Take a Stand! Why is Sitting so Harmful, and are Standing Desks Really the Solution?
- layvela
- Mar 2, 2022
- 10 min read
As a 30-year-old woman, Laura would exercise from time to time.
The biggest obstacles standing between her and a workout were always the first steps: getting dressed and mentally preparing herself to sweat. There were plenty of days when she scheduled time to exercise, but these roadblocks made her feel like it was better to put it off until another day when she "felt more like it."
As the years went by, Laura began exercising less and less until one day she just stopped completely. She simply had neither the time nor the desire.
Today, Laura is 60 years old and, as much as we would have loved to hear Laura’s story straight from her lips, she doesn't remember a single thing from her life, not even her own daughter – the woman who had to tell us this sad story as tears poured down her face.
A sedentary lifestyle is associated with poor cognitive function, according to several studies. Approximately 13% of Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases worldwide are attributed to inactive lifestyles, and research suggests that a 25% reduction in sedentary behavior could potentially prevent more than 1 million cases of AD globally.
The shape, structure, and function of the brain degrades as we age. These changes typically include hinderances to nerve transmission, decreased cerebral blood flow, a reduction in the size of the cerebral cortex, and impaired cognitive function, ultimately leading to dementia.
This demonstrates one thing: natural aging predisposes all older adults to the of risk of developing AD, one of the world’s most common neurodegenerative disorders and a disease which currently has no cure.
Is there a difference between dementia and Alzheimer's?
Dementia refers to any severe impairment of mental ability that interferes with daily life.
On the other hand, AD is a progressive brain disorder that destroys memory, thinking skills, and, eventually, the ability to perform even the simplest of tasks. AD is the most comment cause of dementia.
What exactly is sedentary behavior?
The phrase "sedentary behavior" comes from the Latin word "sedere," which means "to sit."
According to experts, sedentary behavior refers to any waking behavior where energy expenditure is less than or equal to 1.5 metabolic equivalents (METs) while sitting, reclining, or lying down.
This concept may be difficult to grasp at first. MET is a measurement of effort used to estimate energy expenditure during a performed action. It represents the amount of oxygen consumed while sitting at rest and equals 3.5 ml of O2 per kilogram of body weight per minute.
Simplified, it's is the amount of energy a person uses when doing any activity relative to the amount of energy that person uses during rest, like when they are sitting or lying down.
To give you an example, one MET is 1 kilocalorie per kilogram per hour. It is the caloric intake of a person at complete rest. A two MET activity equals twice an individual’s resting metabolic rate.
Activities of 2 to 4 METs (light walking, housework, etc.) are considered ‘light’ activities while more intense activities, such as running and climbing can produce 10 or more METs. So, activities like rest and sedentary behavior with energy expenditures below 1.5 METs are considered to be very, very low intensity.
Sedentary activities can be:
Reading while sitting
Being at the computer
Watching television
Office/desk work
Cell phone use
Any screen time
To remember:
One MET is the metabolic equivalent of the minimum energy you use when resting (sitting, lying down).
Simple tasks double the energy used at rest (2-4 METs), and intense activities can reach 10 METs or more.
How much time do we spend sitting?
"Excess of anything is bad."
This old proverb guides us to keep our lives balanced. It is especially important to remember when discussing sedentary behavior. Although calm and rest are good for reducing stress, spending too much time sitting can be detrimental.
Spending significant amounts of time sitting is a problem that affects people around the world, including children. Remote work and an increase in technology use mean that it takes less and less time to accomplish tasks. Now, you can clean the floor with a click, buy groceries with a phone call, and meet the love of your life on an app. It’s pretty amazing that we’ve developed all that much in just a few years, isn't it?
The truth is that, every day, we spend more and more hours sitting. Fortunately, that doesn’t necessarily mean we are sedentary. Here’s why:
The human body burns calories all the time, even while sleeping. This means you are definitely burning calories even when you are just sitting down. But the amount of time people sit per day depends on the tasks they need to accomplish. Office workers, for example, spend around 5 to 6 hours, sitting each day while medical students spend about 8 hours sitting each day.
What’s most important is evaluating how these hours are balanced with physical activity outside of sitting because, if balanced correctly, then they are not categorized as sedentary behavior. One study, for example, found that 65% of medical students, despite spending more than 46 hours sitting per week, fell into the “high physical activity” category.
Sedentary behavior: Are we facing the pandemic before the pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic not only poses serious health challenges, but also implies a series of profound changes in almost all areas of our lives, resulting in isolation and increasingly sedentary lifestyles.
A survey of 631 young adults at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic found that 70% of young people had significantly decreased their daily physical activity. At the same time, the amount of time this group spent sleeping and engaging in sedentary behaviors increased compared to a pre-pandemic baseline.
Among the most common sedentary activities were: paperwork, television, computer time, and smartphone time.
Now that the pandemic has become our new normal, it seems that the new challenges in our lives should be focused on reducing sedentary lifestyles that will likely be difficult to leave behind.
The impact of sitting for too long
Spending a lot of time sitting without any physical activity carries a wide-range of adverse impacts on physical and mental health. You probably already know some of these impacts, but I’m sure there are several that will surprise you.
