Short Walks Can Reverse The Effects Of Sitting

With Melbourne now in the Stage 4 State Of Emergency, a lot more people are working from home, and with gyms and sporting centres closed, some of us are doing much less movement than previously. Our bodies evolved to move and stay active, but that’s difficult to do in our modern work environment. How do we balance a sedentary job with maintaining your health?

A new study from researchers at the University of Missouri looked into the effects of sitting and health by studying 11 healthy young men before and after a period of sitting.

The researchers found, not surprisingly, that sitting for long periods reduced the blood flow to the legs. A bit more of a surprise was the fact that prolonged sitting also reduced blood flow to the arms.

The authors then had the 11 test subjects go for a 10-minute walk, and they found that a short bit of movement was able to reverse the effects of 6 hours of sitting. The exercise didn’t improve the decreased cardiovascular function of the arms, however.

It’s important to remember that the test subjects were young men, so it’s uncertain how well a 10-minute walk would work for older office workers, but the study results are encouraging. The takeaway from this study is pretty simple: if you have to work at a desk all day, make sure to take some time throughout the day to get some movement.

Other tips:

• More and more manufacturers are selling stand-up desks that have been shown to alleviate the problems associated with sitting for long periods of time.

• Make your lunch break an exercise break. Getting some gym time in in the middle of the day can be a fantastic way to energize yourself.

• Wear a pedometer or a fitbit and track how much you move over a ‘normal’ week, aim to beat this daily total of steps incrementally.

• Drink more water! You need 30ml per kilo of body weight every day as a minimum! This also means you need to go to the toilet more often… so more movement!

• See your local Chiropractor to ensure that your spine biomechanics are functioning at their full capacity, this way you’ll get more out of your daily movement and you reduced the impact of postural stress on your body!

Restaino RM, Holwerda SW, Credeur DP, Fadel PJ, Padilla J. Impact of prolonged sitting on lower and upper limb micro- and macrovascular dilator function. Experimental Physiology 2015;100(7):829-38.