Sitting

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00968.2018?rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org

The big question is:

What kind of exercise interruption cut off the deleterious effects of sitting?

The importance of exercise has been drummed into our heads over the past 50 years.

And for good reason. Getting regular exercise is one of the most important steps we can take to prevent and reverse disease.

But a growing body of research has shown that we don’t get the full benefits of exercise if we’re sitting too much.

The latest study, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, found that one hour of exercise failed to improve lipid, glucose, and insulin metabolism measured the next day in people that have been sitting for more than 13 hours a day.

Previous studies have found similar results. One showed that even marathon runners in training that are mostly sedentary outside of their exercise periods are at an increased risk of disease and early death!

Researchers have speculated that sitting for prolonged periods deactivates our metabolism and makes our bodies resistant to the beneficial effects of exercise.

This is an important finding since many Americans now sit for many hours a day.

Imagine someone that works at a desk for eight to nine hours, drives an hour to and from work, sits for meals, and then sits on the couch for a couple of hours watching TV after work—that’s more than 13 hours of sitting.

The takeaway?

Exercise is important, but so is reducing the amount of time you spend sitting.  

In my first book, The Paleo Cure, I recommended that we aim for walking about 10,000 steps a day and standing for about half of the day.

This might sound impossible if you work at a desk, but there are several ways to integrate more standing and walking into your day:

• Get a standing or treadmill desk.
• Take walking meetings.
• If you take public transportation to work, get off a stop or two before the office and walk the rest of the way. Same thing on the way home.
• If you drive to work, park a mile away and walk to and from the office.
• Take the stairs, rather than the elevator or escalator.

With a little bit of attention and ingenuity, you can significantly reduce the amount of time you spend sitting—and improve your health and extend your lifespan in the process.