14 ms·

Brisk 22-minute walk could offset harmful effects of sitting, study suggests

255 points by BerislavLopac 3y ago

Fire-Dragon-DoL 3y ago
In case anybody else is interested, what you need is 150 minutes per week, not 22 minutes per day. I don't like walking, but I'm ok doing 30 minutes of HIIT every other day (3/week),that's 90 minutes of vigorous activity. Add 3 days/1 hour strength training and that should be ok from one perspective. There still need to be flex and balance training introduced. So much workout...
mailund 3y ago
Does this mean that anyone who has a > 11 minutes walk each way to their office won't experience the negative effects of sitting all day at work? That seems like an easily reachable target in that case.
- rmwaite 3y ago
  I can say anecdotally that when Covid hit and I started working from home I really started to feel like garbage. I think a big part of it was that I didn’t have my daily park and walk to the office building routine anymore. That and the rest of the surrounding movement to get ready, get into the car, get out of the car, etc. I think it was a pretty big change for the worse.
- HumblyTossed 3y ago
  Pretty much what the article alludes to, yes. Though, my Dr advises that it's best to get my HR up (to a level he recommends) and sustain that for 20-30 min per day* rather than break it up. But he also still says move every hour. So... * Minimum
  - Lord-Jobo 3y ago
    20-30 minutes of actual elevated heart rate a day, and like 200ish steps every hour. This is the consensus I've seen forming in the research over the past few years.
  - Terretta 3y ago
    > sustain that for 20-30 min per day By contrast, HIIT research suggests you really only need to hit max heart rate and VO2max for < 4 minutes 3x a week for effectively all the benefit. The "interval" idea is 4 sprints of 30 - 45 seconds to go into max heart rate band, each with a 30 - 15 sec recovery to let heart drop a touch, then hit the next one. You are not doing aerobic exercise, you are pushing into anaerobic. They also suggest a warmup and cooldown of at least a couple minutes, so put that together and you're looking at 8 minutes 3x a week. The problem is that the first I in HIIT is much too much Intensity for some. Fitness clubs had to get rid of or gate HIIT machines because guests would vomit. If you're doing it right, you will be anaerobic, many people don't tolerate that without working up to it, and people hate working up to things. Supposedly -- though less research on this -- the same routine will "upshift" metabolism so after 6+ weeks of accommodation, your 24 hr calorie burn from these 8 mins 3x a week is greater than if doing traditional hour long fitness routines every day, and that upshift can last 6 - 9 most after cessation of the routine.
    - HumblyTossed 3y ago
      > The problem is that the first I in HIIT is much too much Intensity for some. Fitness clubs had to get rid of or gate HIIT machines because guests would vomit. If you're doing it right, you will be anaerobic, many people don't tolerate that without working up to it, and people hate working up to things. A lot of people just can't go from sitting on their buts all day to sitting on their buts all day with the addition of a daily vomit enducing HIIT routine. They would explode. Probably best to start by walking, then walking briskly, etc...
      - RHSman2 3y ago
        They can. It’s just very uncomfortable (other than those with genuine, real health problems)
        maximus-decimus 3y ago
        If it makes you vomit everyday, it's gonna at the very least rot your teeth.
- ddmf 3y ago
  I'm going to guess conservatively, just in case, and look for a house that's exactly 1.47 miles from my office.
- j45 3y ago
  Sustained walking (no red lights) is a highly underrated form of cardio. Getting heart rate into a zone and keeping it there incrementally has a strange effect of growing a walk into a light jog on its own as well. The body seems to continue its improvement.
  - mailund 3y ago
    > (no red lights) aye, there's the rub there are very few places I can walk without hitting multiple red lights
    - j45 3y ago
      Finding those roads, or parks is key. Reducing the number of lights on a walk can help. For winter time finding a walking treadmill (they are a few hundred) can be a great way to watch those YouTube playlists of things you mean to.
  - euroderf 3y ago
    Dunno if this applies to anyone else, but if I go for a long walk, then at about the 25-30 minute mark my metabolism shifts gears. A distinct jump in body warmth. I open my jacket, or otherwise remove a layer.
