If you're like most people, you spend an average of 9 hours a day sitting. It's become increasingly tricky to avoid-especially after the pandemic. Most of us know that sitting is terrible for our posture, yet slumped shoulders and forward head postures have become the norm. Sitting for endless hours week after week is abnormal for the human body. It is not what we were designed to do. While sitting doesn't necessarily sound like something dangerous, it can have adverse effects on our health. Here are a few health issues that can arise if you don't take action:

If you sit for prolonged periods, there's a high chance that you've experienced back pain at some point. When we sit, the muscles in our body's posterior side (back, legs, glutes, etc.) become weak, while muscles in the anterior side (chest, neck, etc.) front become tight. Tight muscles pull on the lumbar spine, which can cause pain in your lower back. The glute muscles (which happen to be one of the essential muscle groups) become weak, and muscles in the lower back take over the glutes' job. A combination of weak glutes and a weak core most likely means that your pelvis is out of alignment. This puts you at a higher risk of developing a lower back injury.

Sitting in a slumped position can cause the spine to compress, leading to poor posture. This might be comfortable, but in the long run, sitting this way places significant stress on the spine and other joints and causes wear and tear on spinal discs.

In addition, poor posture can have many adverse side effects, such as migraines, neck pain, joint degeneration, a bloated stomach, poor blood circulation, poor digestion, and more.

Sitting in a slumped posture all day compresses your chest cavity and restricts your breathing movement. Decreased lung capacity means having a lower chance of combating illnesses such as covid 19. If you have a healthy lung capacity, your body can perform exercise and daily tasks much more efficiently. Increasing your lung capacity will make everyday tasks and exercises less strenuous and much easier to perform.

Sitting all day is a serious problem that can lead to many health issues. If you sit for more than two hours a day, it may be time to change your work environment or personal life. Implementing one or two of the tips above may significantly affect your health.