Americans are spending an unbelievable amount of time sitting in quarantine

Three in five Americans reveal they've experienced new aches and pains due to how inactive they've become since the quarantine began, according to new research. With four out of every five Americans spending more time at home now than ever before, the resulting behavior changes are creating some unforeseen effects on their overall health. Since March of 2020, 74% reveal they find themselves sitting for longer periods of time compared to pre-pandemic, with Americans now spending an additional four hours a day sitting down. A study conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with Preparation H® aimed to uncover the at-home habits of 2,000 Americans and discovered the pandemic has had a major impact on Americans' overall health, particularly their backsides, as the average American spends a lot of time seated. In fact, Americans now spend a shocking six hours a day sitting down, on average. Unfortunately, all this time sitting means some physical downsides. 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% 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 that may not bode well for work productivity. In fact, when asked where people are most likely to work from home, 27% are actually working from bed, while 14% get their jobs done sitting on the floor. Since the pandemic began, 39% admit to spending much longer periods of time on the toilet than ever before. Surprisingly, nearly one in 10 of the respondents have taken a work call or meeting or sent an email from the toilet. Amid this new normal, longer periods of time spent sitting and habits formed associated with inactivity, as well as changes in eating habits, are 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," noted Brett Henige, Senior Brand Manager, Preparation H®. Working from home isn't the only way Americans spend time sitting. Since the pandemic began, Americans are spending nearly five hours seated watching entertainment and three hours scrolling 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 notes. For more information on how to treat your backside discomfort with products formulated to soothe, cool and cleanse your backside, visit PreparationH.com.