A new study here shows the effects of sitting for too long, on the health of men.

The Men Who Stare At Screens

What I would love to see as a continuation of this study is the stress factor correlation.   Sitting in your car driving to work everyday is at some point going to result in encounters with bad drivers and/or ridiculous amounts of traffic.  Sitting in your office chair sometimes relates to work piling up, stressful encounters with superiors, or if you’re an employer, stressful encounters with employees.   All this stress has countless effects on blood pressure and the heart.

This leads to bad habits such as smoking, alcohol, or therapy sessions in order to deal with the seemingly insurmountable stress you’re living with.   So maybe we should be looking at what’s going on while sitting instead of just the action itself, and realise that a bit of extra activity might help us take our minds off these stressful situations in a healthy way.

Happiness is key.  If you’re not happy (and you know whether you are or not), it’s time to make a change.

I don’t know how many times I’ve told people during a workout that the mind controls the body.  Some of you know what I’m saying.  You miss one lift after doing 6 straight.  You’re trying to increase your time on a run and the wall’s getting closer, heart rate’s rising, breathing REALLY heavy now, and you get discouraged.  The words “I can’t” enter the picture.  It’s all quick sand from there on.

Some switch to another gear and push through. That’s another indication to me of how powerful the link is between mind and body.   All this to say, this article has some good news about the link between Activity and Mental Health.

If you have ever experienced a loved one succumb to alzheimer’s or ailments of that sort,  you know how painful it is.  The really encouraging part of this article is that it’s never too late.  Regular activity at any age will help.