Sitting all day? Here’s a new hack.

👣 If you only have one health goal, make it this 👣

Sitting for long periods of time is dangerous for your health, yet we all do it 😫But here’s a fun tip based on a solid research study:

⏰ Strolling around for 5 minutes every half hour can offset some of the most harmful effects of prolonged sitting. 

The study was done at Columbia University and looked at 5 possible scenarios: 

🔸 1 minute of walking every 30 minutes

🔸 1 minute every 60 minutes

🔸 5 minutes every 30

🔸 5 minutes every 60

🔸 No walking at all

The optimal results came out of walking for 5 minutes after every 30 minutes of sitting. That amount:

⬇️ Reduced blood pressure by 4-5 mm Hg compared to sitting all day

⬇️ Reduced blood sugar spikes after meals by 58% compared to sitting all day

Don’t you LOVE when tiny efforts can add up to such a big impact? 

So here’s your challenge: set a timer for 30 minutes every time you sit down at your desk. Then take a 5-minute stroll. 

I bet it will be good for you brain and productivity too 🧠

Reference

Duran A, Friel C, Serafini M, et al. Breaking Up Prolonged Sitting to Improve Cardiometabolic Risk: Dose-Response Analysis of a Randomized Cross-Over Trial. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2023. [link]

[Just Released] Walking in Nature Improves Stress Response

🌱 A new study found that a one-hour walk in nature decreased activity in a part of the brain called the amygdala—which translates to a better ability to deal with stress. 

For some background…

✔️ Living in a city or urban area is associated with more anxiety and depression. 

✔️ Studies also show that a stress-related area of the brain called the amygdala becomes more active during a stressful situation in urban residents than in rural residents. 

✔️ This latest study is the first to compare what happens to brain activity during a one-hour walk on a busy city street and during a one-hour walk in the forest. 

Here’s how the study went…

🧠 Brain activation was measured in 63 healthy adults when exposed to a stressful task.

🥾 Participants then went on a one-hour walk either on a busy street or in nature. 

🧠 The same brain activation test was done again after the walk. 

🌱 Results showed decreased activation of the amygdala in participants who had walked in nature (but no change in those who walked in the city) when exposed to stress. 

Here’s what it means to you…

Walking in nature provides even more benefits than walking in the city. You may not be able to make it to the forest every day, but walking in a park or on a trail will do the trick too. 

Just remember that we may be more powerfully influenced by our environment than we realize, and nature is one of our best remedies for stress relief 😌 

Reference

Sudimac, S., Sale, V., & Kühn, S. (2022). How nature nurtures: Amygdala activity decreases as the result of a one-hour walk in nature. Mol Psychiatry. [link]