2023-10-04 11:37:24
CRISTINA MARRN (CURIERE DELLA SERA)
Updated Wednesday, October 4, 2023 – 11:37
Organized physical or sports activity is not enough to guarantee mental health: all the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle
THE WORLD
When we sit at the desk in our office we should set an alarm that forces us to get up. Currently, numerous studies have highlighted how the “inactive” are more exposed to diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and tumors. A work published a few months ago in Jama Cardiology concluded that people who sit for more than 8 hours have a risk of mortality and heart attack, heart failure or cardiovascular diseases between 17% and 50% higher than those who sit for less than 4 hours. Now, another study recently published in Jama I found that the people who remain sitting for a long time at home or at work have a higher risk of developing dementia than people who feel less. Researchers have reported that the negative effects of too much sitting apply even people who exercise regularly if they remain at a desk for much of the rest of the day.
How the study was carried out
In the study, scientists from the University of Southern California and other universities almost 50 thousand people participated, including men and women aged 60 and over (none had dementia), whose data is held in the huge UK Biobank archive which collects data on the life, health and death of thousands of Britons. Many of the participants used a sophisticated activity tracker for a week carefully measuring your movements and stillness throughout the day. With the help of artificial intelligence algorithms capable of interpreting the trackers’ readings, the scientists identified volunteers every minute of the day: when they moved and when they sat or still, but not slept. The scientists then monitored the medical conditions of people during the next seven yearsanalyzing hospital documents and medical records that indicated any type of dementia.
Extreme Levels of Sedentary Lifestyle Not That Unusual
Researchers have found strong correlations between sedentary lifestyle and brain health . Whether sat more than 10 hours a day (and many of the volunteers did), their risk of developing dementia For the next seven years it was 8% higher than if he sat for less than 10 hours. In fact, the risk of dementia was 63% higher for the people passing by at least 12 hours in a chair . “It is not so impossible to spend 10-12 hours sitting. It happens at work, in the car during the trip, at lunch and at dinner,” emphasizes David Raichlen, professor of biological sciences and anthropology at the University of Southern California. , among the authors of the work. “In these extreme levels of “Sedentary behavior is where we see a much higher risk of cognitive and memory decline.”
Physical activity does not compensate for 10 hours of sedentary lifestyle
Surprisingly, the researchers noted that Even practicing physical activity did not provide any benefits . “People who made physical or sports activity but then sat for 10 hours or more were as prone to dementia as people who did not exercise,” the authors say. The study is associative and cannot demonstrate that sitting causes cognitive impairment. There isn’t even a clear explanation as to why the two are connected. Just hypothesis. “Cerebral blood flow may be affected by sitting, which reduces the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the brain,” the researchers say. Additionally, sitting for hours, perhaps in front of the television, promotes long-term negative health behaviors, such as poor eating and unhealthy snacking.
Move more frequently, even if you are physically active
“The real enemy of inflammation, cardiovascular health and cognitive deterioration is a sedentary lifestyle,” confirms Gianfranco Beltrami, vice president of the Italian Federation of Sports Medicine, who emphasizes that few studies evaluate the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle for health. “Practicing a sport in a structured way is not enough for our health if we remain inactive the rest of the day” says the sports doctor. And this also applies to children and adolescents: “Playing three or four hours a week of football or basketball does not provide great benefits if the rest of the hours you sit at school, in front of to the computer or the play station, taking into account that there are 168 hours in a week. Therefore, it is better try to move more ofteneven when you work or stay at home.
Active breaks in the office
Taking active breaks, especially in the work environment, can be a solution to limit the risks of poor health. In general terms, it is recommended active breaks of 10 minutes every hour of continuous work, or breaks of 3-5 minutes every half hour. You can work both through strength training (20 squats take 2 minutes) and with ergonomic exercises.
But what can you do to break the sedentary routine?
FoldableUse stairs whenever possibleWalk while talking on the phoneHold meetings standingWalk to work (or get off one stop early if you use public transportation)Get up from your chair whenever possibleWork standing up
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