The Addictive Nature of Sitting
As you may remember from our earlier discussion on whether sitting should be considered dangerous, we’ve concluded that, even though sitting is quite natural, being sedentary for an extended period of time in a restricted position, on the other hand, is not. This is a very important and noteworthy distinction.
In the same section, I stated that I generally disagree with the trend of calling sitting the “new smoking.” I was defending sitting because of its purpose and its ability to be more practical than other options – for example, standing – in certain occupational situations. I’m sure you understand that I wouldn’t be able to do that for smoking; it simply has no practical purpose. (Yeah, don’t tell me it works as a relaxant for you. Let’s not go there.)
I don’t want to trivialize the issue of dominant sedentary lifestyles, because excessive sitting can be very dangerous for those who do it irresponsibly. I do, however, want to try finding a way to calm the widespread hysteria around the sedentary “mass-suicide by sitting.” People need to realize that, in most cases, the detrimental effects of prolonged sitting can be minimized or even completely neutralized by the simple regimen described in this book. And, just like smoking, in many cases, it’s a self-inflicted problem that can be resolved by avoidance.
“If only that was that easy,” you may say. “Then we wouldn’t have to talk about it.” I know, and I wouldn’t have to write a book about it, either.
When I say that tobacco consumption and prolonged sitting are similar in that they are self-inflicted problems, resolvable by avoidance, I mean that, to some extent, it is always our choice whether we sit or smoke. Although, when it comes to sitting, there’s an exception that makes sitting if not more dangerous, then at least a more persistent issue than smoking. That exception? Occupations that absolutely require sitting – for example, drivers, pilots, etc. On the other hand, it still remains a matter of personal choice, for they can always choose to quit. It won’t really solve the problem, however, since a replacement will follow. Perhaps, in the future, these professions will be performed by robots or drivers will have the option to stand while doing their jobs. But, for now, it will remain the unavoidable reality for some of us.
Quitting smoking is hard due to the addictive qualities of the substances in tobacco. Believe it or not, but this is another one of those things sitting has in common with smoking. Are you ready to hear this?! I’m about to tip over our first iceberg of revelation and disrupt the stillness of your world by stating that sitting is also very addictive! Perhaps even more so than nicotine due to its progressive reinforcing qualities – meaning the more you sit, the more you get addicted to it.
Another important way these addictions are similar is that we get introduced to both tobacco smoking and sitting at an early age, when we may not be mature enough to understand the associated health risks. Later in life, when we finally realize their effects on us, it’s usually due to some health-related problems that we hope are manageable or reversible, but, quite often, they are not.
There is, however, one interesting distinction that I want to emphasize which makes sitting, once again, a somewhat more tenacious problem. Even if one doesn’t fully comprehend the magnitude of the risks associated with regular smoking, he or she at least realizes – to a significant extent – that smoking is bad for us. But sitting, on the other hand, is often perceived as something positive.
“Oh, your kid is one of the best in this class. She’s got so much patience to sit still through the whole day.”
In the Russian language, there’s a word “усидчивость” [oo-seed-chi-vost’]. The closest translation for it may be the word “perseverance” – which is such a great word, by the way – and it literally means “the ability to sit for a long period of time.” As I remember, it was one of the highly valued qualities for Soviet students, and we worked hard on that skill through all our years of schooling.
Oh, yeah, sitting is a skill! That’s exactly what we will be talking about in the next section or two. We will discuss the absurdity and the consequences that come with acquiring such a skill. Along the way, you will find out exactly how sitting can become a habit and what we can do to avoid falling into the traps of a sedentary lifestyle.