In modern society, most of us have been able to say goodbye to manual labor and can rely on a job that sits in an office to make ends meet.
But why is it that after saying goodbye to manual labor, we sit in front of the monitor every day, and our bodies are still so tired after a day's work?
It's not that modern life has made us pampered, it's our bodies that are asking us for help.
Modern work and life often require workers to sit in front of a screen for more than eight hours, which seems to be easy, but in fact contains huge health risks.
How much damage does sitting for more than eight hours do to our bodies? My back chills after reading it!
How can we deal with the health problems caused by sitting for a long time?
1. The damage caused by sitting for a long time to the spine
The first is our spine, and sitting for a long time will bring subtle damage to the human spine.
The body structure of human beings has actually been stable for nearly 10,000 years, and our body structure is actually not much different from that of our ancestors who drank blood.
This creates the problem that for the first time in evolutionary history, humans need to sit for so long to complete their work.
In other words, our bodies are not suitable for sedentary work, after all, the biggest enemy of our ancestors on the road of evolution is long distances, so the evolution of the spine is naturally more suitable for long-term walking.
However, in the face of an environment that requires prolonged sitting, the spine will be put under additional pressure because it cannot form an integral structure with the leg bones and distribute the weight.
Over time, under the influence of body weight, the spine will gradually deviate from the central axis of the body, which is manifested in the unnatural distortion of our posture.
This may seem like a no-brainer at first, but as the twist of the spine intensifies, the consequences can be severe once the spine compresses the nerves and blood vessels.
When the spine compresses the nerves, the most intuitive feeling in the human body is severe pain.
In addition to pain, there are many complications that may cause dizziness and vomiting.
When this happens, spinal surgery may be required.
Spine surgeries often cost tens of thousands, and at least we have to stay in bed for a week, or even months, which is obviously not conducive to our continued work.
2. The cardiopulmonary threat caused by sitting for a long time
After talking about the spine, let's talk about the heart and lungs, which are closely related to the spine. The heart and lungs are the two most important organs in the human body, the heart is responsible for blood supply and the lungs are responsible for breathing.
Sitting for long periods of time can also lead to damage to these two organs.
The heart is an organ that can be said to be used in and out. The healthier your heart will be, the better it will be able to supply your body with enough blood.
However, when a person sits for a long time, the body is basically in an inactive state, the blood flow becomes slow, and the activity of the heart begins to "touch the fish".
After sitting for a long time, the amount of exercise decreases, and the function of the heart weakens day by day, and the probability of myocardial ischemia or myocardial infarction also increases with the weakening of heart function.
The reduction in energy expenditure due to sitting for a long time will also lead to an increase in the amount of fat in our blood, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease for migrant workers who often need to sit for long periods of time.
For the lungs, sitting for long periods of time can affect normal breathing patterns, with the upper half of the lungs working while the lower lobes of the lungs resting. In the long run, it is not good for your health.
These are not alarmists, in the past few years, there have been news of sudden death from overtime work from time to time, and the direct cause of the sudden death of these workers is almost all myocardial infarction. The harm of sitting for a long time to the heart and lungs can be seen.
3. The unspeakable hidden caused by sitting for a long time
In addition to cardiorespiratory and spinal problems caused by sitting for a long time, sitting for a long time may also lead to some very embarrassing secrets.
For male friends, due to physiological reasons, sitting for a long time will inevitably compress the prostate.
After the prostate gland is compressed, the hormones secreted by it cannot be secreted smoothly with the body's circulation, and the hormones that continue to accumulate in the prostate will increase the risk of prostatitis and related diseases.
Sitting for long periods of time can also compress the capillaries around the thighs, blocking venous return, which can accumulate in the veins and form venous masses.
In places with a lot of blood flow, these clumps can be washed away by the bloodstream, but if they reach places like our buttocks, hemorrhoids can form.
