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Sitting Can Be Really Bad For Your Heart Health

We all sit every day. Experts say Americans are sitting at work, at school, in cars and at home more than ever.

According to Vanderbilt University study when you combine commute times and other sitting activities, Americans are sitting on average 7.7 hours per day.

Researchers say that all this sitting is bad for your health. Numerous clinical studies have shown a link between sedentary lifestyle and increased rates of cancer, diabetes and heart disease. 

Sitting too much affects the cardiovascular system, said Cleveland Clinic Dr. Haitham Ahmed recently on the sound of ideas, on 90.3 WCPN.

Dr. Ahmed, who is a preventative cardiologist, says when you sit too long your muscles relax and blood flow to your vessels slows down.

Conversely, when you walk or exercise blood flow to vessels increases which keeps your heart healthier, he said.

According to a study in the British Journal of Sport Medicineyour metabolism slows down 90 percent after 30 minutes of sitting.

The Switch from Active to Sedentary Lifestyles

It was not always like this. Our ancestors moved a lot more. People are designed to be bipedal, which means people are built to spend most of their time walking around on two legs.

Sedentary time has been increasing over the past few decades. Part of the increase is related to our jobs and the fact that the Internet is now dominating our world, said Dr. Ahmed.

The amount of time people spend sitting per week has increased about 40 percent since the 1960s -- from 25 hours per week to about 40 hours per week, he said.

"So if you look at the average American, we spend the overwhelming majority of our waking hours sitting and the data is growing. It has deleterious effects on our cardiovascular system, on our rates of diabetes. And it leads to premature death,” he said.

So what can you to combat all this sitting? Well you can’t do much about sitting in your car. But at work and home, you can get up and take frequent breaks.

According to a study in the  British Journal of Sports Medicine you should gradually work up to spending at least half of your eight-hour work day in what researchers call  “light-intensity activities, ” such as:


  • Take the stairs instead of the elevator
  • Park your car at the far end of the street or parking lot
  • Have “walking meetings” with colleagues at work

You have to pay attention to how much time you spending sitting, Dr. Ahmed said.

“As a physician, a lot of our time is spent sitting as well so I have a standing desk and that way I know I’m not sitting all throughout the day,” he said.

Dr. Ahmed also gives other suggestions to his patients to help them fit more movement into their day. These include:


  • Make sure that you are not sitting for more than an hour continuously
  • Give yourself five minutes of standing up and moving around time every hour
  • Consider a standing desk or a treadmill desk if possible
  • Try using an app that can monitor your steps per day. The apps can count steps and prompt you to move to meet a goal or give you reminders to take a break from the chair

“All of these are small hacks that you can use to trick your brain so that you are not sedentary for really long periods of time,” Dr. Ahmed said.

Marlene Harris-Taylor
Marlene is the director of engaged journalism at Ideastream Public Media.