To reduce the harmful health effects of sitting, take a brisk five-minute walk every half hour.
This is the main finding of a new study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
The research asked 11 healthy middle-aged and elderly adults to sit in the lab for eight hours — a standard workday — over five separate days. On one of these days, the participants were sitting for eight hours wholewith only short breaks to go to the bathroom.
On the other days, several different strategies were tested to break a person’s sitting posture with light walking. For example, on one day, participants walked for one minute every half hour. The other day they walked five minutes every hour.
The goal was to find the least amount of walking possible to offset the harmful health effects of sitting. In particular, measures were changes in blood sugar levels and blood pressure, two important risk factors for heart disease.
A five-minute brisk walk every half hour was the only strategy that substantially lowered blood sugar levels compared to sitting all day. In particular, five-minute walks every half hour reduced the spike in blood sugar after eating. by almost 60%.
This strategy also lowered blood pressure by four to five points compared to sitting all day. But shorter, less frequent walks also improved blood pressure. Even a one-minute light walk every hour reduced blood pressure by five points.
In addition to the physical health benefits, there have also been mental health benefits from walking breaks. During the study, participants rated their mental state using a questionnaire.
Compared to sitting all day, a brisk five-minute walk every half hour reduced the feeling of fatigue, improved the participants’ mood and helped them feel more energetic. Even walking just once an hour was enough to improve mood and reduce feelings of fatigue.
why does it matter
People who sit for hours on end develop chronic illnesses including diabetes, heart disease, dementia and various types of cancer at much higher rates than people who move throughout the day. A sedentary lifestyle also puts people in a much higher risk of premature death. But daily exercise alone may not reverse the ill health effects of sitting.
Due to technological advances, the amount of time adults in industrialized countries spend sitting has been steadily increasing for decades. Many adults now pass most of the day sitting. This problem has only gotten worse since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic.
With the move to more remote jobs, people are less willing to venture outside these days. Therefore, it is clear that strategies are needed to combat a growing public health problem of the 21st century.
Current guidelines recommend that adults “if they sit less, move more”. But these recommendations do not give specific advice or strategies about the frequency and duration of movements.
The study offers a simple and affordable strategy: Take a five-minute brisk walk every half hour.
What is not yet known
The study focused primarily on taking regular breaks for light-intensity walking. Some of the walking strategies – for example, brisk one-minute walks every hour – did not lower blood sugar levels. We don’t know if more rigorous walking would have any health benefits at these doses.
What comes next
Currently, the authors are testing over 25 different strategies to offset the health damage caused by prolonged sitting. Many adults have jobs, such as driving trucks or taxis, where they simply cannot walk every half hour.
Find alternative strategies that produce comparable results can provide the public with several different options and ultimately allow people to choose the strategy that works best for them and their lifestyle.
