Health News: We are well aware of the harmful health effects of sitting for long hours. But this is not something that we enjoy and there’s no way to avoid it. So, here we are going to tell you a way that can help you reduce the harmful effects of sitting for long hours.
According to findings of a new study, that has been published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, taking a five-minute light walk every half-hour can be the key.
The researchers tried to find out the least amount of walking that can offset the side effects of long sitting hours. They found that just five-minute of the light walk, after 30 minutes of continuous sitting, was enough to offset the harmful effects.
Researchers particularly measured changes in blood sugar levels and blood pressure and found that five minutes of walk was enough to reduce blood sugar levels substantially compared with sitting all day.
It is to be noted that blood sugar levels and blood pressure are two important risk factors for heart disease.
The five-minute of walks reduced the blood sugar spike after eating by almost 60 per cent.
Five minutes of walking also reduced the blood pressure by up to five points when compared to all day of sitting. Even a minute of walking every hour was enough to reduce the blood pressure by five points.
Walking breaks not only have physical health benefits but also contribute to mental health. Researchers found that five minutes of walking after regular resulted in less fatigue.
Walking after every short interval is important because those who sit for long hours have more chances to develop chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, dementia and others.