    - j45 3y ago
      I notice the same. 90 minutes was ideal
- helsinkiandrew 3y ago
  Possibly - but in general 2 half sets of an exercise routine (cardio or strength) doesn't usually have exactly the same benefits as a full set. I don't know about brisk walking, but if you run at a steady pace for 22 minutes, your heart rate will be higher in the second half than the first. If you split a weight training set in half - I believe it is more likely to increase the bulk and strength of your muscles but won't be as good at building stamina.
  - mailund 3y ago
    that makes a lot of sense! if not, you would be hard pressed to find someone who didn't walk a total of 22 minutes in an entire day I guess
- lm28469 3y ago
  I very much doubt so. If the bar was really that low virtually no one would suffer from sedentary lifestyle
  - progne 3y ago
    Then you might be surprised how many people get less exercise than 22 minutes of walking per day, even healthy young ones. I was one and it took effort to change. If you only walk from screen to fridge to screen to bathroom to screen to car to screen to bed, it's just a few minutes of body weight movement per day. That's enough writing for me, time to go out and stack firewood.
    - RHSman2 3y ago
      Tell us about the conversion!!!
      - progne 3y ago
        That lifestyle led to severe lower back pain. The only cure for that was getting my body in motion. I've kept in motion because of a deep mewling fear of returning to that pain. You could say I'm driven by the lash.
        RHSman2 3y ago
        Same same!!! Lower back pain is such an unpleasant existence.
    - kjkjadksj 3y ago
      But if you go to work a job someplace you definitely walk at least 10 mins, even if you park on site, just maneuvering around the property. Grocery shopping alone probably doubles that or more.
CalRobert 3y ago
Well that's a plus! I have never been healthier than when I got to work by walking or biking.
ejb999 3y ago
breaking news: the harmful effects of sitting all day can be offset by not sitting all day. How much did this study cost? I could have saved them some money.
- rsynnott 3y ago
  I mean, I think it's quite surprising that such a small amount of moderate exercise is effective; per the study 22 minutes _eliminates the increased mortality entirely_.
dpflan 3y ago
"People who sit for long periods more likely to die earlier – but moderate-to-vigorous activity can eliminate risk." "Going for a brisk walk for just 22 minutes once a day may be enough to offset the negative health effects of sitting too much, research suggests." Indeed, being active is natural and healthy. When will the next study show that being active is natural and healthy? I guess the recurrence of these articles can be the impetus for someone to break out of an inactive cycle, so commendable in that regard.
- unsupp0rted 3y ago
  There's a question as to whether A offsets B, or whether B is so harmful that no reasonable amount of A can offset it. Reducing it to "exercise good" is too blunt an instrument
  - dpflan 3y ago
    Yes this is science so must follow the formula for science, else, is it science? Let’s look for more walking for 20min articles posted on HN: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=walking%20health&sort=byPopularity&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
darkclouds 3y ago
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toldyouso2022 3y ago
Many snarky comments, but this study is useful. It gives hopes to those forced to sit all day to work, and therefore motivation to move
- mistercheph 3y ago
  "Researchers find evidence that a regular sleep schedule reduces the probability of depression" Woooooot! Ifuckinglovescience!!!!
silverpepsi 3y ago
In other words, people destined to die early, of their own accord, don't like to briskly walk, not even for a mere 22 minutes. But how do we know this destined-to-die cohort will change that destiny by merely pretending to be the other group insofar as walking >=22 mins?
- strken 3y ago
  Walking has a direct casual impact on markers of cardiovascular health like vo2 max. I have no idea whether anyone has the funding to establish causality for exercise and all-cause mortality, but it would be astonishing if exercise improved your heart and circulation but not lifespan. Edit: At least, astonishing if the effect persisted across multiple large and high quality studies.
  - patrick451 3y ago
    I'm not so sure. I've seen some rat studies on longevity and fitness with pretty surprising results. Obese, idle rats were the shortest lived (not surprising). But surprisingly, fit, active rats actually had shorter life spans than anorexic, lazy rats. Who knows if it generalizes to humans, but results like this always make me skeptical that first principles thinking will hold up in complex biological systems.
