20 minutes of daily activity can reduce harm caused by prolonged sitting: Study
The researchers found that people sitting for over 12 hours a day are at 38% increased risk of death as compared to those who sit for 8 hours
Since the onset of Covid-19 and subsequent lockdowns, majority of the world population has gotten pretty used to work from home and being stuck to electronics for a considerable amount of time during the day. This prolonged use of electronics and sitting on a desk for hours has started to prove bad for our health with multiple ill effects on our body. However, after recent study, researchers have found that simply few minutes of exercise or activity can help reduce the harm caused by excessive sitting.
The research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has said that 22 minutes of exercise or light to moderate activity can help in maintaining your health. This study appears to contradict the findings of earlier studies which showed that regular exercise cannot zero out the negative effect of sitting down. Similarly, a 2017 study published in the Annals of Internal found that working out regularly can reduce some harm caused by prolonged sitting but cannot eliminate it completely.
The study’s lead author, Edvard Sagelv, a researcher at the Arctic University of Norway, said that 150 minutes of activity per week is enough to counteract the detrimental health effects of prolonged sitting. “This is the beautiful part: we are talking about activities that make you breathe a little bit heavier, like brisk walking, or gardening or walking up a hill,” he added.
Edvard said, “Think of it: only 20 minutes of this a day is enough, meaning, a small stroll of 10 minutes twice a day like jumping off the bus one stop before your actual destination to work and then when taking the bus back home, jumping off one stop before.”
The study included analysis of 12,000 people from Norway, Sweden and US for two years who wore movement detection devices on their hips for 10 hours a day for at least 4 days. The study further found that over an average of five years, 805 people had died and out of those who died, 353 people had spent less than 10 and half hours seated, while 448 averaged 10 and half hours or more. The researchers found that people sitting for over 12 hours a day are at 38 per cent increased risk of death as compared to those who sit for 8 hours. However, this only applies to those who managed to do a few minutes of exercise.
