Right now, you’re probably sitting down to watch this video, and staying seated for a few minutes to view it is probably okay. But the longer you stay put, the more agitated your body becomes. It sits there counting down the moments until you stand up again and take it for a walk. That may sound ridiculous. Our bodies love to sit, right? Not really. Sure, sitting for brief periods can help us recover from stress or recuperate from exercise. But nowadays, our lifestyles make us sit much more than we move around, and our bodies simply aren't built for such a sedentary existence. In fact, just the opposite is true. The human body is built to move, and you can see evidence of that in the way it is structured. Inside us are over 360 joints, and about 700 skeletal muscles that enable easy fluid motion. The body's unique physical structure gives us the ability to stand up straight against the pull of gravity. Our blood depends on us moving around to be able to circulate properly. Our nerve cells benefit from movement, and our skin is elastic, meaning it molds to our motions. So if every inch of the body is ready and waiting for you to move, what happens when you just don't? Let's start with the backbone of the problem, literally. Your spine is a long structure made of bones and the cartilage discs that sit between them. Joints, muscles and ligaments that are attached to the bones hold it all together. A common way of sitting is with a curved back and slumped shoulders, a position that puts uneven pressure on your spine. Over time, this causes wear and tear in your spinal discs, overworks certain ligaments and joints, and puts strain on muscles that stretch to accommodate your back’s curved position. This hunched shape also shrinks your chest cavity while you sit, meaning your lungs have less space to expand into when you breath. That's a problem because it temporarily limits the amount of oxygen that fills your lungs and filters into your blood. Around the skeleton are the muscles, nerves, arteries and veins that form the body's soft tissue layers. The very act of sitting squashes, pressurizes and compresses, and these more delicate tissues really feel the brunt. Have you ever experienced numbness and swelling in your limbs when you sit? In areas that are the most compressed, your nerves, arteries and veins can become blocked, which limits nerve signaling, causing the numbness, and reduces blood flow in your limbs, causing them to swell. Sitting for long periods also temporarily deactivates lipoprotein lipase, a special enzyme in the walls of blood capillaries that breaks down fats in the blood. So when you sit, you’re not burning fat nearly as well as when you move around. What effect does all of this stasis have on the brain? Most of the time, you probably sit down to use your brain, but ironically, lengthy periods of sitting actually run counter to this goal. Being stationary reduces blood flow and the amount of oxygen entering your blood stream through your lungs. Your brain requires both of those things to remain alert, so your concentration levels will most likely dip as your brain activity slows. Unfortunately, the ill effects of being seated don't only exist in the short term. Recent studies have found that sitting for long periods is linked with some types of cancers and heart disease and can contribute to diabetes, kidney and liver problems. In fact, researchers have worked out that, worldwide, inactivity causes about 9% of premature deaths a year. That's over 5 million people. So what seems like such a harmless habit actually has the power to change our health. But luckily, the solutions to this mounting threat are simple and intuitive. When you have no choice but to sit, try switching the slouch for a straighter spine, and when you don't have to be bound to your seat, aim to move around much more, perhaps by setting a reminder to yourself to get up every half hour. But mostly, just appreciate that bodies are built for motion, not for stillness. In fact, since the video's almost over, why not stand up and stretch right now? Treat your body to a walk. It will thank you later.
现在,你一定正坐在 屏幕前观看这段视频。 静坐几分钟观看视频并不是问题。 但你坐在那儿的时间越长, 你的身体就会越焦躁不安。 它就在那儿,等着你最终起身, 并去走一走。 这听起来可能很荒谬。 我们的身体喜欢坐着,不是吗? 并非如此。 当然,坐一小会儿有助于 我们缓解压力 或身体疲劳。 但如今,我们的生活方式让 我们大部分时间都坐着, 而我们的身体并非为 如此之长的久坐而生的。 事实恰恰相反。 人的身体是为运动而生的, 而我们可以通过观察 其构造来看到这一点。 我们的身体有超过 360 个 关节和约 700 块骨骼肌。 它们让我们得以轻松且自由地移动。 我们身体的独特结构让我们能在 万有引力之下依旧直立。 血液需要我们活动 从而得以正常循环。 我们的神经细胞从 我们的运动中受益。 而我们的皮肤是有弹性的, 随着我们的运动而逐渐成形。 如果我们身体的每个部位都已做好了 准备,并只是在等待行动时, 如果我们不动的话会怎样呢? 让我们从问题的骨干 开始,照字面意思。 脊柱是一种由椎间盘隔开的 骨骼而组成的结构。 关节、肌肉和连接骨骼的韧带 让一切都聚在一起。 我们经常能看到有人背部 弯曲、肩部向前地坐着。 这种姿势使脊柱承受的压力不均。 从长期来看,这可能导致 椎间盘方面的问题, 过度使用某些韧带和关节, 并给试着顺应背部 弧度的肌肉带来负担。 这种坐姿也会压迫胸部。 所以,肺部扩张和呼吸的 空间会变得更小。 这是个问题,因为这暂时 减少了进入我们肺部和 进入血液的氧气的量。 围绕着骨架的是肌肉、 神经、动脉和静脉, 这构成了身体的软组织。 坐着的行为本身就会造成挤压, 而正是这些更脆弱的 组织受到的影响最大。 你是否有过坐着时四肢 麻木或肿胀的情况? 在受到挤压最严重的部位, 神经、动脉和静脉都会被阻断。 这可能会干扰神经信号, 因而造成四肢麻木 并减少四肢中的血流量, 导致它们肿胀。 久坐会暂时阻断脂蛋白脂肪酶, 这是毛细血管膜中一种特有的酶, 它能分解血液中的脂肪。 当你坐着时,你无法燃烧相比 你到处走动时那么多的脂肪。 而这样不移动对大脑有什么影响呢? 大多数时候,我们坐着 从而使用我们的大脑。 但讽刺的是,长时间坐着 会产生相反的效果。 不活动会减少通过肺部进入 血液的血流量和氧气量。 大脑需要这两样东西才能正常运作。 所以,你的注意力会随着 大脑活动的减少而下降。 遗憾的是,久坐的负面 影响不仅限于短期之内。 最近的研究表明,长时间坐着与 各种癌症和心血管疾病有关, 并可能导致糖尿病以及 肾脏和肝脏问题。 研究人员表明,在全球范围内, 不活动是近 9% 的 每年过早死亡的原因, 即超过500万人。 因此,这看似无足轻重的习惯 实际上对我们的健康 有着重要的影响。 幸运的是,这个问题的 解决方法是简单且直观的。 当你必须坐着时, 试着多换换姿势, 并直起身来。 而当你不需要呆在你的座位上时, 你就多做些运动、多走动一下。 另外,何不设置一个闹钟来 每 30 分钟提醒你一次呢? 但最重要的是,请记住,身体是为了 移动而生的,而不是为了坐着。 由于这段视频快要结束了,你为什么 不赶紧站起来伸展一下呢? 出去走走吧。 你的身体会回报你的。