Regularly choosing a few minutes of movement over a moment of sitting can significantly improve heart health, a new study finds.
Many adults have jobs that require them to be sedentary for large parts of the day. But prioritizing physical activity—even in small amounts—can make a positive difference in overall well-being.
New research from University College London, published earlier this month in the European Heart Journal, indicates that replacing sitting with a few minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each day can significantly improve your heart health.
On the other hand, researchers found that sitting for long periods of time can negatively impact your heart and increase your risk of death.
To understand this, researchers built a model to determine what would happen if a person exchanged one behavior for another each day for a week.
The model analyzed data from different studies that allowed the research team to see the impact of swapping certain behaviors. For instance, a 54-year-old woman who replaced 30 minutes of sitting with moderate exercise could not only improve her heart health but also decrease her waist circumference by 2.5 cm (a 2.7% decrease).
This research is not the first study to investigate the negative impact sitting has on health and how people might offset those risks.
In another study earlier this year, researchers found that people who spend more than 12 hours a day sitting have a 38% increased risk of death if they don’t get at least 22 minutes of exercise each day.
“For those sitting more than 12 hours per day, [we found] there was an increased risk of premature death,” Edvard Sagelv, PhD, the study’s co-author and a researcher at the Arctic University of Norway, told Health.
“Sitting affects our heart negatively like activity affects it positively,” he said. “The heavier your heart beats, the better your heart health is, or the stronger your heart is.”
Here’s what you need to know about the consequences of sitting for too long, as well as what you can do to counteract these effects.
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The main issue with sitting is that it displaces time when you should be moving around, Sebastien Chastin, PhD, professor of health behavior dynamics at Glasgow Caledonian University, told Health.
When this happens, several physiological processes take place in your body.
“We know also that the physiology of how our body processes sugar is affected [by sitting],” Chastin said. “There also is some evidence that the hormones involved in bone health are affected.”
Sitting also can create muscle weakness and muscle imbalances, especially in your core and legs, John Gallucci Jr. MS, ATC, PT, DPT, a doctor of physical therapy and the CEO of JAG Physical Therapy told Health.
“Sitting for a prolonged period of time can even result in poor posture, reduced blood circulation, weight gain, and obesity,” he explained.
According to Sagelv, a lot of this has to do with how sitting impacts your metabolism.
“Sitting tells the body that the demand is not high, so it does not need to be that strong. The liver, and the energy systems in the muscles, [also] are shown to ‘slow down’ and [we are not] able to burn all the energy from food that we eat,” he said. “So, [the body] performs poorer in burning energy.”
Sitting for long hours has even been linked to neurological issues.
One study found that being sedentary for 10 hours or more each day is associated with an increased risk of dementia. Part of this may have to do with decreased blood flow to the brain and increased inflammation.
While there is no conclusive evidence on how much time you can spend sitting each day without being negatively impacted, Chastin advises trying to sit for as little as possible.
“With the data we have currently, we estimate that two to three minutes of moderate exercise per hour of sitting is a good balance,” Chastin explained.
He also noted that it really just depends on how much sitting you do each day, and trying to balance that out.
A 2021 study Chastin led found that people who sit for a long time might require 40 minutes of daily, moderate to vigorous physical activity for a 30% risk reduction for all-cause mortality.
Alternatively, people who only sit for six hours a day might only need five minutes to achieve the same risk reduction.
The key is that the more you sit, the more you need to move to reduce your risk of health issues.
To counteract the effects of sitting, the single most important thing you can do is to introduce more movement in your life, Chastin explained.
This can be particularly hard for some people, though, because it also means changing their way of living and working.
“Technology can help with prompts to remind us [to stand or move], but we have seen that the effect tends to fade with time,” Chastin said. “[Instead], take any opportunity to move and have fun; and stay away from screens as much as possible.”
He also noted that sleeping is important because it means you are less tired and have more energy for the active things you want to do.
You also can try doing chores or activities around the house, assuming you have a little more time on your hands. Chastin explained that it takes about seven minutes of light activity to have the same effect as one minute of moderate exercise on the human body.
If you are pressed for time, Sagelv suggests doing higher-intensity movements for shorter periods.
“Even some movement is good for your risk of death, meaning, it will help you live longer,” he said.
Another way to build activity into your day is to set an alarm to get up and do jumping jacks every hour. Or, Gallucci explained that a standing desk is another way to make the most of the workday without forfeiting all your activity time for the day.
He also recommends standing during meetings at work, walking while you make phone calls, exercising during lunch, and stretching throughout the day to reduce stiffness.
“The key is to not just reduce sitting time but to also promote a healthy lifestyle through consistent physical activity,” Gallucci said. “Engage in regular aerobic exercise, strength training, and stretching. Be sure to also take short breaks and maintain good posture when you are sitting.”
