During a seated workday, five-minute walks every half hour can offset some of the harmful effects of this lifestyle.
- The participants were in their 40s, 50s and 60s.
- Most of the volunteers did not suffer from diabetes or high blood pressure.
- “For optimal health, you need to move regularly at work, in addition to daily sports activity,” according to the authors.
We know that sitting all day is bad for your health, even if you exercise regularly. Based on this observation, doctors advise all adults to sit less and move more to preserve their health. “No quantitative guidelines were provided to indicate how often and for how long sitting time should be interrupted,” said researchers from Columbia University in New York (USA). This is why they decided to carry out a study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
Physical activity: 5 options have been tested to fight sedentary lifestyle
In order to carry out their work, the scientists examined the effects of different frequencies and durations of physical activity on cardiometabolic health. For this, they recruited 11 adults, who went to a laboratory and had to sit in a chair for eight hours. Participants could only get up to go to the bathroom or perform the tasks requested by the team.
At first, the authors asked the volunteers never to get up, then to walk for a minute every half hour, then to do so every hour. Other requests: take a walk for five minutes every 30 minutes and finally take a walk for five minutes every hour. During this experiment, their blood pressure and blood sugar levels, key indicators of cardiovascular health, were measured.
How often and for how long should we get up from our chair?
All options resulted in lower blood pressure. However, walking five minutes every half hour lowered blood sugar levels and counteracted the health effects of a day’s work spent sitting. “If we hadn’t compared several options and varied the frequency and duration of exercise, we could only have given people our best estimates of the optimal routine”said Keith Diaz, author of the research, in a statement.
Less tired and in a better mood
As part of the study, the authors also assessed participants’ levels of fatigue, cognitive performance and mood during the tests. All options except walking for one minute every hour resulted in a significant reduction in fatigue and an improvement in mood. “People tend to replicate behaviors that make them feel good and are pleasurable”explained Keith Diaz.
