Sedentary lifestyle raises your risk of cancer, early death: Stay fit with this 5-minute full body stretch
You probably know the health effects of leading a sedentary lifestyle. It has been shown that leading an inactive lifestyle can cause several chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as certain cancers. Now, a new study has found that sitting all day can actually increase your risk of cancer and even lead to an early death.
The good news is, even adding light physical activity - such a brisk walk, cycling, stretching exercise - to your routine could help undo the damage caused by prolonged sitting, as per the published in the journal JAMA Oncology. The findings suggested that replacing at least 30 minutes of sitting with either light, moderate or vigorous physical activity can lower the risk by about 31 per cent, reinforcing the importance of physical activity.
“This is the first study that definitively shows a strong association between not moving and cancer death,” said Dr Susan Gilchrist, an associate professor of clinical cancer prevention at the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, lead author of the study.
The study titled ‘REGARDS, or REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke’ showed that the most sedentary people had an 82 per cent higher risk of dying from cancer compared to the least sedentary individuals - this has been observed even after adjusting for age, sex and general health or disease status.
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog Pose): A great stretching exercise to keep fit
So, if you have a busy lifestyle and can do just one exercise after a long day at work or sitting all day around, try doing this yoga asana to give your entire body a rejuvenating stretch. It will support your posture and keep your back in tip-top shape despite long working hours.
How to do Adho Mukha Svanasana:
- Get onto all fours, with your knees directly below your hips and your hands slightly forward of your shoulders.
- Exhale as you lift the hips up, straighten the knees and elbows, forming an inverted V-shape with the body.
- Your hands should be kept shoulder-width apart, feet hip-width apart and parallel to each other. Point your toes straight ahead.
- As you press your hands into the ground, widen through the shoulder blades, while keeping the neck lengthened by touching the ears to the inner arms.
- Hold the pose for about 2-3 minutes and take long deep breaths, looking towards the navel.
- Exhale and bend the knees to the floor to return to the starting pose.
- Relax.
Benefits of Adho Mukha Svanasana
- This is an excellent pose to strengthen the whole body, especially the arms, shoulders, legs and feet.
- It lengthens the spine and works the muscles of the chest.
- It tones muscles and clams the brain, relieving stress and mild depression.
- It also helps to prevent osteoporosis.
- It boosts energy levels and rejuvenates your body.
- It helps relieve headaches, insomnia and fatigue.
However, pregnant women and people with certain conditions, including high blood pressure, diarrhoea, detached eye retina, weak eye capillaries, dislocated shoulder, or shoulder injury should not do this pose.