Now we know what to do to prevent back pains as much as possible. Time to check out our blood circulation system.

Prolonged sitting drops physical activity to the lower limit needed for healthy-body functioning creating disorders in blood circulation among other problems.

Why is that? The limited mobility while sitting implies reduced demands on the circulatory system. As a result, the heart activity and the blood flow slow down. Maintaining a steady upright body position while sitting further decreases blood circulation.

An insufficient blood flow, specifically blood that is returning to the heart from the lower legs, causes blood to pool. Pressure on the underside of the thighs from a seat that is too high can further aggravate this. The result can be swollen or numb legs and eventually varicose veins. Also, the reduced blood supply to the muscles accelerates fatigue. This explains why sitting all day long doing little physical work leaves us tired.

So now that we know what causes disorders in blood circulation, let’s look at how we can prevent that.

The first thing to do is never to exceed 50 minutes sitting in a row, This means a 5 minutes break every 15 minutes, with walking – or pacing when nervous – or any kind of physical exercise that will reactivate blood flow. And that is good for your back too…

The second preventive step is to sit right while sitting. Good news, again, what works for the back also works for the blood circulation, so just look here for the correct sitting arrangement.

Of course, regular exercise does help. It helps the back and blood circulation.

Now down to tips. Sometimes, one is loath to leave the keyboard even for 5 minutes as it might break the inspiration flow. Well, in than case, tapping the heels on the floor leaving the tip of the feet firmly leaning on the floor a few times will do wonders.

For those addicted to crossing their legs, a bad habit as far as blood circulation is concerned, it is possible to limit the adverse effect by alternating the way legs are crossed.

Now that the blood is flowing again, time for inspiration to do the same…

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