What Is Dead Butt Syndrome and Can You Cure It by Going to Disney World?

We promise, we’re not baiting you with that headline. Dead Butt Syndrome apparently is a thing (but we were just as surprised as you are to find that out), so you know we HAVE to talk about it and dive in deeper.

When you’re in Disney World, you’re often walking miles upon miles each day, and it’s a pretty intense workout for many people! Many people deal with what’s often called Disney Rash, or blisters from shoes not properly broken in or socks that aren’t high enough, but there’s a complete opposite problem to this too, and apparently it’s called “Dead Butt Syndrome.”

The Wirecutter Show recently interviewed the home office writer of the show, Arriana Vasquez, who talked about how working sedentary from home for more than 30 minutes can “increase the risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, and contribute to pain in your muscles and joints,” and that you should find a way to schedule movement into your day at least every 30-60 minutes.

Using products to help get you standing and moving during your work day is also advised, such as standing desks, walking pads, under-the-desk ellipticals, and more. They also chatted with Molly Mirhashem, an editor from the New York Times Well Desk, about the risks of sitting down while working, and she’s quoted as saying that the health risks “really go up” the longer you go without standing or moving around.

Okay, so how real is this, really? Sure, it’s not great to sit all day, and it’s great to move around while you can, but we do want to point out that there’s actually no science behind “dead butt syndrome” or anything similar. Again, yes, sitting all the time isn’t the healthiest thing to do, and moving your body to get exercise is certainly important for a balance in life, but if let’s be real — standing desks and other items like treadmills are EXPENSIVE, and they’re often not just easy for someone to pick one up at the store for a few bucks. If you can stand up for a few minutes here and there while working and move around, or stand while working for a bit, you get a gold star — you don’t need to run to Amazon or the store and purchase exercise equipment that will cost a fortune, especially if you’re concerned you wouldn’t actually use it.

However, with that being said, going to Disney World, or any Disney park, and walking around will DEFINITELY help avoid this! You’re moving around so much, standing almost the entire day, and walking thousands of steps, so “dead butt syndrome” should be far from your mind. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on all the latest news we see that may make a difference on your upcoming Disney trip, so stay tuned to AllEars!