    - strken 3y ago
      I think this is also first principles thinking going wrong: calorie restriction increases rat longevity and (presumably) reduces rat movement, and there's no good way to make calorie-restricted rats voluntarily do more exercise without introducing confounding variables, but that doesn't show whether a calorie-restricted human would live longer if also doing some exercise.
- willcipriano 3y ago
  It is a interesting question. Some percentage of the harm from smoking is probably that it makes you more sedentary and likely to avoid cardiovascular activity. People who walk briskly for 22 minutes probably also eat better.
RHSman2 3y ago
Exercise is good. They should just post that everyday.
- bell-cot 3y ago
  For those with limited time or patience for exercise, the details can be important. If only to (hopefully) help convince 'em to do a bit more or more-useful exercise.
  - RHSman2 3y ago
    Exercise is good for you. Better?
snapcaster 3y ago
I work a desk job, but when i have those 5-10 minute slots between meetings i'll just walk up the staircase in the office to top floor and back down. Seems to make me always hit my apple watch move targets and pretty easy to do
unyttigfjelltol 3y ago
A stronger study pegged the requirement at 5 minutes of movement per 30 minutes of sedentary time.[1] I was inspired to set a regular prompt to try it and yes, subjectively this does improve a sense of well-being. [1] https://www.npr.org/2023/10/03/1203173458/ted-radio-hour-launches-special-6-part-series-body-electric https://www.npr.org/2023/10/03/1203173458/ted-radio-hour-lau...
- dpflan 3y ago
  What is your prompt? Is it like pomodoro for movement? Do you rigorously time your walking break using the 5-to-30 ratio?
  - unyttigfjelltol 3y ago
    I simply set my phone to vibrate an alarm at intervals throughout the day. I was skeptical because it's the opposite of achieving deep focus, but its been a good change!
    - milesvp 3y ago
      Please say more. I’ve been toying with this idea since hearing about this study, and the anecdote about someone on planet money “participating in the study” for a couple of days. I can imagine huge upside, but my fear is basically that I need sometimes upward of 3 hours uninterrupted to make my magic happen in a developer context. Just knowing I’m going to be interrupted is enough for my brain to refuse to make progress on certain tasks.
      - kjkjadksj 3y ago
        Think of it this way: you are a human. What did humans do 20000 years ago, what did we evolve to do before all this society bullshit? Certainly not sitting still for 3 hours at a time. We evolved to be persistant hunters walking down prey to death, foragers who rove over terrain for resources, craftsman and firetenders who cannot just sit still and expect the shelter to be built for them and the fire to be raging with no tending. So yes, get up and walk around for 5 minutes. Simulate picking up some firewood or foraging for some berries. You will be all the more healthy for it, and thats something more meaningful to optimize for than getting more of your bosses work done.
onetimeuse92304 3y ago
I will share one story from my life. Last year I decided to lose weight (I lost 35kg / 70 pounds in 9 months). During that time, I also decided to start running. This year, once my weight stabilised, I started getting huge improvements in running performance (probably from not being on huge calorie deficit anymore). Little did I know, I completely outpaced my body's ability to strengthen tendons and got pretty serious injury in my foot. I could not run for almost 2 months. Once I could walk (but not yet run) I started doing A LOT of walking. I got up to 2-3.5h of brisk walk (about 27k steps / 22km) every day and stayed there for a month. When I started running again, I have noticed not only I did not lose any of my improvements, I actually was way ahead of where I would be if I kept running. It was as if my running performance kept steadily improving at a fast pace even with me doing no running. I now use walking as part of my regular training and I regularly trade some walking volume into running or back, depending on situation. I had enormous running performance improvement (as measured by my ability to run fast and long at a specific low heart rate) and I attribute it to a large degree to high volume of walks (averaged 29k steps for the past 6 months, this includes running). ** As to the topic of the submission, it is no wonder that walking offsets bad effects of sitting. For example, bad effects of sitting on our health include things like increased insulin resistance (this happens when you spend a long time not moving after a meal). When you go for a walk after a meal your muscles start consuming way more energy than when you are at your basal metabolic rate, not moving. This additional requirement for energy helps remove sugar from your bloodstream. This for your body is as if it was more sensitive to insulin -- it needs less insulin for a shorter time to achieve the same effect. And in fact muscle working IS more sensitive to insulin as it opens itself up to receive much needed energy sources. Also training at low intensity (brisk walk for most people) is what athletes use to improve their mitochondria to improve their aerobic capacity. VO2.max has been found to correlate with longevity much more than even diabetes, smoking or even some cancers. It seems if you want to live long and healthy life you should strive to improve your mitochondrial health, aerobic capacity and low intensity aerobic activity that involves large parts of your body that you can do consistently every day, like walking, is the best way to achieve it. I am now helping couple obese people help lose their weight. I asked them, rather than start running to just spend as much time as they can walking at a brisk pace. It carries much less injury risk. It is much easier to do consistently. It has much less overhead (you just walk out the door, no need to drive to gym). It is much more enjoyable and thus easier to stick to. It does not leave people in pain afterwards. And it has some additional utility -- you can walk places.
