Really? Any activity is better for your heart than sitting — even sleeping.
The headline above was the title of a Nov. 2023 research study on the relationship between health and exercise which has since been collaborated by other studies this year. The study provided some surprising, but reassuring, news about heart health and exercise. It turns out that indeed replacing sitting with as little as a few minutes of moderate exercise can definitely improve heart health — and it doesn’t take much!
Wait – aren’t you inactive when you’re just sleeping? How does that help heart health? It turns out during sleep you are still moving some and being prone improves blood flow. Prolonged sitting, in contrast results in the body using blood sugar less efficiently which is not good for cardiac health.
So this study is good news. The bad news is:
Cardiovascular disease is one the number one killer around the world. Since 1997, the number of people living with cardiovascular disease has doubled and is projected to rise further. As Mayo Clinic stated: “In recent decades, affluent populations have become increasingly sedentary, with many adults spending 70% or more of their waking hours sitting.”
So what’s important about this study?
This is the first study to focus on how even small progress toward more activity throughout the day is linked to better heart health, even minimizing chances of heart attack or stroke.
Were the participants tied to treadmills and forced to jog as fast as they could?
In this research, scientists analyzed data from six studies, including 15,246 people from five countries. Each participant used a wearable device on their thigh to measure their activity throughout the 24-hour day and had their heart health measured.
While the researchers agreed that going from moderate to vigorous activity provided the most benefit to heart health, light activity, standing and even sleeping, was still more heart-friendly than being sedentary. Coaching individuals on how to move from sedentary to light activity had significant benefits. While it may require more time and some coaching, people of all abilities can improve — no forced fast jogging required!
Although vigorous activity was the quickest way to improve heart health, lower levels of intensity just required more time. For example, using a standing desk for a few hours a day may take more time, it could be as effective for better heart health without running.
Here’s some other good news…
In the study those who are least active were also found to gain the greatest benefit from changing from sedentary behaviors. And it’s not just the heart that benefits…This study shows that replacing even a few minutes of sitting with a few minutes of moderate activity can improve BMI (Body Mass Index), cholesterol, waist size. Replacing 30 minutes of daily sitting or lying time with moderate or vigorous exercise could also translate into trimmer waistlines and decreased A1C levels.
As Professor Mark Hamerjoint, study co-author, remarked: “Getting active isn’t always easy, and it’s important to make changes that you can stick to in the long-term and that you enjoy – anything that gets your heart rate up can help. Incorporating ‘activity snacks’ such as walking while taking phone calls…is a great way to start building activity into your day, to get you in the habit of living a healthy, active lifestyle.”