Impacts On the mind
Sedentary behavior is closely related to mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, and chronic stress. Remember that, while some rest can help manage stress, too much will actually increase stress levels. This is what we mean by “moderation is the key.”
Too much rest can lead to feelings of emptiness, a lack of motivation, loneliness, low self-esteem, and distress. In fact, this lack of motivation induced by a sedentary lifestyle can lead to even more sedentary behaviors. It’s a vicious cycle.
In general, sitting for too long can lead to a significant decrease in overall sense of well-being, which in turn can lead to a decrease in quality of life.
Impacts On the heart
People who lead a sedentary lifestyle carry a significantly high risk of developing different cardiac conditions, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, and heart attack.
According to one study, people who watch TV for more than 6 hours a day are twice as likely to experience all-cause mortality – including from cardiovascular diseases- than those who watch TV for less than 2 hours per day.
The origin of this risk is well understood: less physical activity leads to fewer calorie expenditure and thus increased fat, producing cholesterol build up throughout the whole body, including in the arteries. This causes atherosclerosis, which also increases blood pressure. If not treated in time, it can lead to death from fatty clots (emboli) in the heart or brain that obstruct blood flow.
These risks are minimized when we are physically active. Regular physical activity leads to a stronger heart that can pump more blood with less effort. As a result, the strain on the arteries decreases, resulting in lower blood pressure.
Impacts On the brain
In addition to increasing the risk of stroke, sedentary behavior also induces changes can that lead to dementia.
The human brain helps link our genetics with the environment. The environment includes factors that make up our lifestyle, such as nutrition, sleep cycle, water intake, smoking, drinking, and physical activity.
Sedentary behavior is an environmental factor with such a heavy impact on brain structure that it changes the functional capacity of the brain, even in young children who aren’t yet old enough to experience any other detrimental effects from aging.
An extremely sedentary lifestyle is directly related to a decrease in brain gray matter and, therefore, cognitive impairment, as well as a 30% risk of developing dementia, according to a recent study.
These risks don’t even touch on the metabolic and bone damage and increased risk of colorectal, endometrial, ovarian, and prostate cancer that is associated with a sedentary lifestyle.
How to Reduce Your Sedentary Behavior: Sit Less and Move More
Sedentary behavior is not simply the absence of physical activity but a set of behaviors that negatively affect overall health.
Given the extensive scientific evidence of the risks and harms of sedentary behavior, it is time to take action to reduce unhealthy pattern in our lives, whether at home, at work, or at school.
Humans have hundreds of muscles, joints, and bones for movement. But if we don’t move, what is the point of having them? Here are some actions you can perform anywhere if you want to be more active.
Things you can do at work
Take a walk break every time you take a coffee or tea break.
Do some leisurely walking with co-workers after eating lunch together.
Stand up and move whenever you have a drink of water.
Whenever possible, stand up as opposed to sitting down.
Stand up and talk in phone conversations.
On your way home from work, stop at the park and take a walk.
Walk to a co-worker's desk instead of emailing or calling them.
Schedule short breaks into your electronic calendar as reminders to move.
Every 45 min-1 hour, do some squats, lunges, upper body stretches, shoulder rolls.
Take the stairs whenever you can.
Things you can do daily
Pick up a new active hobby, such as cycling or hiking.
Walk briskly in the mall.
When watching TV, stand up and move with every commercial break.
Replace those Sunday drives with Sunday walks.
Walk your dog daily. Our furry friends are also our greatest allies, and they also need to get out of a sedentary life.
Walk up and down the shopping aisles at the store before you shop. Dance to your favorite inspiring music selections.
Try standing and moving whenever you are talking on a cell phone.
Things you can do at school
Children spend 57% of their waking time in school. Approximately 6 hours a day there, and most of this time (65%) is sedentary.
Schools can:
Replace standardized desks and chairs within the classroom with adjustable standing desks.
Include games, exercise balls, and mat space in the classroom.
Schedule weekly sports lessons with vigorous physical activity in games and competitions.
Is physical activity the only way to go, or should we consider using standing desks at work and classrooms?
Physical activity is undoubtedly the most transcendent tool to improve overall health and prevent many diseases, mainly chronic ones. However, not all of us are the same, and therefore not all of us enjoy exercising.
Training should not be a ''punishment'' for not being healthy, as many in the fitness world want to make it look. At the end of the day, what really matters is to find something that you really enjoy while being healthy.
Standing desks are a part one alternative to sedentary behavior, but they are far from the only solution. These desks are designed to reduce sitting time in order to minimize sedentary behavior while a worker or student performs tasks while standing. Adjustable sit-to-stand desks also appear to reduce the total amount of time spent sitting while working or relaxing.
Although standing desks are an alternative to sedentary behavior, they are not a replacement for physical activity. That said, they are a good start in reducing sitting time in schools and work settings. They are a great complementary approach to other anti-sedentary measures.
The key to getting out of a sedentary lifestyle is to take small but effective steps that increase over time. No one can go from running 0km per day to 5km per day in just one night, and trying to do so will likely end in frustration and giving up.
A word from Layvela
Exercise to look healthy and not to change your body. Do it to enjoy the moment and not to stress yourself. Take small but real steps, set realistic goals suited for your own pace, and if you don't feel like exercising one day, don't do it.
References
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