There have been much said about the benefits of exercise and it is now a well established fact that a little exercise every day is good for your overall health and happiness. However, a recent study states that sedentary lifestyle is much worse than one could even imagine. According to this large scale randomized study, sedentary men or those with little physical movement throughout the day are at a greater risk of contracting heart failure. [1]

82,000 men whose electronic records were studied, belonged to a diverse ethnic and racial background, thus, eliminating any chances of ignoring findings for any such reasons.

“You spend morning sitting and reading newspaper, leave for office sitting in car, stay glued to your desk whole time, and come back home for dinner behind table while watching television.” If you think I just described your routine, trust me, you are no better than a chain smoker. Yeah, you heard me, chain smoker! Sitting all day behind the desk with little movement is the new smoking and this points aptly to how hard a sedentary lifestyle’s kick would hit your ass.

Don’t run to exercise

If you feel, you can make up for zero office movement by working out in the evening, then you may be wrong.

This humongous study done on California men over 45 years of age, gives out a message of “sit less, move more”, which highlights the importance of deskercises for your work life and overall health. The aim is to engage 150 mins of moderate physical activity every week. Which is approximately 21 minutes of light workout on desk such as stretching, relaxing, breathing, etc. Further dividing, its 3 minutes of movement every hour. Sounds too hard to do?? I suppose, not. So, here are some of these deskercises which you can practice while you work to strngthen your heart: 30 Best Deskercises for you

Need more reasons?

In another independent study conducted by American Heart Association, half of people who develop heart failure die within five years of display of symptoms. (Heart failure refers to the condition when the heart becomes weak and is unable to pump blood to the rest of the body. Read more about it on wiki )

) If suppose you don’t die, you might contract coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, or obesity. (Spare the humor)

American Institute of Cancer Research too, came up with a study which showed how being a couch potato makes you more attractive to cancer.

This is not to scare you, but make you realize, how a little intervention you plan on making today can go a long way in preventing chances of development of heart failure. So, walk when you can stand and, exercise when you can walk. Whatever you do, start right away!!

Tell us what you did and how you find this article. Workout Trends is celebrating February as Heart Health Month. Tag your tweets with #HealthyHeart.

Suggested Readings

1. Kaiser Permanente Study Finds Efforts to Establish Exercise as a Vital Sign Prove Valid

2. Get Up & Go for Cancer Wellness: Exercise & Nutrition Choices