Being stuck at a desk or lounging on the couch for hours on end can take a toll on our health.
Long periods of sitting are linked to serious health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and even certain cancers.
As technology advances, many people in countries like the U.S. find themselves sitting more and more.
This issue became even more pressing during the COVID-19 pandemic, as remote work led to people venturing outside their homes less often. What can we do to combat this rising health problem?
Finding a Simple Solution
Our research team set out to answer this question, focusing on one simple strategy: walking. We recruited 11 healthy middle-aged and older adults to sit in our lab for eight hours a day, mirroring a typical workday.
This happened over five different days, and on each day, we tested various light walking strategies to interrupt the sitting.
We aimed to pinpoint the minimum amount of walking needed to counteract the negative effects of prolonged sitting.
To do this, we kept track of changes in blood sugar levels and blood pressure – two key risk factors for heart disease.
The Magic Number: Five Minutes
What we discovered was promising. A five-minute light walk every half an hour was the only strategy that significantly lowered blood sugar levels compared to sitting all day.
In fact, these short walks cut the blood sugar spike after meals by nearly 60%. Additionally, they led to a decrease in blood pressure by four to five points.
Interestingly, even smaller and less frequent walks made a difference. A mere one-minute light walk every hour was enough to reduce blood pressure by five points.
The Bonus: Mental Health Boost
But the benefits weren’t just physical. During the study, we also asked participants to describe their mental state using a questionnaire.
We found that a five-minute light walk every half an hour resulted in less fatigue, improved mood, and an increased feeling of energy. Even walks just once an hour were enough to lift spirits and reduce feelings of tiredness.
Current health guidelines often advise adults to “sit less, move more,” but fail to offer specifics on how often and for how long to move.
Our study provides a straightforward and cost-effective strategy: take a five-minute light walk every half an hour.
If you have a job or lifestyle that involves long periods of sitting, this single change in behavior could significantly reduce your health risks. It also provides clear advice for employers on how to foster a healthier work environment.
Contrary to popular belief, taking regular walking breaks may actually boost productivity rather than hamper it.
The Future of Research
Our study primarily investigated the effects of light-intensity walking breaks.
We found that some walking strategies, like one-minute light walks every hour, did not reduce blood sugar levels.
It remains unknown if more intense walking could have yielded health benefits at these doses.
We are currently exploring over 25 different strategies to counteract the negative health impacts of prolonged sitting.
For many adults, jobs like truck or taxi driving make walking every half-hour impractical, if not impossible.
Our goal is to offer a range of effective strategies that accommodate different lifestyles and situations. After all, the best health strategy is one that can be sustained in the long run.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that coffee drinkers may halve their risk of liver cancer, and green Mediterranean diet could cut fatty liver disease by half.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and results showing vitamin D supplements strongly reduces cancer death.
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