New survey shows that COVID restrictions have made Americans far more inactive, with the average person spending an additional four hours a day sitting down.
NEW YORK — As the coronavirus pandemic continues, social isolation has turned many people into couch potatoes. Unfortunately, it turns out being a couch potato can be a painful job. A survey finds three in five Americans have experienced new aches and pains due to how inactive they’ve become since the quarantine began.
With four in five Americans spending more time at home now, the resulting lifestyle changes are creating some unforeseen effects on their overall health. Since March of 2020, the OnePoll survey finds 74 percent find themselves sitting for longer periods of time compared to pre-pandemic. Americans now spend an additional four hours a day sitting down.
The study, commissioned by Preparation H, aimed to uncover the at-home habits of 2,000 Americans and discovered the pandemic has had a major impact on Americans’ health, particularly on their backsides.
Many people in pain by end of workday
Americans now spend a shocking six hours a day sitting down, on average. Thirty-nine percent find themselves in physical pain at the end of the day when sitting so much at home and more than half have developed more backside aches and pains.
Sadly, after a day of working from home, 22 percent find themselves with backside pain or discomfort. Spending more time at home means sitting in a variety of different places within the home. Often, some of these spots may not bode well for work productivity.
In fact, when asked where people are most likely to work from home, 27 percent are actually working from bed, while 14 percent get their jobs done sitting on the floor. Since the pandemic began, 39 percent admit to spending much longer periods of time on the toilet than ever before.
Awkward and unhealthy habits
Surprisingly, nearly one in 10 people have taken a work call or meeting or sent an email from the toilet. Amid this new normal, longer periods of time spent sitting, being inactive, or changing our eating habits are all contributing factors to health issues. On the eating front, more than one-third of Americans (34%) have admitted to eating more unhealthy, fatty foods since the quarantine began.
“While it’s no secret that increased sitting can impact elements of health like posture, there can also be a correlation between sitting for extended periods of time and backside discomfort including hemorrhoids,” says Brett Henige, Senior Brand Manager for Preparation H®, in a statement.
Working from home isn’t the only way Americans spend time sitting. During the pandemic, Americans are spending nearly five hours seated watching television and another three hours scrolling through social media on an average day.
“Too much time spent sitting can put excess pressure on your backside, which can have some unpleasant effects. To that end, nearly one-quarter of Americans have suffered from hemorrhoids since spending more time at home in 2020,” Henige adds.