Dead Butt Syndrome: It's Real and Coming for Your Glutes

The shocking truth about prolonged sitting will make you want to stand up right now. While most of us understand sitting too much isn't ideal, few realize the serious health consequences backed by alarming research. Even if you're someone who exercises regularly, extended periods of sitting can dramatically increase your risk of chronic diseases.

Research published in top medical journals reveals that sitting for long periods correlates with a 112% increased risk of diabetes and significantly higher chances of developing heart disease, particularly for women who sit 10+ hours daily. What's truly eye-opening is that these risks persist regardless of how much you exercise outside those sitting periods. The damage isn't limited to physical health either – prolonged sitting reduces the production of mood-enhancing brain chemicals like endorphins and serotonin, potentially contributing to depression and anxiety.

But there's hope in small changes. Studies show that just two minutes of walking every hour could lower your risk of premature death by 33%. Ten minutes of daily physical activity reduces waist circumference and insulin resistance. Even simple habits like standing during phone calls, climbing stairs, or stretching before getting out of bed can counteract "gluteal amnesia" – also known as "dead butt syndrome" – where your body literally forgets how to properly activate crucial muscles after sitting too long. These small movement breaks reawaken your muscles, refresh your mind, and protect your long-term health.

Ready to break the sitting cycle? Start with just 10 minutes of movement daily. Set reminders to stand every 50 minutes. Dance, stretch, or walk – whatever gets you moving. Your body and brain will thank you immediately and for years to come. Remember: if you don't pay attention to your health now, you'll be forced to pay attention to your illness later. What small movement can you add to your routine today?

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Sisters in Service

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to Sisters in Service podcast. Most of you know me as a strong advocate for women veterans in being recognized not only as veterans but also as women who are changing the world through our passion of serving even after service. This podcast is my passion by telling all the stories of military brats, military spouses, active duty and veterans, not to forget the veteran service organizations that help us along our transition journey. I want to thank you in advance for listening. I hope that you will join me. Every week, a new podcast and episode comes out every Tuesday, so I hope that you will join and I hope that you enjoy. This podcast is brought to you by Small Space Pilates. Are you ready to get fit and fabulous from the comfort of your own home? Look no further than Small Space Pilates. With live online Pilates and strength training classes, a video library and a no perfection allowed policy, you can achieve your fitness goals without ever leaving your house. Click on the link for your complimentary week and start your journey to feeling fabulous today. Welcome everyone to the latest episode of why Not Wellness. I am your movement specialist, kat Corchado.

Speaker 1: 1:24

You know we've heard a lot of things about sitting. Maybe you have, maybe you haven't, but I'm being this advocate here on how prolonged sitting affects our health. So, starting off with sedentary lifestyle, number one increases chronic disease. So prolonged sitting has been linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. So chronic diseases okay, I'm going to read this. Numerous studies have found a correlation between prolonged sitting and an increased risk of chronic diseases. For instance, a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that those who sat for a prolonged period were associated with a higher risk of heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes, regardless of physical activity, regardless of physical activity, regardless of physical activity. That blew me away. I was like I think I'm fit, but if you're sitting too long, could that be something that could make you or help you, or maybe not even help you that's not even the word I'm looking for. That can just decrease your physical activity, or not even decrease your activity, but just decrease your health in general. So heart disease sitting for long periods can lead to increased blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels, both of which are risks for heart disease. Another study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that women who sat for 10 or more hours a day had a significantly greater risk of developing heart disease than those who sat for five hours or less. Okay, I get that. I don't know anybody who sits for 10 hours straight a day, and if you do, please, please, call me, let's connect, because we need to talk about this. If I sit for three or four hours, my bottom's like, excuse me, hello, are we going to get up and move, because it seems almost impossible to sit for that amount of time? What about type 2 diabetes? A meta-analysis published in Diabetologia, whoa, found that those who sat for the longest periods had a wait for it 112% increased relative risk of diabetes. Not 50%, not 75%, not 100% 112%. I'm just putting the information out there. People, a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that prolonged sitting was associated with a higher risk of certain types of cancer, including lung, uterine and colon cancers.

Speaker 1: 4:24

The role of regular movement. So you know, movement is just amazing, not only for your body but for your brain. So even small amounts of movement hello, 11 minutes, I'm just putting it out there like standing up and stretching every half an hour can make a difference. For example, a study published in the European Heart Journal found that two minutes of walking every hour could lower the risk of premature death by 33%, compared to those who continue to sit Two minutes. It takes you longer to get up out of your desk. Walk to the bathroom, do your business and come back, or walk to the kitchen get some water and come back Two minutes.

Speaker 1: 5:11

So you hear me speaking about 11-minute workouts all the time. This is a way to get you started to move. The other thing you can do is put a reminder on your phone. Every 50 minutes you're going to get up and just walk. Whether it's go to speak to a neighbor if you're working in an office environment, you know speaking with a coworker, maybe it's just. You know what? I'm just going to walk around my building for a minute. Walking is the best way. Getting up, dance, do some steps around your living room, do something that's going to get those muscles moving.

