The Apple Watch Ultra pictured can help you improve your health if you let it
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According to the American Heart Association, the number of sedentary jobs has increased by 83% over the past sixty years — and it only makes it worse for us. Here's how your Apple Watch can help — if you are listening to this.
The Grim Reaper is not only summoned by standing or sitting. This leads to a sedentary lifestyle that has deadly consequences.
Standing is good, but you also have to move. Apple Health provides a much-needed boost by reminding us, “It's time to get up!”
Apple Watch and the Health app use activity rings to show daily movement. They are shown by three concentric rings: red, green and blue.
While the red ring means “Move” and the green ring means “Exercise”, in this article we'll focus on the blue one: “Stand” and why it's so important.
How to close the blue Stand ring on Apple Watch
First, you need to enable Stand Alerts.
- Open the Apple Watch app on a connected iPhone.
- Tap My Watch
- Tap Activity
- Turn on Stand Reminder.
The effect should sync within a few seconds with your paired Apple Watch.
To close the blue Stance ring, you must stand and move for at least one minute during twelve separate hours of the day. Don't cheat and just wave your hand.
How good are health features on Apple Watch?
If you're wondering how accurate and scientifically based Apple's health features are, Apple is making health reporting transparent, giving the consumer insight into how these features are developed.
Apple's July 22 Health Report confirms, “All of our health and fitness features [are] rigorously scientifically tested in collaboration with experts from the medical community.”
Stand is an underrated Apple Health feature designed to improve your overall health.
Personal trainer recommendations
If you are sedentary most of the day, set a timer to for thirty minutes and move for at least one minute to complete the booth ring.
Remember to also rest your eyes by applying the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
Apple Health Stand Ring
If you don't have an Apple Watch or carry your iPhone in your pocket, the stand ring will not count the time when you got up and moved without your phone.
With standing alert turned on, your Apple Watch will remind you to stand at fifty minutes of every hour if you haven't moved yet.
Effects of sitting
Long hours of sitting are associated with:
< li> Decrease range of motion
< li> Visceral fat &mdash ; bad fat around organs
Sitting and overcrossing syndrome
Repetitively sitting with poor posture for long periods of time can also cause muscle atrophy (muscle degeneration) and shoulder pain, often manifested as upper crossed syndrome. *** link somewhere to what it is ****
Crossover Syndrome is a postural imbalance that manifests itself in the shoulder joints, shoulder blades, and muscles of the upper back.
Upper decussation syndrome. Source: Chriosportsmed.com
Your head weighs about ten pounds and your upper limbs work hard to hold your head up.
UCS is characterized by rounded shoulders and a protruding head — a consequence of stretching the neck forward to better view the computer screen.
Your body is an adaptable machine. If you sit for a long time with poor posture, it will adapt and the muscles will get stuck in a shortened position.
Conversely, if you're on your feet all day and moving to work, your body will also adapt accordingly.
Short and long term effects of UCS
The short-term result of UCS is shoulder pain, limited range of motion or range of motion in the upper extremities and neck, and numbness or tingling in the shoulders.
One of the long-term effects is a notoriously painful humpback position called hyperkyphosis, which is characterized by an increased anterior curvature of the thoracic spine.
In older patients, this is more difficult to correct.
How to check UCS
Stand up to check UCS right in front of the mirror and look at yourself from the side. If you notice that your shoulders are rounded and your head is protruding forward, you are probably a prime candidate for UCS.
Standing, put your hands in your back pockets. Notice how your posture changes — the shoulders will retract, the chin will tuck in, and the head will return to a position aligned with the spine.
This is our ideal pose.
To combat UCS, do corrective exercises that abduct the shoulder blades with slight additional resistance. The seated row (either with a band or with weights) and the face row are extremely effective.
These exercises should be performed slowly, in three sets of 10-15 times. Pause at the top of the movement for at least two to three seconds to make sure you engage the muscles throughout their range of motion.
If you find it difficult to remember to sit upright while working, check out the Upright Go 2 Posture Trainer.
Stand Alerts prompt the iPhone user to stand up, stretch, and restart the computer. The result is improved posture, overall health, and reduced risk of comorbidities associated with a sedentary lifestyle.
Answer not in standing desks
You might think that a standing desk is the answer. This may be part of the solution, coupled with improved overall health — but don't rush to buy a standing table just yet. One Harvard Health study found that standing compared to sitting only burned an additional 8 calories per hour.
In a 9-hour workday, burning 88 calories per hour at your desk gives you an additional 72 calories burned per day.
This calorie content is equivalent to one medium-sized apple. Since one pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories, it will take 48 days of standing at the table before you lose even one pound.
Long standing also puts pressure on the knees, hips and feet. When it comes to sitting and standing, everything in moderation is key. Sit down, stand up and walk around, then sit down again.
While research has shown that using a standing desk can increase productivity, it's important to note that a standing desk is not a substitute for your daily — or movement in general.
For example, on average, walking burns about 150 calories per half hour, while running, swimming and cycling burn 300 calories per half hour.
Research does show that walking or the treadmill is a great way to reach your activity goals. If you have space in the office, use it — but remember to start small and work your way up to a full day of walking.
Biggest problem: moving too little
Too little movement is the biggest problem. You may have heard the saying that “sedentary lifestyle” is the new smoking, not sitting. It is important to note that standing still is considered a sedentary behavior.
That's why closing the Apple Stand — standing and moving — it is important to do once an hour while working at your desk for your health, posture, wellness and longevity.
Combat fatigue to reach your goals fitness goals
When you combine work, kids, and other activities, it can be difficult to dedicate thirty minutes every day to training.
On the contrary, implementing these small changes into your day can make a big difference:
However you choose to move throughout the day, don't just swipe Apple Health Stand alerts off the screen. You must take an active part in maintaining your health.
Stand, move, sit, repeat.
