Actively Sitting: Protecting Your Brain Health While Sitting During The Day

We’ve known for some time that spending much of your day sitting, rather than moving, is neither healthy for your body nor your brain. Research studies have demonstrated a link between a sedentary lifestyle and such chronic conditions as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even dementia. Given that most older adults spend an average of 9-10 hours a day sitting down, you can easily see how interrupting your patterns of sitting can be an important part of setting yourself up for healthier aging. Recent research studies provide additional evidence for the importance of sitting less, moving more, and, if you’re sitting, making sure your brain remains “active” even if your body is still.

One new study published in Calcified Tissue International examined the connection between sitting and bone health. What this research uncovered was that, across all age groups, but especially among sedentary older adults, inactivity while sitting can accelerate bone loss and increase your fracture risk. If you want to strengthen your bones, the reality is you need to sit less. This research found that reducing your sitting time by just 30 minutes a day, with some light physical activity, can measurably improve your bone health, especially in your spine. So stand up, go for a walk, strengthen your bones, and click here for more info about less sitting. Another recent study of the negative health effects of sitting, this time published in BMC Geriatrics, found that substituting light physical activity for around ½ hour a day in place of sitting (or sleeping) is linked to better physical and mental health in older adults. This study involved over 4000 older Chinese adults (aged 60+) and demonstrated that brief periods of disrupted sitting (perhaps just 5-10 minutes of standing up) could still have a positive effect.  

But what if you face real challenges with physical activity? What if moving about is not an easy task for you, or requires help that’s not always available? Well, there are things you can do while sitting that can still lessen the risks from sitting and possibly offer protective benefits for your heart and brain health. When it comes to the connection between sitting and heart health, researchers from Finland, publishing in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, determined that reclining on the couch, or lying down on your bed, is even less healthy for your heart than sitting up, especially if you are then able to stand up a few times an hour. So if you are limited in how much active physical movement you can engage in, at a minimum, try not to recline or lie down. You’ll do yourself and your heart a favor if you sit up and stand up, to the extent you can.

Finally, we’ve previously addressed the effects on brain health of extended periods of sitting, especially if you’re passively watching television. An important new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine examined the effect of extensive sitting on over 20,0000 adults aged 35-64. For over 20 years, the cognitive health of the participants was monitored with particular attention paid to passive sitting (such as watching television) versus active sitting (such as reading, playing games, or in some other way actively engaging your brain). We already know that the type of passive sitting that involves vegging out in front of the TV can put you at higher risk for dementia. What this new study demonstrated was that “active sitting” can actually offer protective benefits to the brain. In fact, replacing just one hour of passive sitting with more mentally engaged sitting can reduce your risk of dementia by 7%. This study was the first of its kind to separate out passive sitting from active sitting, in relation to dementia risk. While physical activity, rather than just sitting, is still important (it is for cardiovascular health, for sure), what this study does reflect is that not all sitting behaviors are equal. If you can engage your brain and stay mentally active while sitting, you can lower your risk for dementia even if the only muscle moving is your brain. So get ready to engage your mind and read more here.