Kick that rocking chair to the curb.

There’s been a lot of debate in the news lately as to whether sitting is “the new smoking.”

Sitting too much has been linked to all manner of disease including diabetes, heart problems, depression, even cancer.

We’re no medical experts, but we know from experience that a sedentary life can be detrimental to your retirement in more ways to than one:

1. Sitting can actually make you sore. By not moving your muscles at regular intervals, you can experience muscle atrophy that causes you to “freeze up” upon standing. Stretching regularly can help. So can getting up and taking a lap around the house every half hour.
2. Too much sitting on soft furniture  – in your favorite chair or on the sofa – can cause bad sitting posture. The “couch potato slouch”  impedes digestion and leads to chronic back and gluteal problems. Check your body position regularly to ensure proper alignment and – attention multi-takers – stay off your laptop or iPhones when watching TV for your neck’s sake.
3. It can be habit-forming. With the advent of Netflix, Hulu, iTunes and other “on demand” TV services, it’s possible to binge-watch multiple episodes in a row.  Don’t get us wrong, we love “House of Cards,” but everything in moderation.
4. Too much sitting can bring you down. There’s a wide, wide world of interesting things to do just outside your window. When you’re sitting in your recliner, you’re not participating…and that can get depressing over time. Get out there once a day, at least.
5. There’s just no way to make sitting a cardiovascular activity. You need a certain amount of heart rate-increasing movement every day to prevent heart attack and stroke. Even if you can travel across the porch in that rocking chair holding two grandkids on your lap, you still need more huffing and puffing to stay healthy.

Sure, the image of gray-haired retirees rocking away their retirements is quaint. But, it’s not healthy. It’s not modern. And, it’s not you.

Take our complimentary readiness assessment to find out how prepared and enthusiastic you are about retirement in the area of Health & Nutrition and four other critical categories.