
A new study from the University of California San Diego suggests that simply standing up more often during the day may help improve heart health in postmenopausal women, especially those who are overweight or obese.
The research was published in the journal Circulation.
Scientists found that women who stood up more frequently during the day had lower blood pressure. These improvements happened even without doing intense exercise, showing that small changes in daily habits might support better heart health.
Dr. Sheri Hartman, the study’s lead author and professor at UC San Diego’s Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health, explained that while public health advice often tells people to “sit less,” it doesn’t give clear steps on how to do that.
This study showed that even short, frequent standing breaks can have a positive impact—even if people still spend a lot of time sitting.
The research comes from the Rise for Health Study, a clinical trial that tested how changes in sitting behavior affected blood pressure and blood sugar. The study focused on postmenopausal women, who often spend a large part of the day sitting. This can increase their risk for heart disease, diabetes, and other serious health problems.
The women were divided into three groups for the study:
1. The “sit less” group tried to spend less time sitting each day.
2. The “sit-to-stand” group focused on standing up more often, without reducing total sitting time.
3. A control group got general health advice but was not told to change their sitting habits.
After three months, the researchers found that neither group had a big change in blood sugar. The “sit less” group did reduce their sitting time by 75 minutes per day and showed some improvement in blood pressure, but it wasn’t strong enough to be statistically meaningful.
The “sit-to-stand” group showed more promising results. These women stood up about 25 more times each day than before. They lowered their diastolic blood pressure (the lower number in a blood pressure reading) by about 2.24 mmHg compared to the control group.
While this drop didn’t reach the level considered a major medical improvement (which is 3–5 mmHg), it still showed a clear benefit from a simple habit change.
The researchers believe that bigger health changes may happen over a longer period of time. They are now planning a longer-term study with both men and women to explore this further.
Dr. Andrea LaCroix, one of the study’s senior researchers, said she was especially excited that the women set their own goals and made these changes on their own, with just a little coaching. She believes that realistic goals, like standing up twice an hour during the day, could be doable for many people and lead to real health improvements.
This study shows that small actions—like standing up more often—can make a difference. It’s a reminder that even tiny changes in our daily routines can help support better long-term health.
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The study is published in Circulation.
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