If you have been sitting for a while, you might want to get up first before reading this. As per new findings, sitting for over nine and a half hours per day seated in a chair might be silently chipping years off your existence.
For years, physicians have warned that sitting for hours on end is bad for you. And now it is officially confirmed.
Studies conducted on behalf of the British Medical Journal have shown that older individuals and middle-aged individuals who sit for long stretches are likely to die sooner than individuals who are active for a significant part of the day.
Professor Ulf Ekelund of the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences led the study, which, along with colleagues, concluded that they desired further investigation into just how detrimental our modern “desk work” lifestyle is.
The Study That Made Sitting Scary
The researchers tracked over 36,000 individuals between 40 and 62 years old, mostly from the West, especially the West Coast of the United States and Western Europe.
Each was provided with an accelerometer, a wearable sensor that keeps track of movement, for approximately six years on average.
That is a lot of information, and it is. A lot of information wasn’t available, either, however, since some 2,000 of the subjects died over the course of the study, presenting researchers with a sad dataset.
The results? Sitting for 9.5 hours or more a day was linked with a much higher risk of dying of all causes. And it continues to decline at each additional hour above that threshold, sending the risk spiraling even higher.
Professor Tom Yates of the University of Leicester, a study co-author, said that “each hour more above this threshold increases the risk of death further”.
So, yes, those marathon workdays at your desk or nights watching TV stuck on Netflix could be doing more than just stiffening your back; they might just kill you off slowly.
Why Sitting Is Killing Us
When you sit for hours on end, processes in your body downshift. Blood circulation slows, your metabolism slows, and your muscles, which support your back, legs, or whatever, literally are at rest.
This lack of movement, cumulatively, causes obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.
It’s not necessarily shocking information that being active makes you live longer.
This report, though, gives a better idea of what is too much sitting, and it is a wake-up call for anyone who thought their daily jaunt to the coffee pot provided enough exercise.
The Better News: There Are Other Options Besides Being a Gym Rat
Before you start Googling treadmill desk or shoe-running challenges, here’s the silver lining: you don’t have to spend hours on the elliptical. The study proved that even modest activities such as walking, housework, or doing dishes have a profound impact.
“These findings really reinforce the saying ‘Doing something is better than doing nothing,'” said the Associate Professor at the University of Leicester, Charlotte Edwardson. In other words, you don’t have to train for a marathon, but don’t watch one either.
Something That You Can Do Right Away
The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests at least 150 minutes per week of moderate activity for adults. That’s 20 minutes per day of fast-paced walking. Walk to work. Take the stairs. Anything that ramps up your body movement counts.
A few minutes of activity per hour can make up for the negative effects of sitting for hours on end. Call it a long-term investment, not in a 401(k), but a living fund for expanding the duration of your existence.
If you telecommute, set a reminder for yourself to stand up and stretch once per hour. If you work at a desk, take calls on the go, or propose standing conferences. This might make you uncomfortable at first, but your lungs and heart will appreciate it down the road.
A Not-So-Subtle Reminder
It’s no coincidence that the world is constructed for sitting. We sit in cars, at the office, at restaurants, on the couch. And this research is a crude reminder that there’s a cost to too much comfort.
So, unless you have a date with your great maker, then maybe it is time to rethink those extra hours or TV marathon sessions. For, tired of labor, permanent repose sounds ideal, but it isn’t the kind of repose you have any business looking for.
Bottom line: Stand up. Walk around. Do something. Because sitting yourself to death is now literally no longer a turn of phrase.
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