Tade0 3y ago
When I started taking my daughter to daycare(1300 metres and ~15min with the stroller one way) I noticed a positive change - but it was mostly about loosening up my shoulder muscles and lubricating my joints - stuff that previously made all other activities surprisingly energy-consuming. Cycling 2+ hours weekly on top of that was the real bump in fitness. It's still the bare minimum a person should be doing, but it's nice to finally be able to sit comfortably after all these years. First weeks were rough though - it felt as if I was morphing into something else - something with a higher lung capacity.
- michael1999 3y ago
  You probably were. Tight shoulders and ribs inhibit inhalation. Once you loosen up and grow stronger, you will increase the volume of your ribcage. As you do that, the tissues of the lungs unfold or stretch to fill them. Some corners of your airway will get cool/fresh air for the first time in ages. It all feels pretty odd -- tickles, itches, or even a fearful asthma response.
  - superturkey650 3y ago
    Just reading this comment made my lungs feel constricted and caused a subconscious deep breath to fill them up.
  - Tade0 3y ago
    Wow, so it wasn't just my imagination, good to know.
  - oarfish 3y ago
    What's the clinical definition of "tight shoulders" and is it shown to correlate significantly with inhalation problems?
    - michael1999 3y ago
      You need a cite to understand that the bellows of the ribs might be constrained by tension held in the intercostals and shoulder girdle? Lol. Here ya go. https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article/86/3/345/2805157 https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article/86/3/345/2805157 The diaphragm is also a muscle, and can be trained. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1746068914000650#:~:text=Our%20results%20demonstrate%20that%20diaphragm,respiratory%20pressures%20and%20pulmonary%20function https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S17460....
throwaway22032 3y ago
I feel as if this kind of reporting is a bit daft. For the most part people know what's healthy, it's somewhere in between being a marathon runner or powerlifter and being obese. I feel that someone who seeks to optimise their exercise in this way is kind of missing the point. The healthiest older people I know don't metricise everything, they just incorporate things like hikes, generally walking, eating proper food etc into their lives.
notjustanymike 3y ago
Coincidentally the amount of time it takes to walk my dog in the morning.
chaibiker 3y ago
We are just launching something related. Basically the harm from static sitting actually begins at around 10-12 minutes and builds from there. The more often you can interrupt it before that the better, but of course that also starts impacting productivity. There are also many sitting health impacts from muskuloskeletal to metabolic and these kinds of studies might show benefit in some areas but aren't testing everything. Our thought is if we can also build significant posture changes (sit-stand) more easily into the workday it can help a lot, and our first study showed this dramatically. We just launched on Indiegogo here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/movably-pro-the-freedom-of-movement-at-your-desk#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/movably-pro-the-freedom-o...
- bwestergard 3y ago
  Could you point us to some research supporting harms from sitting for 10-12 minutes?
