According to JustStand.org, we spend anywhere from 7.7 to 15 hours sitting down every day. Furthermore, people who sat for hours with their legs crossed increased their risk of death by a whopping 40 percent, according to a study published in Archives of Internal Medicine. Scary, right?
Although the solution may seem simple – stop sitting down – it’s much easier said than done since more of us are performing sedentary desk jobs. Sitting for long periods of time can lead to obesity and other serious health issues. Health authorities warn that prolonged sitting in general “is the new smoking.” This has led to a surge in the popularity of standing desks, enabling people to work while standing, and apps that alert you when you’ve been sitting too long.
But don’t just take our word for it, here are five ways your desk/sitting at-home job is seriously jeopardizing your health.
5. It’s really bad for your heart.
When you cross your legs, you’re putting unnecessary pressure on the veins in your legs, especially the ones underneath your knees. What’s the big deal? This restricts the blood flow, causing your heart to work twice as hard.
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4. It causes poor leg circulation.
Obviously, crossing your legs leads to reduced blood flow so it makes perfect sense that it would cause poor leg circulation. Symptoms include leg cramps, numbness, tingling, and blood clots, which can be dangerous, deadly even. When you think of late rapper Heavy D who died of complications from deep vein thrombosis after being on a plane for a number of hours and no circulation — it’s serious.
3. For Men, it can reduce sperm count.
In men, crossing legs while wearing pants raises the temperature of the groin, leading to the suggestion that would-be fathers should not cross their legs.
