.

Another reason posture affects lifespan is it’s impact on breathing. People with poor posture can be at the cusp of a myriad of problems, one of those is reduced lung capacity. Meaning breathing is difficult, you can’t breathe fully, or you habitually take short breaths.

How Is Your Breathing as You Age?

Not convinced good posture helps you to live longer? Then we challenge you to try this:

1. 1. Sit down in a comfortable chair. Now, take in a deep breath.
      Notice how much air you are able to inhale.
   2. Now, stand up tall. Shoulders relaxed by your side.
      Take another deep breath. Notice any difference?

This is a simply demo to allow you to feel how your breathing capacity is reduced when sitting (folding forward on your abdomen). think about how often you sit in a way that restricts your breathing, and imagine the cumulative effect that has on your health.

Research says the negative impact is concerning… because breathing is important. So important in fact that 7 Steps to StrongPosture dedicates the entire lesson Step 4: Breathe Strong to the subject.

Read the entire article in The Gazette