Workplace sedentariness

Spending 8 or 9 hours a day sitting on a chair during the workday negatively affects human health, creating muscle pain or circulatory problems, among other ailments.

The most recurring issues are backpain and neck-pain, muscle tension or contractures, some muscular-skeletal disorders, such as spinal discomfort, and cervical syndrome due to stress. The loss of muscle mass that occurs as a result of working while sitting down for more than 8 hours is one of the most frequent negative issues and an cause the worsening of circulatory problems, which could, in turn, cause fluid retention in the person’s legs. Likewise, we should also refer to the risk of more serious illnesses, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cognitive complications, varicosities, overweightness and obesity, which could result in an early death. Mood changes – such as bad temper and low-energy – are also a potential occurrence.

Several studies collected in the British Medical Journal confirm that sedentary individuals face twice the risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases or type-2 diabetes, along with an increase of 13% in the risk of being affected by certain types of cancer and an enhanced risk of early death, calculated at 17%.

In light of the great number of problems that sedentariness can cause, it is important to always remember that we must remain in motion, in order make our workplace a healthy environment.