2023-10-05 06:05:00
Most likely, you are familiar with healthy habits that prolong life – eating fruits and vegetables, regular physical activity, getting enough sleep and coping with stress. You also know about other habits that do the exact opposite: smoking, love of sweets and alcohol… Let’s add another one to the list, at first glance completely harmless.
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Some experts even called it the “new smoking” because it has “infected” the majority of the population, at least the urban one.
So, if you want to live a longer and healthier life, then you need to get rid of the habit of sitting for long periods of time.
According to research According to a 2018 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately 81% of American adults sit for four hours or more every day, with 26% sitting for eight hours or more.
This refers to any actions performed in a sitting or reclining position and that do not require special energy expenditure. This includes working on a computer or laptop, watching TV, playing video games, driving a car, and even eating.
Overall, it is estimated that most adults spend more than half their waking time sitting.
The danger of prolonged sitting is that it increases the risk of premature death. Using data from more than one million participants, meta-analysispublished in 2018 in the European Journal of Epidemiology, found that the risk of death from all causes, from cardiovascular disease to the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, increases significantly as total sitting time increases.
Sitting for eight or more hours a day appeared to pose the greatest risk. results research A 2023 study published in the Journal of Diabetes Research found that the longer the time spent sitting, the higher the likelihood of developing insulin resistance.
The risk increased significantly when the time spent sitting averaged eight hours or more, with little or no physical activity the rest of the time.
Study, published in the journal Aging in 2021, found that sitting for eight or more hours a day reduced life expectancy by two to four years, but when combined with physical inactivity, the figure jumped to eight years. This is important given that heart disease, stroke and diabetes are consistently ranked as the leading causes of death in developed countries.
How prolonged sitting shortens life
The mechanisms of this phenomenon are not fully understood, but most of them are associated with weakened blood flow and lack of muscle activity. When sitting for long periods of time, blood begins to accumulate in the lower extremities, which leads to temporary narrowing and dysfunction of blood vessels, as well as increased blood pressure.
Glucose, insulin, and triglyceride levels also increase, mainly due to metabolic changes associated with decreased muscle activity and decreased energy expenditure. Over time, this contributes to the development of heart disease, insulin resistance, diabetes and systemic inflammation, according to the review. study 2021, published in Nature Reviews Cardiology.
How not sitting for long periods of time can help you live longer
The good news is that this is not a habit that we need to completely break. Periodic rest in the form of sitting is normal and is part of a healthy lifestyle, but if a person sits constantly, then this is already a habit that, over and over again, imperceptibly worsens his health and shortens his life.
The “cure” is simple – if circumstances force you to sit, interrupt this mode as often as possible in order to move a little. Simple exercises of just a few minutes, done regularly, can offset some of the risks associated with sitting for long periods of time.
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Such periods of movement “get the blood flowing” by forcing the muscles to contract and use glucose, and also stabilize blood pressure that increases as a result of sitting.
How long and frequent should these active periods be?
Small study A 2023 study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Medicine examined the minimum number and frequency of movement breaks needed to offset most of the risks associated with eight hours of sitting.
It was found that walking for five minutes every 30 minutes (at a brisk pace or even at a leisurely pace – 2 km/h) significantly reduces most of the negative effects of prolonged sitting.
Using the example of adults with diabetes studypublished in 2021 in the journal Diabetes Care, found that dividing a 60-minute period of sitting with even six minutes of physical activity was quite effective at curbing some of the increases in glucose and insulin levels associated with prolonged sitting.
Is it necessary to get rid of this habit if a person is generally physically active?
It doesn’t hurt if your daily sitting time exceeds four hours. Sitting is a form of sedentary behavior that is detrimental to health and carries its own risks regardless of overall physical activity level.
Technically, you can sit for eight or more hours a day and still be considered physically active because the rest of the time you meet or exceed the generally accepted weekly recommendation of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week.
Although exercise reduces the risks associated with sitting, it does not eliminate them.
What to do
There are no recommendations regarding the maximum amount of time spent sitting, but 2021 Nature Reviews Cardiology suggestedthat sitting should be less than four hours a day, which is consistent with the findings of all other studies.
Many people may find this figure unrealistic when it comes to commuting, work duties, and other daily obligations typically performed while sitting, so instead of immediately reducing your daily sitting time to four hours, start small.
According to scientists, reducing total sitting time by just 30 minutes a day will already bring some benefits.
Let’s add three more tips to this recommendation.
1. Give yourself active breaks
Periodically break up prolonged sitting with a few minutes of vigorous activity, and over the course of a whole day, such breaks can easily reduce your sitting time by 30 minutes or more.
Meta-analysisconducted in 2020, linked regularly interrupting prolonged sitting to reductions in adverse changes in glucose, insulin, and triglyceride levels, with the more people weighed, the greater the favorable changes in glucose levels.
If you can’t take time off from your computer for a five-minute walk every half hour, try doing it every 60 or 90 minutes.
2. Move more without getting up
Wiggle your leg, rotate your foot, wiggle your toes…
Small randomized controlled study, published in the journal Obesity in 2021, suggests that sitting is one scenario where “fidgeting” is beneficial! Participants sat continuously for three hours, during which they were told to move their leg for 2.5 minutes and then not move again for 2.5 minutes.
Compared to a control group who sat still, fidgeting participants had increased blood flow and decreased adverse changes in glucose and insulin levels typically associated with sitting.
Conclusion: fidgeting, micro-movements, while forced to sit is an effective way to reduce some adverse physiological changes, especially for those people who are at risk of developing insulin resistance or already have it.
3. Follow the recommendation regarding the amount of weekly physical activity
Regular exercise reduces many of the risks associated with prolonged sitting, so getting up to the recommended amount is key.
Studypublished in the BMJ in 2019, found that the risks associated with sedentary work fall significantly as people approach or exceed recommendations for the amount of weekly physical activity.
The study’s conclusions emphasized that the more time spent in passive activities is reduced and the amount of physical activity increased (even if recommendations for the amount of weekly exercise are not met), the greater the risk of death decreases.
Bottom line
If you find that you sit for more than four hours most of the day, incorporating short breaks for physical activity into your schedule is the most important step to reduce the life-shortening effects of sitting.
Try to get up and move every 30 minutes, but if this is not possible, start by at least taking breaks after 60-90 minutes of sitting. An active break doesn’t have to feel like a workout or make you sweat; even a five-minute leisurely walk around the office will be beneficial.
It’s even better if you have to climb a couple of floors without an elevator.
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However, try to stick to a scheduled exercise schedule, this will further reduce all the risks associated with sedentary work.
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