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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHow NOT to die from sitting all day
https://www.today.com/series/one-small-thing/sitting-bad-your-health-move-every-30-minutes-t116207People who experience such long bouts of uninterrupted sitting and who stay sedentary for much of their waking time 12.5 hours or more a day have the highest risk of death from any cause, a new study finds. But theres one thing you can do to reduce the harm: Move every 30 minutes for at least one minute, said lead author Keith Diaz, an associate research scientist at Columbia University Medical Center.
People need to be mindful and try to take a break every half hour if they can, Diaz told TODAY. When our bodies are not moving, they just stop working like theyre supposed to.
The findings, published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine, come after Diaz and his team analyzed data from almost 8,000 people who took part in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study.
The participants, who were all 45 or older, wore a device that measured how much they moved during the day. Overall, it found they spent 77 percent of their waking hours sitting or being otherwise inactive the equivalent to being sedentary more than 12 hours out of a 16-hour waking day. It seems astonishing, but Diaz wasnt surprised.
dawg
(10,624 posts)underpants
(182,772 posts)I am Mr. "Other duties as assigned" around here. Plus the printer in my office is out of toner so I print to another one so I have to get up.
LisaM
(27,802 posts)I can print in my office or to a shared printer - just be sending to the shared printer would get me up and about more.
madinmaryland
(64,931 posts)LisaM
(27,802 posts)I should probably set myself a timer for when I start on involved projects.
fleur-de-lisa
(14,624 posts)I guess that counts?
Laffy Kat
(16,377 posts)Me too! Of course, if you're female like me, that means even more sitting! This is way TMI, but it takes me forever to pee, so I just hate it.
peggysue2
(10,828 posts)of this simple yet important fact to no avail. She slept in a chair because of back issues, and then sat in a chair all day long. Parked in front of the TV. I think part of it was because she was terrified of falling (she'd broken her hip a half-dozen years ago). Yet she wouldn't use a walker until the very end when her balance really was a factor. By then, it was far too late.
So yes, not moving can absolutely be the kiss of death.
malaise
(268,931 posts)your bones will break
peggysue2
(10,828 posts)But I could not convince her. She lived with us until her death this past March. I think she thought I was being mean, nagging her about moving around, suggesting she walk out back. Oh, the horror!
I tried but in truth we're often our own worst enemies. Guess my kids will nag on me some time in the future.
malaise
(268,931 posts)and her lying down all day is creating breathing problems - and yes she's very angry with her daughter and one of her grandsons. Both insist she gets up and walks. The thing is her mom was a regular walker up to her mid-80s.
peggysue2
(10,828 posts)with your friends. It's really, really hard. I'm not the nagging type but I knew giving in to my mother-in-law's resistance was the easy way out. For me.
What can I say? We do the best we can for our loved ones. Even when they fight us like hell! I had the same mindset when I raised my kids--they resisted, I pushed back for their own good. Hate to say it but there were similarities.
Pneumonia finally took my mother-in-law, that and a bad reaction to a drug she'd been on far too long. As with the moving around, I could not convince her of changing the meds, even though the literature on the drug over time was negative. Even the cardiologist couldn't convince her. And I thought I was stubborn!
As I said, you do the best you can. As for your friends? I know what they're going through.
klook
(12,154 posts)such as https://tomato-timer.com/ -- or one of the apps that's available.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,674 posts)I do move around at least every 30 minutes because:
I have to pee.
A cat knocked something over and I have to see if it's something that needs to be cleaned up right away.
I have to pee again.
A cat used the litter box and refused to cover his poo, and the stench is so overwhelming that I have to do something about it.
I remember that the plants on the porch need watering.
I have to get more coffee.
A cat is hassling me for food.
I have to pee again.
A cat puked and I have to clean it up.
And so forth, all day.
Dem_4_Life
(1,765 posts)Sounds like my life when I am at home. On days when I have to work from home I always have to lock my cats out of the room when I am on calls or they decide they want to be a part of the conversation on conference calls.
Wednesdays
(17,342 posts)woodsprite
(11,911 posts)They started with just one, and now I would say about 25-30% of our staff have them. It allows you to adjust the height to sitting or standing. Our big boss (before he retired) was shoveling snow one day and had to go to the ER because of chest pain. He recovered and had a couple of stents installed. When he came back to work, he started encouraging us to compete in walking/fitbit contests, he put a treadmill/standing desk workstation in a corner of the office (has a governor set at 2mph), has some light handweights, and has a couple of underdesk peddle dohickeys that can be signed out. They also are in some kind of program that let's you try out different kinds of chairs for a 2 wk period until you settle on one you like, including several models of core strengthening chairs. Kinda cool, but I would be afraid I'd pop the ball or need someone to help me out of darned thing.
I have put in a request for a dual monitor standing desk. I was recently diagnosed with T2 Diabetes and have been trying to force myself to be more active, but I've always been sedentary. I know my numbers are better if I move more, but I find it really difficult to get my 10K+ steps (or 45+ minutes/day per my nutritionist) in a day and feel guilty if I want to veg and concentrate on my art or doing genealogy at night (more sitting) after work, fixing dinner, and cleaning the kitchen.
Tracer
(2,769 posts)My trick to often get myself up is to put my phone on the other side of the room (a good 17' away) so that I have to get up to answer it.
raven mad
(4,940 posts)PRE-PC, started on a manual, and the teacher emphasized this. After manual? usually a Selectric.
It works.