Sedentary | Meaning & Concept [Explained]

We explain what sedentary lifestyle is and how it differs from nomadism. In addition, the harms of a sedentary lifestyle.

Sedentary human beings established towns and cities. — Human beings build long-lasting homes since they are sedentary.

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What does sedentary mean?

Sedentary lifestyle or sedentary life is at the same time a medical and anthropological concept, which has to do with stillness, staying for long periods in the same place . The term comes from Latin sedens (“who is sitting”), derived from the verb sedere (“feel”).

For anthropologists, sedentary lifestyle represents the founding moment of human civilization as we know it. It meant that the species abandoned nomadism, that is, a wandering life without an established home, to stay in the same place and satisfy all its needs there.

The first settlements, precursors of ancient cities, were the work of sedentary humanity, as well as the domestication of the first animals and the development of agriculture. While the nomads wandered from one place to another, hunting and gathering their food, The sedentary people learned to modify their environment to provide themselves with sustenance and a fixed home. .

Instead, In medicine, a sedentary lifestyle is a lifestyle characterized by little movement or physical exercise in which the individual spends long hours sitting or lying down. It is an unhealthy life model, which has been associated with various health problems but at the same time proliferates in the cities of the modern world, since the comforts of travel (cars, urban transport) and office work mean that people spend most of their day at rest.

Both cases understand the sedentary as that which is far from movement and movement, devoted to stillness and permanence. Likewise, in other contexts, we can speak of sedentary soils (those that were formed by the disintegration of rocks in the same place), sedentary aquatic animals (those that live at the bottom of lakes and seas) or sedentary peoples (those who abandoned nomadism).

Sedentary lifestyle and nomadism

The Neolithic settlement of Taula can still be visited in Menorca. — Approximately ten thousand years ago the first human settlements were established.

Sedentary lifestyle and nomadism are two opposing lifestyles, between which prehistoric humanity was forced to choose. On the one hand, The nomadic or wandering life lacked ties, the tribe moved from one place to another in search of food hunting, gathering and fishing as they go, until the resources of a region are exhausted. Then he changed to another, and so on.

Instead, sedentary peoples chose to settle in a place and establish themselves . To do this, they transformed that place to make it as welcoming as possible, so that all their needs could be satisfied in the same place. They grew their food, built buildings and learned to defend their territory, thus founding the first cities and, eventually, the first nations.

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There were also semi-nomadic peoples that is, they occupied an intermediate category. In a strict sense they were nomads, since they did not always stay in the same place, but Their wandering was cyclical and always involved the same places, so that they also had a specific territory. within which they changed location as resources were depleted, thus giving nature a chance to recover.

The transition between nomadism and sedentary lifestyle occurred at some point in the Mesolithic or Neolithic approximately ten thousand years ago. In this process, the discovery of agriculture was a key piece, since instead of collecting ripe wild fruits, humanity could plant and cultivate them.

Problems of a sedentary lifestyle

A group of office workers have a sedentary lifestyle. — Office work causes people to spend most of their day at rest.

The sedentary lifestyle, that is, one who spends most of the day sitting (six continuous hours is considered the healthy maximum), has been linked to certain medical conditions, especially cardiac and metabolic, such as the following:

High cholesterol and tendency to obesity . Sedentary people burn many fewer calories than they should, and therefore tend to accumulate what they eat in the form of fat.
High blood pressure and greater tendency to vascular accidents . A sedentary lifestyle negatively affects blood circulation, which leads to an increase in blood pressure, which is a very risky condition, associated with strokes and heart diseases, including heart attack.
Metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes . By burning few calories, sedentary people tend to accumulate higher levels of sugar and fat in the blood, which increases the risk of suffering from metabolic diseases, such as insulin resistance or diabetes.
Weakening of bone tissue . The sustained passivity of a sedentary life weakens the bones, which leads to osteoporosis and makes people more fragile in the event of falls or blows.
Higher levels of distress and depression . Lack of regular physical activity limits the production of stimulating hormones, such as oxytocin, which can trigger high levels of distress, frustration and depression.
Digestive disorders . The lack of regular physical activity slows down the digestive system and makes it more prone to diseases, including cancer (colon, for example). It can also cause hemorrhoids.
Weakness and physical fatigue . A sedentary body is a body unaccustomed to effort, which when faced with any activity will tire quickly and will be more prone to suffering from tears, cramps and fatigue.