Although hemorrhoids are not a particularly serious disease under the treatment methods of modern medicine, I believe that the painful experience it brings does not need too many words, and everyone can deeply understand its indescribable discomfort and trouble.
These unserious but unspeakable illnesses that may be brought about by sitting for a long time are not only torture to our bodies, but also a psychological blow.
Fourth, the threat of sitting for too long to mental health
There's an interesting term in zoology called stereotyped behavior.
In layman's terms, it means that if the animal is kept in a small environment or in a position for a long time, the animal will become restless and repeat a certain behavior.
In fact, human beings are essentially higher animals, and stereotypical behaviors can also occur to humans, and migrant workers who sit in the office for a long time are more likely to encounter this situation.
Many people may find that they will be involuntarily absent-minded after working for a long time.
Start doing things that don't make sense, such as repeatedly deleting a piece of text, or drinking water constantly, etc.
In fact, it is not that we start to lose concentration, but because we sit for too long, which causes the brain to secrete less dopamine, so that we cannot concentrate on the work at hand.
Dopamine decreases, causing our nervous breakdowns and loss of concentration, which in turn triggers the body's protective mechanisms to begin repetitive stereotyped behaviors.
These meaningless behaviors inevitably weaken our productivity and force us to devote more extra time to completing work tasks.
This, in turn, prolongs the amount of time we spend sedentary, thus constituting a negative pattern that is constantly cyclical and mutually reinforcing.
5. How to reduce the harm of sitting at work
In modern society, the intelligence and convenience of the office environment have brought unprecedented work efficiency, but at the same time, it has also exacerbated the seriousness of the problem of sitting for a long time.
It can be said that due to modern production relations, the problem of sedentary life in contemporary society is almost impossible to completely cure.
This is not difficult to understand at all, after all, the current situation is economically developed, and more intellectual workers are needed.
We can't give up modern office life and return to the era of manual labor for all, right?
Since there is no way to change the status quo of sedentary life, the best way to solve the health problems caused by sitting for a long time is to make appropriate compensation for the body after sitting for a long time.
Since long working hours cannot be changed, the only way to do this is to move your body appropriately at work.
Even if we have to face the monitor for a long time, we should get up and move properly, which is an effective way to break the sedentary cycle.
With this time, we can use this opportunity to pour a glass of water, go to the toilet or have a brief conversation with a colleague to increase our physical activity and improve blood circulation.
Although the humanistic construction of mainland enterprises is still in its infancy, in foreign countries, enterprises will also adjust the office layout and provide adjustable desks and chairs to meet the needs of different employees in sitting postures and reduce the wear and tear caused by sitting for a long time.
Of course, for most of us, it is better to let the boss do this, so for the sake of our personal health, it is better to spend some money and bring our own ergonomic chairs and mice and keyboards to reduce the damage caused by sitting for a long time to our bodies.
In addition to improving the sedentary environment to reduce the damage it causes to our body, we can also reduce the possibility of cardiopulmonary problems caused by sitting for a long time by enhancing our physical fitness.
However, for most migrant workers, it is a very luxurious thing to have time to exercise after work, and there are even fewer places to exercise.
For the living conditions of most young migrant workers, push-ups and burpees have become their first choice for exercises with low space requirements.
Exercise improves our physical performance, and even if we need to sit for a long time, our heart and lungs can stick to it for a longer time.
So even if you are tired at work, you still have to exercise properly after work, in case you really faint when you sit at work one day because of lack of exercise, it is really terrible.
Epilogue:
Health is the foundation of all happiness, and although today's competitive society requires us to work harder, we should not ignore the importance of health.
If we can't change the status quo of sitting for a long time, we must find ways to deal with it, and by changing the right ergonomic chair or strengthening physical exercise, we can help us deal with the health problems caused by sitting for a long time.
Regardless of the future, having a healthy body is fundamental to the pursuit of everything else.
If you're reading this article, if you've been sitting for a while, you might as well get up and move your body to give yourself a little time to relax.
Resources:
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