Is it Possible to Reverse the Damage From Sitting?
The Washington Post published an article today on the possibility of reversing the damage to your health from sitting.
The study they cite says that getting up and walking for 5-10 minutes at time helps reduce the blood pressure build up from blood pooling in your legs and feet. Very similar to why getting up and walking every couple of hours on a long flight is a good idea (also why your legs swell during flight — not from the lack of pressure!)
I’m personally a big fan of taking frequent breaks to either stand at a desk to work or going outside for some fresh air and vitamin D.
Beyond just blood pressure build up, there are also a multitude of other factors that are introduced while sitting at a desk all day: poor posture causing back, neck, and shoulder issues, wrist pain, shortened hip flexors that affect your standing posture and flexibility, and so much more. We’ll get into this more as work place ergonomics and postural health is a personal interest of mine.
