Sitting on the floor linked to longevity of life
If getting up from the floor after doing a puzzle with the grandkids requires both hands, a lot of sighing and a helpful tug from a family member, beware. That’s the message from scientists in Rio de Janeiro who found that how flexible you are could have an impact on how long you live.
According the study, which was published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, those who can sit down and get up using only one hand – or no hands at all – are likely to live for longer, the scientists found.
Dr Claudio Gil Araújo, who carried out the study with colleagues at the Clinimex-Exercise Medicine Clinic in Rio de Janeiro, said it was “remarkably predictive” of physical strength, flexibility and co-ordination at a range of ages. He said: “If a middle-aged or older man or woman can sit and rise from the floor using just one hand – or even better without the help of a hand – they are not only in the higher quartile of musculo-skeletal fitness but their survival prognosis is probably better than that of those unable to do so.”
Dr Araújo said: “Maintaining high levels of body flexibility, muscle strength, power-to-body weight ratio and co-ordination are not only good for performing daily activities but have a favourable influence on life expectancy.”
Fortunately, it’s not all doom and gloom! Madeleine Edgar, a physiotherapist who specialises in movement and is based in Queensland, says that you can improve all of this by simply sitting on the floor for a few minutes each day.
“There are two very good reasons to sit on the floor for a few minutes each day,” she tells Over60, continuing, “The first is because we need to keep this ability. If we lose it we become too scared to do it and we then have a fear of falling. If we continue or relearn how to do it, it’s no big deal, just part of daily life and we can feel more confidence in ourselves because we know how to get up again.”
The second reason, Madeleine explains, is to protect you from possible falls. “If we sit on the floor cross legged or side sitting, we use our hips in a natural way,” she explains. Sitting can also help you become more flexible. “We open [our hips] out and the tissues around the hip joint are more flexible,” the physio reveals, continuing, “This means that if we fall, it is less likely that we will break a hip as the tissues are more flexible and can absorb the shock. If we don’t sit on the floor the tissues around the hip are tight and can’t absorb the shock and the bone is more likely to break! Sitting in chairs is a problem for us because the tissues around the hips are shortened and tightened, often for long periods of time.”
Sounds pretty easy, right? On the scale of physical activity we can take on in the quest to stay fit and healthy, this seems like a no-brainer.
“Sitting on the floor gives us a much better sense of the functions of the hip and lower back, how each co-operates with the other,” Madeleine says. “It also uses more of the large natural range of the hip joint.”
While as we get older there is a tendency to limit activity – possibly because partly there’s a misconception that you should slow down as you age and partly because joints may get stiffer through less-frequent use – it’s mind over matter according to Madeleine. “This attitude prevents us from getting down to the floor (and up again) and then we become afraid of falling,” she explains, but “If you are unable to get down on the floor for physical reasons,” she continues, “you can at least sit like this on your bed. Please do keep up with a range of different activities, even try some new ones. Feldenkrais classes, yoga and Tai Chi all encourage freedom in your hips.”
Madeleine Edgar has been a Physiotherapist for 50 years and Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner for 19 years. Visit www.marvellousmovement.com to find out more about Madeleine’s work.