Are You Active Enough?
Sitting is NOT as harmful as Smoking; but are you moving enough?
At this dark cold, time of year, most of us are spending significant amounts of time indoors. And I will hazard a guess that a few of us are spending at least a few hours a day in front of some kind of screen.
Contrary to the catchy phrase “sitting is the new smoking” you have probably heard, sitting is not actually as dangerous as smoking (we all knew that intuitively, right!) https://theheartfoundation.org/2019/08/10/is-sitting-the-new-smoking/
The simplified guidelines I learned to recommend as a health practitioner was a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate to intense exercise 5 times a week. The WHO has much more detailed recommendations by age (in the present climate I have to just say I think the WHO does a fantastic job of providing quality health information that considers that not all people in the world have access to western medicine so other therapies like herbs are considered in their guidance). The WHO estimates that 95% of adults globally do not meet the minimum criteria for activity (which is alarming in its own way).
New research is getting a lot of well deserved attention because it is concluding that simply exercising for 30 minutes then sitting for hours on end is still not the ideal for health.
Some interesting factoid from, Dr James Levine’s Get Up: Why Your Chair is Killing You and What You Can Do About It:
After just 30 minutes of sitting your metabolism slows down by 90%!
Every have a hard time getting out of your chair?? Well.. it’s in part because your body is literally going into “sleep” mode (not as in restful sleep but as in sleeping your computer- it goes into pause until you are ready to fire it up again)
Prolonged sitting creates stress on the body and the result is that (“bad”) cholesterol rises, blood sugar rises, the enzymes that burn fat slow down their activity, and the lymphatic processes that move toxins out of the body slow down.
After 2 hours of sitting HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) decreases
Sedentary lifestyles are associated with increased depression, low back pain, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, decreased sense of purpose and lower self esteem, and even increased estrogen metabolites and as a resultincreased risk of breast and endometrial cancers in women.
Interestingly, multiple studies show that sitting combined with tv viewing for prolonged periods is far worse than sitting alone (whereas sitting meditations and worship are generally associated with positive health benefits)
Is a Standing Desk the Answer?
Ultimately moving vs standing still is what our bodies really need. We evolved as moving beings.
As we all know, prolonged standing is tiring and can create its own stress on the body. You will burn more calories standing, and you will likely feel more fatigue by the end of the day. Standing for long periods puts a higher demand on your circulatory system and is associated with increased risks of cardiovascular issues and varicose veins, low back pain and increased discomfort in the lower body (sore feet, plantar fasciitis). Standing is clearly not a solution for someone who suffers from pain or lower body injuries.
A treadmill desk or a mix of standing and sitting throughout the day are better solutions than standing alone. Movement literally helps pump our blood and lymph systems!
Mix it up!
Research supports that for improved health and vitality it is essential to regularly break up sitting by standing or activity. And as a bonus most people report that their productivity increases when they break up their sitting time.
Some recommendations:
- Sit for tasks that require focus (doing graphics or highly focused thinking), then stand or move around for tasks that don’t require as much focus (talking on the phone)
- After 20-60 minutes of sitting get up and move for a few minutes (run an errand, do a chore, take a walk to brainstorm, stretch, make tea…). Move for more than 1 minute, 5-8 minutes as a target.
- Set an alarm or timer to remind you to get up and move on an hourly basis.
- Walk around, do yoga or tai chi, or small weight lifts while talking on the phone.
- Hit pause during movies for a movement break
- Choose to walk when possible
- A short walk (10 minutes) after each meal reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes
- What are your ideas of how to integrate more movement into your winter routines?
None of our habits are set in stone!
Jen Landry, Steller Botanical Health
Transformational Nutrition Health Coach, Registered Herbalist (AHG), Asian Bodywork Therapist (Dipl ABT, NCCAOM), Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, and Rural Alaskan Farmer.