Why sitting all day may shorten your life

NEW YORK – People have all heard that sitting too long is bad for you. You are not evolved to do it, it can undermine exercise gains and it causes dead butt syndrome.

Sitting might not quite be “the new smoking”, but too much of it can still shorten your life.

“Sitting is actually ageing you faster,” said Ms Katy Bowman, a biomechanist and author of My Perfect Movement Plan. Whether it is bone or joint health, muscle mass or energy level, she added, “a lot of what you perceive as ageing is going to be heavily influenced by your sitting time”.

And people spend a lot of time sitting. Numbers vary around how much average Americans sit a day, but it may be as long as 9½ hours. Studies suggest women sit less than men do, but most agree people now all sit more than previous generations did.

The consequences can be serious. A study published at the beginning of 2024 followed 480,000 people in Taiwan older than 13 and found that those who sit most of the work day had a 34 per cent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than those with less sedentary jobs did – and a 16 per cent higher risk of mortality overall.

One way to lower the risk, the authors wrote, was to add 15 to 30 minutes of physical activity a day to your existing routine. Other studies go further, suggesting sedentary people need to double the standard weekly exercise recommendations.

“The bottom line is that too much sitting is a big new health risk,” said Professor Neville Owen, a senior scientist at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.

Here is what you need to know and how to mitigate your time in the chair.

Why is sitting so bad?

Put simply, uninterrupted sitting is bad for your heart, joints, muscles, metabolism and mental health.

The American Heart Association notes that prolonged sitting raises the risk of developing heart disease or stroke, even for those who exercise regularly.

It can take as little as 30 minutes of uninterrupted sitting to affect how blood vessels function. And the longer you sit, the higher the cardiovascular risks, especially if you are sitting for more than 10 hours.

Sitting for extended periods has also been linked to lower back pain. Small studies suggest the height of your lumbar disc might be compressed after sitting more than four hours without interruption.

Furthermore, your large leg and gluteal muscles can stop activating after just 30 minutes of sitting, Prof Owen said. Over time, they can weaken and cause back or knee pain.

Sitting also does not burn much energy. Over time, a sedentary lifestyle can affect your ability to regulate blood sugar and break down fat, potentially leading to weight gain and Type 2 diabetes.

American workers today burn about 100 fewer calories a day than they did 50 years ago.

That is roughly equal to 30 minutes of walking, said exercise specialist Thom Rieck at the Mayo Healthy Living Program in Rochester, Minnesota.

Lastly, sitting affects mood and cognition, increasing the odds of depression and anxiety.

How to get off your butt

If you sit for work, you have to be more active.

The fact is that if you sit a lot, the recommended 150 weekly minutes of moderate aerobic activity and strength training may not cut it, said Dr Geoffrey Whitfield, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The more you sit, the more exercise you need. Some evidence suggests tripling that amount, to about 60 minutes a day, he added.

Set a timer at work

If you cannot add that much movement to your day, try adding small bouts, spread throughout the day. Clinical exercise physiologist Brian Cleven in Marinette, Wisconsin, recommends working some exercises into your day at your desk.

Try 10 to 15 repetitions of pointing and flexing each foot, seated calf raises and marching in place. Or try a quick exercise snack.

He suggests doing something every hour or perhaps exercising the lower body one hour and the upper body the next. Even better, he said, try to elevate your heart rate by taking a two- to five-minute walk every hour or walking up and down a set of stairs.

Standing desks are not cure-alls

Working at a standing desk expends more energy than sitting, but can cause pain as well. The key is regular movement whether seated or standing, said Dr Bethany Barone Gibbs, an epidemiologist based in Pittsburgh with the American Heart Association.

If nothing else, try fidgeting.

If you cannot get up – say, during a long car drive – at the very least you should change your body position, ideally every 15 to 30 minutes, Dr Barone Gibbs said. You can do this with small, subtle movements, such as fidgeting by tapping or jiggling your feet every few minutes.

Try adjusting your leg, pelvis and spine positions, Ms Bowman said. “Read your e-mail with your arms stretching overhead or while twisting your shoulders to the right and left,” she suggested. Or alternate between doing 30 minutes of work standing and 30 minutes seated.

But you cannot fidget your way to good health. To avoid the adverse effects of a sitting-heavy lifestyle, add more movement breaks and more exercise to your daily routine, Dr Whitfield said. NYTIMES