Speaker 1: 5:55

So there's another study in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health that found that just 10 minutes of physical activity per day was associated with lower waist circumference so your waist size goes and lower levels of insulin resistance, indicating a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. You know these studies highlight the importance of regular movement, especially throughout the day, not just during designated time I can't speak today, guys, I'm sorry. Designated times of you know when you're exercising, incorporating more movement, incorporating more movement, you know while you're standing. My husband does this all the time. He'll take a phone call and he's walking around our condo, you know, talking on the phone to do business, taking a short walk during lunch or after lunch or before lunch, or doing some light stretching. I love stretching specifically in the or before lunch or doing some light stretching. I love stretching specifically in the morning, before you ever get out of bed. I have a boatload. No, I don't Not boatload, I have stretches that you can do before your feet ever hit the ground in the morning.

Speaker 1: 7:06

So what else does sitting too long do for you or don't do for you? What about your mental health? There's a growing body of research suggesting that prolonged sitting can have negative effects on mental health. What about depression and anxiety? Research has suggested that the lack of physical activity could lead to a decrease in the production of mood-enhancing chemicals in the brain, such as endorphins and serotonin. You know what increases that Exercise, the feel-good hormones. What about stress? Not just stress here, but stress in your body, sitting for long periods, especially when combined with the pressure of work, can lead to increased levels of stress. This is partly because physical activity helps to reduce stress hormones and stimulate the production of hello endorphins, which are your natural mood lifters.

Speaker 1: 8:03

What about your brain? Cognitive decline? Some studies suggest that a sedentary lifestyle may be linked to cognitive decline and dementia. A study in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found that physical inactivity was a significant predictor of cognitive decline over a five-year period. We're all obsessed with our brain. We want to take a supplement and be one and done right. Okay, a supplement's fine. I don't know if they work or not, but how many bottles of this stuff do you have to buy before you notice it starts working? You know what works immediately Movement. You immediately feel better. Your brain is on fire because of the movements that you've done. If you have ever worked on an email or a blog and you think you have it ready and before you send it, you get up, you go do something, you come back and you notice all the typos. You notice all the sentences, double periods at the end of the sentence. That's what I'm talking about, right there.

Speaker 1: 9:09

The role of regular movement can help to mitigate these mental health risks. Exercise has been shown to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, improve mood, boost self-esteem and improve sleep, while reducing your stress levels and improving your cognitive function. I'm just reading the facts. What about posture and musculoskeletal problems? Poor posture what does sitting do? We sit here in the morning and all of a sudden, as we go along, we start to do this. We shrink Our shoulders, roll forward. My neck is here, my back is talking to me even right now, instead of sitting up.

Speaker 1: 9:57

So even small amounts of physical activity can make a difference. Here's another study in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that just one hour of physical activity per week can help to prevent depression. Now, don't think of the one hour. Think of 10 minutes each day. Could you do 10 minutes, 10. It'll take you longer to walk from your office to your car. I'm just putting it out there. Now.

Speaker 1: 10:26

Here's something a little I won't say provocative, but it's a true story. Have you heard of something called gluteal amnesia? It's a real deal, y'all. It's a real thing. It's also known as this isn't my word or my phrase dead butt syndrome.

Speaker 1: 10:46

Gluteal amnesia is a condition where your body forgets how to properly activate and engage the gluteal muscles. This can result in these muscles not firing correctly or at all during movements where they should be engaged. Think about it this way Without your glutes, you can't stand up From a sitting down position. You can't sit down From a standing up position. You can't walk. There's so many things you can't do. You know what. You have to use your arms. You have to have a walker. Who wants a walker? I'm 68 years old. I will never, ever in my life, use a walker. I'm just putting it out there.

Speaker 1: 11:26

So when you're sitting, your glute muscles are in a stretched and inactive state. Over time, this can lead to becoming underused and weaker all the glute muscles. This is particularly true if you're not engaging in regular physical activity to counteract the effects of sitting. So if you have one of those jobs where you sit for a long time maybe you're editing movies or podcasts, or you're a producer and you tend to sit, sit, sit, sit I applaud you, but please, please, get up and move. So I talked about walking. I talked about standing. What about climbing stairs? What about balancing? These are all things that are true.

Speaker 1: 12:17

So sitting too long can have a detrimental effect on your back. Think about your hips. How do you feel? I just want you to take a moment. When you've been sitting down for I don't know a gazillion hours and you go to stand up and you go, oh, and you're bent over, your body goes, yep, that's what you get for sitting too long. Things tend to lock up Our hips, lock up, our back locks up. That's your body talking to you.

Speaker 1: 12:49

So again, movement, even better, exercising. 10 minutes, that's all I'm going to ask you to do. Not a half an hour, not 20 minutes, not a whole hour 10 minutes, get up and move. So I hope that this helped you. I did read a lot of this because there's no way I was going to remember all that. Y'all. I'm just being real. But I hope that this backs what I've been saying all along is that when you have these studies that you think, oh, my goodness, that study said this. If you glean one thing from today, from this podcast, then I'm a happy woman. Just start to move, even for a little bit. Five minutes of dancing or a minute of dancing. Just get up and move. So I will say this to end If you don't pay attention to your health now, you will be forced to pay attention to your illness later. This is Kat Corchato, your movement specialist. So until next time, keep it moving, thank you.