  - dotancohen 3y ago
    Anecdotally, I can sit in a chair for hours, but sitting on a rock or reclining on the ground (things I do often) seem to cause my (45+ year old) body to "set in" and it becomes difficult to move afterwards.
  - chaibiker 3y ago
    Here is a large study, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28892811/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28892811/ My guess is today's recommendations to move every 30m/45m or so were a compromise between ergonomists and employers given more frequent interruption was not practical in the workplace. In our study 100% of participants reported no discomfort even compared to high end ergonomic chair. Aside from what our chair does it does show how impactful more frequent posture changes can be. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003687023000820 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00036...
- morninglight 3y ago
  This has worked for me for over 25 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneeling_chair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneeling_chair ..
lm28469 3y ago
We're at that point in human history where you have to tell people to walk 20 min a day for "benefits". It's so depressing I don't even know where to begin with, it's bellow the bare minimum I'd expect for a 70+ years old Dedicating even 5 hours of your week for real vigorous activities will absolutely change your life. Is the baseline really "do just enough to not die of an heart attack before 50" ? So much wasted potential...
pandemicsoul 3y ago
Just like a month ago there was a study showing that no amount of quick walks could offset a day of sitting.
- taeric 3y ago
  Would love to see the study. Per the other comments, it may mean that you can't concentrate the walking and the sitting? That is, 22 minutes of walking every 2 hours could be a lot different from 44 minutes every 4 hours. This wouldn't be much different from any other process. And, of course, could call into question many other things we have fixed times in the day for.
  - zparky 3y ago
    https://archive.ph/jZCMg https://archive.ph/jZCMg
    - taeric 3y ago
      Thanks! This seems to support the general thought I put up. You have to substitute sitting time with exercise. The article talked about people that would sit for 10-12 hours a day, and how if they sat that long, adding exercise did not help. My assertion is that added exercise has to reduce the time sitting. I'm actually struggling to imagine sitting 12 hours a day and also getting real exercise in. Unless they don't count walking around the house to eat and such, that is a crap load of sitting.
- acuozzo 3y ago
  Which is why the words "proof" and "fact" have no place in science. Science is built upon a foundation of falsifiability. The pinnacle of understanding in science is an accepted theory which can, of course, be discarded if significant evidence to the contrary comes to light.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
HappySweeney 3y ago
As a point of anecdata: I walk about 1.5 to 2 hours a day, mostly for cannabis consumption, in my late 40's with at least 12 hours per day of sitting, no gym/jogging/weights, eat whatever I want and I have none of the symptoms of being excessively sedentary. Also my walking is quite brisk.
- bottlelion 3y ago
  Like you take a walk to smoke a joint?
  - HappySweeney 3y ago
    Yes; I rent and my lease states there is to be no smoking of anything in the condo.
throwawaaarrgh 3y ago
Not gonna walk around for 22 minutes, it's boring. I can barely get myself to exercise regularly, so I go on hikes on the weekend. During the day I do pushups, pullups, overhead press, squats, jump tucks. But I only do 10-20 reps per day (total); sometimes I only do 5. Surprisingly, I'm getting stronger every few weeks (can do more reps). And I'm a stronger hiker than anyone I know. So, if I die early, so be it.
- e12e 3y ago
  > Not gonna walk around for 22 minutes, it's boring. (...) I go on hikes on the weekend. Maybe you should walk in a more interesting environment?
  - Broken_Hippo 3y ago
    What sort of environment stays interesting month after month after month, though?
    - nlh 3y ago
      I do a ~25 minute walk basically every day -- the key for me is doing a defined loop. Doesn't matter where, just so long as it's a single loop (eg no repeating, no backtracking) and it always stays interesting for me. And in fact the more you do it, the more it becomes rote, and the LESS you care about the route being interesting. You can just tune out, go on autopilot, and keep thinking about what ever you want to keep thinking about but also get some exercise in. Just my $0.02
    - lm28469 3y ago
      I go for a 50 min walk every night with my gf, virtually always the same route, and it's never boring quite the opposite. It's the only time where you have nothing else to do than focus on the essentials, no screen, no music, no food/snacks. Before I met her I did the same alone and it wasn't boring either. If it's boring it probably mean you're addicted to overstimulation
      - 3y ago
bufordtwain 3y ago
If sitting for long periods is bad what about lying in bed for long periods (e.g. sleeping)? It's difficult to reconcile the findings that sleeping is great for the body and mind (essential actually) but sitting is terrible.
