How to combat sitting all day

Sitting all day is a current health concern.   While I know that sitting all day has been described as “the new smoking” until now this made me uncomfortable – as its not the same.  You can get help to quit smoking.  If you work in an office you are expected to sit and standing desks are rare, so you have no choice but to sit down.  While I am aware that smoking is an addiction, I think it is still more within the individual’s control than sitting if you work in an office.

I am an optimistic person by nature, so I don’t want to be the voice of doom for my readers about sitting.  So I was very interested in some recent research which demonstrates how to limit the impact of sitting.

Spending much of the day sitting around increases the risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and ultimately, death – with 50,000 people anually in the UK dying as a result, say researches from Queen’s University in Belfast.    Around 30% of adults spend at least six hours a day during the week sitting and this rises to 37% at weekends.  Roughly one-thrid of people who are sedentary will have at least two major health conditions, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.  Researchers from the American Cancer Society estimate that just 30 minutes of some physical activity would halve the death rates from chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

So 30 minutes of physical activity per day (like walking) is what researchers currently think is required to combat sitting all day.

References

Journal Epidemiol Community Health. 2019 Jul;73(7):625-629. doi:10.1136/jech-2018-211758

Americal Journal of Preventive Medicine, Mortality Risk Reductions for Replacing Sedentary Time with Physical Activities, Rees-Punia, Erika et al.  Volume 56, Issue 5, 736-741

 

Related Posts

  • Is there something in the quackery?

    Many people think that homeopathy is unscientific nonsense - however a new study reports that homeopathy can reverse the skin condition vitiligo, which are the white patches on people's skin. Classical homeopathy which is where individualized remedies are perscribed - has been sucessfully used on 14 vitiligo sufferers say researchers are the Centre for Classical Homeopathy in Bangalore , India.  The remedies reduces the white patches on skin in all 14 patients within an average of 5 years of starting treatment. With classical homeopathy, the remedy will vary and is determined by the characteristics of each individual patient, and so researchers are unable to point to one remedy that could treat the problem. Vitiligo is an autoimmune condition that causes the loss of melanin, the skin pigment.  Conventional medicine treats the condition with light therapy and drugs, which can restore some pigmentation but doesn't treat the underlying condition. Reference https://www.amjcaserep.com/abstract/index/idArt/905340

  • Natural remedies for the winter blues – Part 2

    In part 1, I shared details of supplements that may help alleviat ethe winter blues.  In this blog post I want to share other lifestyle tips. 1. Exercise If you suffer from winter blues it is likely that your GP would perscribe a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI).  This is the standard drug to treat depression and one of medicines all time bestsellers.  Researches compared aerobic exercise aginst the Lustral (SSRI sertaline) foudn that exercise and the drug were equally effective at reducing depressive symptioms.  But only exercise had long lasting effects.  Of the patients declared free of depression at the end of the study, those who had been in the exercise only-group were less likely to see their depression return during the next 6 months. 2. Eat Fish If you love fish like I do, then science says you are less likely to get depressed.   In one study women who ate fish two or more times per week where less likley to get depressed than those who ate fish less often.  It is thought the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are responisble for lifting mood.  A number of studies have found that omega-3 supplements have a significant antidepressant effect. 3. St John's Wort A herb commonly used in Germany to treat mild depression.  Scientists have established that not only better is the herb better than a placebo its as effective as an antidepressant. References Blumenthal JA, Babyak MA, Moore KA, Craighead WE, Herman S, Khatri P, Waugh R, Napolitano MA, Forman LM, Appelbaum M, Doraiswamy PM, Krishnan KR. Effects of exercise training on older patients with major depression. Arch Intern Med. 1999 Oct 25;159(19):2349-56. Blumenthal JA, Babyak MA, Doraiswamy PM, Watkins L, Hoffman BM, Barbour KA, Herman S, Craighead WE, Brosse AL, Waugh R, Hinderliter A, Sherwood A. Exercise and pharmacotherapy in the treatment of major depressive disorder. Psychosom Med. 2007 Sep-Oct;69(7):587-96. Babyak M, Blumenthal JA, Herman S, Khatri P, Doraiswamy M, Moore K, Craighead WE, Baldewicz TT, Krishnan KR. Exercise treatment for major depression: maintenance of therapeutic benefit at 10 months. Psychosom Med. 2000 Sep-Oct;62(5):633-8.

    Li F, Liu X, Zhang D Fish consumption and risk of depression: a meta-analysis J Epidemiol Community Health 2016;70:299-304.
    Lin PY, Su KP. A meta-analytic review of double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of antidepressant efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids. J Clin Psychiatry. 2007 Jul;68(7):1056-61.
    Vorbach EU, Hübner WD, Arnoldt KH. Effectiveness and tolerance of the hypericum extract LI 160 in comparison with imipramine: randomized double-blind study with 135 outpatients. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 1994 Oct;7 Suppl 1:S19-23.
    Wheatley D. LI 160, an extract of St. John's wort, versus amitriptyline in mildly to moderately depressed outpatients--a controlled 6-week clinical trial. Pharmacopsychiatry. 1997 Sep;30 Suppl 2:77-80.
     

  • Do you go home being mentally exhausted but physically full of beans?

    I know when I worked in IT I would often leave the office mentally very tired and depending upon how trying the day had been somtimes I was just mentally exhausted but often I was not physically tired.  The simplest solution to this conundrum is to go down the gym and burn of the excess physical energy and going to the gym also helps to switch off from work.   However there are times when we are injured or feeling run down when this is not possible, so then what can you do? Recently I have seen a few people in clinic who are in this situation.  This means they are stuggling to switch off from work and relax.  So  I wanted to share a few tips on how to handle this if it happens to you. Depending upon the injury you can:

    • Start taking the stairs at work - even if you can't walk up all the flights of stairs for example if you are based on the top floor, you can walk up some flights and take the lift for the rest.
    • Go swimming instead of going to the gym.
    • Get of the train or tube one stop earlier and walk the rest of the way (this obviously depends upon your commute).
    • Go for a walk in park or any type of greenery.
    • A lot of museams in London have a late night opening, so why not go walk around a museam.
    • If you have a garden, do some gardening.