Could These Be More Important Than Exercise Duration or Supplements?
Everyone knows, or they should, that exercise is one of the healthiest things we can do for our body and brain. It can help improved digestion, oxygenation, circulation, energy and sleep. It can even help you grow new brain cells! But could there be something even more important than the nature and duration of our workouts? And if so what is that? Well yes! And the answer is: How much time we spend sitting.
However, unlike exercise, which is positively correlated with good health, there is a negative or “inverse” correlation with sitting, i.e. The more we sit, the less healthy we become. For example, this research shows that, in general, the more we sit, the more likely we are to develop diabetes, arthritis, cardio vascular and a host of other ailments including cognitive decline. Studies show that people who sit for more than 10.6 hours a day have a significantly higher risk of heart failure and cardiovascular mortality—even if they meet the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week.1 These studies suggest that while moderate exercise can be very healthy, instead of running 4 miles a day, it may be more beneficial to make sure we don’t sit for more than an hour in the same place without getting up and moving around, or taking a short walk.
Benefits of Short Walks
Dr. Marlene Merritt has noted, “You’ve probably heard that walking or equivalent exercise for 30 minutes per day is known to be beneficial, and it is. However, shorter bouts can be even more therapeutic. A study at the University of Milan, in Italy, found that walking or climbing stairs in short periods, ranging from 10 seconds to four minutes, used 20 to 60 percent more energy per unit of time than walking for longer periods.2
This is because you use more energy to start than just moving at the same pace for a while, much like your car uses more gas per mile in stop-and-go traffic than on the highway. This doesn’t mean you should exercise less. Rather, take every opportunity to walk or climb stairs in the course of the day. It all adds up. And ideally, also allocate at least 20 minutes per day to doing short bursts of walking really fast, or some other intense exercise, alternated with slower movement.” Some call that high intensity interval training, and that too can help boost hormones and blood flow to the brain.”3
Brighten Your Day With This One Two Boost
One of the other most important things we can do for our body and brain is to get more sunlight.
Sunlight is essential for our health in several ways! Here are some of its key benefits:
Just 10 to 30 minutes of sunlight daily can provide these benefits.
Therefore, going for a good walk(s) in the sun, is a great one two punch, to improve our overall health, and mental well being! So now that we get to see more of the sun, lets get up, get out and move about more often, and let the sun shine in! The benefits might make you grin : )
1 https://www.sciencealert.com/too-much-sitting-can-still-be-harmful-even-if-you-exercise-study-warns
2 Luciano, F., et al. “Move less, spend more: the metabolic demands of short walking bouts.” Proc Biol Sci. 2024 Oct;291(2033):2024122
3 https://naturalhealthconnections.com/
4 https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-much-sunshine-you-need-daily
5 https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/benefits-sunlight