- nemomarx 3y ago
  Sleeping for too long causes lots of problems, right? I thought that was part of why they paid people to do rest studies, to monitor muscle atrophy from lying down 12 hours a day or similar.
- ch4s3 3y ago
  What the body does during sleep is quite different. During sleep your muscles relax and the body fills them with blood and hormones that trigger tissue repair and growth. Sleep is part of the body's repair process. When you're just sitting none of that happens.
- e12e 3y ago
  Lying in bed all day causes sores and severe muscle atrophy.
- lm28469 3y ago
  Sounds a lot like "if water is good why is coke bad ?" Just look at the average desk worker posture and it'll tell you more than half of the story already, it's bad for your back, it's bad for your neck, it's bad for you hips, it's bad for breathing, it's bad for blood circulation, it's bad for lymph circulation, &c. Then there is the fact that you cannot survive without sleep, if you were to spend another 8 hours in bed you'd likely develop bed sores and all kind of nasty things
- RHSman2 3y ago
  Humans have not evolved from sitting. Ask your hip flexors.
tjpnz 3y ago
I used to do a fairly brisk walk on most nights and still felt like shit. But I recently got back into running. Thirty minutes a night, every night - no exceptions. Weight loss was the primary goal, alas it's still slow. I do however feel less stressed during the day and feel I'm less of an asshole towards colleagues.
- willcipriano 3y ago
  You can't out run your diet. Cardio for weight loss is mostly a waste of time. It has secondary benefits like reducing hunger post work out but it's hard to exercise enough to quickly lose weight. Running a marathon will burn around 2500 calories, less than a pound of fat.
  - mathieuh 3y ago
    2500 calories for a marathon sounds way too low. I do bike rides every weekend that are typically burning over 3000 calories. This is with a power meter on the bike so it's not going to be miles off.
    - sceptical 3y ago
      General rule is 100 calories per mile so 2500 calories for a marathon seems reasonable.
  - _Wintermute 3y ago
    Running maybe not, but if you get too into cycling or swimming (or I guess any low-impact endurance sport), it can sometimes be a chore to shovel enough food into you.
  - taeric 3y ago
    Ish? Yes, you can't just "run off the calories" of food, per se. That said, the more time you spend running/walking/whatever, the less time you spend eating, in many cases. That marathon, for example, is not nearly as simple as eating a burger. One takes several hours for a very fit athlete. The other is minutes for most people. That is, it is easy to view some exercising as a substitute for some snacking. And, in that job, it works rather well. Is my hypothesis on why the simple walk around the neighborhood has outsized impact on weight loss.
bloopernova 3y ago
Anecdotally, when our previous dog passed away, mine and my wife's health declined significantly because we weren't walking regularly. This continued for a year, until we got our new pup, and now we're walking again. Unfortunately my wife has hypermobile ehlers-danlos syndrome (HEDS) and her connective tissue is very weak, so the lack of exercise affected her hugely. With the dog, I walk for at least an hour a day, but maybe 20 minutes of that is brisk.
hirvi74 3y ago
Getting a dog was the best thing to ever happen to me. I take multiple walks every day since I got the rascal.
- chankstein38 3y ago
  Mine is in his later years (he's 14) and now walking him is basically "Walk really slowly in front of him while trying to encourage him to move at more than a snail's pace" so enjoy that while you can!
  - stronglikedan 3y ago
    A second younger dog may benefit all three of you!
  - hirvi74 3y ago
    Mine is 5, but I have already planned for this. I plan to get something like stroller or a wagon, and I will just cart him around the neighborhood, on trails, etc. so he can at least still sightsee. We are best friends, and I can't do our activities without him.
