How long should I sit for?

With the modern world changing, and more jobs requiring you to sit for sometimes more than 9 to 10 hours a day. This compounded with modern-day activities of laptops, smartphones, and tablets. One question that I get regularly asked is, how long should I sit at my desk for?We know that after 30 minutes of sitting your metabolism drops by 90%. After two hours your good cholesterol drops by 20%. Mechanically in your back when we sit for long periods more pressure goes through the spine therefore, the disks then become more compressed. Well established research from the British journal of sports medicine suggests you should be standing or moving for a bare minimum of at least two, of the eight hours you work. Obviously, from time to time it may not be possible, however, this research illustrates how regularly you should be moving.So here are a few tips - Move early do not wait until it is too late.My advice would be to take regular breaks and move before you feel stiff. This is easily compared with the concept of dehydration, if you wait till you are thirsty then it is too late. So don't wait until you back aches, as this makes it very difficult for the pain to go.Train your self away from the pain.Our body is not designed to sit down all day inside, historically we are mammals that are designed to live outside! Therefore, when we sit down for too long our hips and core switch off and do not move correctly. This means that our lower back becomes an area of stress. Research has shown core and glute activation exercises have reported a significant decrease in back pain.To summarise, with fast pace working environments and everyday life requiring a vast amount of use of technology, it is advised to aim to move when possible every 20 minutes for five minutes to help improve both your internal and spine health.By Alex Williams