Reason 1,001 To Not Be a Couch Potato
As anyone with common sense of a realistic outlook on life and the way that fitness and weight maintenance works, you know that being a couch potato does not serve you in any way at all. First off, sitting in front of a computer or a TV all day often involves activities that are time wasteful and not getting anything accomplished, unless of course you are working.
I myself work a lot at a computer and can attest to the fact that it’s only about 60% work and 40% other things that happen to catch your attention and make you drift off.
Watching television for hours a day is even worse. Really, what does watching TV accomplish for you? Nothing. It doesn’t serve any purpose. Occasionally you may learn something useful by watching TV, but in general, it is a colossal waste of time.
Of course, the physical fitness and weight part of it is that sitting all day does nothing for your metabolism. It is as stagnant as it can be when you are in a seated position all day, and this is awful for your blood flow (circulation), so you know that it’s not good for you heart or your circulatory system either.
Now though, there is real evidence, including statistical numbers that just might blow your mind, that show the couch potatoes – those that sit down for long periods of time habitually, whether it be watching television or doing some other seated activity, are more likely to die earlier than those that are more active throughout their day.
Most of the danger to this type of lifestyle is the damage it can do to your heart, especially if you are overweight as well, although skinny people bear some risk as well if they are inactive.
Scientists took into account other factors as well, and still singled out sitting down for long periods of time relaxing as one of the common denominators in early death. This included factors like gender, waist measurements (a lot of belly fat and larger waists have been correlated to shorter life spans and higher incidence of coronary issues), age, and level of fitness activities.
Sitting for long periods of time actually can increase the levels of sugar (blood sugar) and fat in your blood, increasing your risk for a variety of life threatening and life shortening issues.