    - chankstein38 3y ago
      <3 Right?! I feel bad if I go to a park or go for a walk without him. He needs the exercise and he's my buddy. I haven't done the stroller or wagon thing yet but I love that! Right now I'm still hoping that forcing some activity will slowly strengthen him. He had some seizures at the beginning of the year and has been slower since but I've seen him go from barely being able to get up and walk to being able to run around inside pretty happily and keeping a better pace outside. Not sure how much longer I've got with him but I hope he is happy he's alive still.
  - deafpolygon 3y ago
    Mine's 12 and still gives the neighborhood dog hell whenever she sees them! Plus, she keeps pushing to walk faster all the time. I don't know where she gets it, and I'm starting not to look forward to the days when she inevitably slows down.
fifilura 3y ago
Make it a streak! I am currently on a 400+ day runstreak where i run around 20 minutes/day (what my lunch-hour allows). The psychology behind the streak is that it is somewhat tough the first month, but after that there simply isn't enough reason to stop. When it comes to health, I am not sure. Possible that I sleep better, at least I get more tired in the evenings. I think I may get a cold a bit more often. But as someone else noted, my muscles are less tense, and that is throughout the body, not legs in particular.
jl2718 3y ago
I think we should all have recess and play tag.
- euroderf 3y ago
  And in the same vein, our kids' schools should follow the Finnish model.
_trampeltier 3y ago
Just use a variable table and stand 50% of your working time.
amai 3y ago
The study was only measuring a lower risk of death for those doing 22 minutes if activity. It doesn’t say that this will undo all the health issues caused by sitting. I actually doubt that 22 minutes can undo the damage done to your body by sitting 8 hours a day. See the book https://thereadystate.com/product/deskbound-standing-up-to-a-sitting-world/ https://thereadystate.com/product/deskbound-standing-up-to-a...
- diimdeep 3y ago
  I skimmed trough book, looks like exhaustive resource, thanks !
koonsolo 3y ago
For those interested, you can walk and work at the same time! This article was my inspiration and it works great! https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2019/02/seeking-the-productive-life-some-details-of-my-personal-infrastructure/ https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2019/02/seeking-the-prod...
maxglute 3y ago
A few weekly mobility/flexibility sessions (10-15m) to keep things limber also goes a long way.
oldbbsnickname 3y ago
Shit. This is what I need. A point 0.5 mile / 0.8 km away at 3.1 mph / 5 kph.
streakfix 3y ago
Very important information for the target audience of HN.
throwaway9274 3y ago
Start small and be consistent. A few years ago at over 300lbs I started by walking around the park across the street. About .5 miles. Every day I tried to add 1%. After six months I added a light jog for a mile. Six months after that I was well enough to start HIIT classes. Six months after that I was strong enough to start real weight training and distance running. Three years later I am down ~80lbs, able to run 10 miles at an 8:00 pace, and bench 205. These aren’t extreme numbers for someone who started off reasonably healthy. But if you’ve been sedentary a long time, the difference in how you move and feel will be shocking. Starting off can pose real challenges to your sense of self-worth, because you feel pathetic when you see how small your initial efforts are compared to what you see online and in media. It’s important to shift your mindset toward self-comparison, being slightly better than yourself yesterday. If you’re struggling because you have chosen other priorities over your body (e.g. coding, family) in your 20s, I promise you, you will get there with consistent effort and compounded effort over time.

255 points by BerislavLopac 3y ago

In case anybody else is interested, what you need is 150 minutes per week, not 22 minutes per day. I don't like walking, but I'm ok doing 30 minutes of HIIT every other day (3/week),that's 90 minutes of vigorous activity. Add 3 days/1 hour strength training and that should be ok from one perspective. There still need to be flex and balance training introduced. So much workout...

mailund 3y ago

Does this mean that anyone who has a > 11 minutes walk each way to their office won't experience the negative effects of sitting all day at work? That seems like an easily reachable target in that case.

rmwaite 3y ago
I can say anecdotally that when Covid hit and I started working from home I really started to feel like garbage. I think a big part of it was that I didn’t have my daily park and walk to the office building routine anymore. That and the rest of the surrounding movement to get ready, get into the car, get out of the car, etc. I think it was a pretty big change for the worse.
