It is well established that prolonged sitting is bad for your health. However, you would be foolish to believe that exercising before or after a long day of sitting can help reduce the hazards.
Regardless of how much exercise they get, older women who spend most of their days sitting down may experience serious health problems, according to a recent study that was published last week in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Here are some findings from the study and ideas to incorporate more movement into your daily routine.
Over the course of seven years, 5,856 women, with a median age of 79, were tracked in the study. The women’s ages ranged from 63 to 99. The death rate from cardiovascular disease increased significantly among individuals who sat for more than 11 hours a day. Even with moderate to vigorous exercise included in their routine, older women who reported sitting for more than 11.7 hours per day had a 78% increased risk of cardiovascular disease death and a 57% higher risk of all-cause death compared to those who sat for less than 10 hours, according to the study.
While more than 11 hours might sound excessive, consider this: do you spend your entire workday sitting in a car, then come home to unwind with a TV show on the couch? The hours add up without any difficulty. Structured exercise is a good habit, but spending the entire day without moving your body might have negative consequences, such as a higher risk of dementia and, as this study demonstrates, a shorter life expectancy.
Research indicates that walking for just five minutes after every thirty minutes of sitting can help counteract the harmful effects of prolonged sitting. This is helpful if you’re wondering how to balance out your daily hours of sitting. Using your treadmill or at-home walking pad, going for a stroll outside, or walking about the office should all help.