HumblyTossed 3y ago
Pretty much what the article alludes to, yes. Though, my Dr advises that it's best to get my HR up (to a level he recommends) and sustain that for 20-30 min per day* rather than break it up. But he also still says move every hour. So... * Minimum
- Lord-Jobo 3y ago
  20-30 minutes of actual elevated heart rate a day, and like 200ish steps every hour. This is the consensus I've seen forming in the research over the past few years.
- Terretta 3y ago
  > sustain that for 20-30 min per day By contrast, HIIT research suggests you really only need to hit max heart rate and VO2max for < 4 minutes 3x a week for effectively all the benefit. The "interval" idea is 4 sprints of 30 - 45 seconds to go into max heart rate band, each with a 30 - 15 sec recovery to let heart drop a touch, then hit the next one. You are not doing aerobic exercise, you are pushing into anaerobic. They also suggest a warmup and cooldown of at least a couple minutes, so put that together and you're looking at 8 minutes 3x a week. The problem is that the first I in HIIT is much too much Intensity for some. Fitness clubs had to get rid of or gate HIIT machines because guests would vomit. If you're doing it right, you will be anaerobic, many people don't tolerate that without working up to it, and people hate working up to things. Supposedly -- though less research on this -- the same routine will "upshift" metabolism so after 6+ weeks of accommodation, your 24 hr calorie burn from these 8 mins 3x a week is greater than if doing traditional hour long fitness routines every day, and that upshift can last 6 - 9 most after cessation of the routine.
  - HumblyTossed 3y ago
    > The problem is that the first I in HIIT is much too much Intensity for some. Fitness clubs had to get rid of or gate HIIT machines because guests would vomit. If you're doing it right, you will be anaerobic, many people don't tolerate that without working up to it, and people hate working up to things. A lot of people just can't go from sitting on their buts all day to sitting on their buts all day with the addition of a daily vomit enducing HIIT routine. They would explode. Probably best to start by walking, then walking briskly, etc...
    - RHSman2 3y ago
      They can. It’s just very uncomfortable (other than those with genuine, real health problems)
      - maximus-decimus 3y ago
        If it makes you vomit everyday, it's gonna at the very least rot your teeth.
ddmf 3y ago
I'm going to guess conservatively, just in case, and look for a house that's exactly 1.47 miles from my office.
j45 3y ago
Sustained walking (no red lights) is a highly underrated form of cardio. Getting heart rate into a zone and keeping it there incrementally has a strange effect of growing a walk into a light jog on its own as well. The body seems to continue its improvement.
- mailund 3y ago
  > (no red lights) aye, there's the rub there are very few places I can walk without hitting multiple red lights
  - j45 3y ago
    Finding those roads, or parks is key. Reducing the number of lights on a walk can help. For winter time finding a walking treadmill (they are a few hundred) can be a great way to watch those YouTube playlists of things you mean to.
- euroderf 3y ago
  Dunno if this applies to anyone else, but if I go for a long walk, then at about the 25-30 minute mark my metabolism shifts gears. A distinct jump in body warmth. I open my jacket, or otherwise remove a layer.
  - j45 3y ago
    I notice the same. 90 minutes was ideal
helsinkiandrew 3y ago
Possibly - but in general 2 half sets of an exercise routine (cardio or strength) doesn't usually have exactly the same benefits as a full set. I don't know about brisk walking, but if you run at a steady pace for 22 minutes, your heart rate will be higher in the second half than the first. If you split a weight training set in half - I believe it is more likely to increase the bulk and strength of your muscles but won't be as good at building stamina.
- mailund 3y ago
  that makes a lot of sense! if not, you would be hard pressed to find someone who didn't walk a total of 22 minutes in an entire day I guess
lm28469 3y ago
I very much doubt so. If the bar was really that low virtually no one would suffer from sedentary lifestyle
- progne 3y ago
  Then you might be surprised how many people get less exercise than 22 minutes of walking per day, even healthy young ones. I was one and it took effort to change. If you only walk from screen to fridge to screen to bathroom to screen to car to screen to bed, it's just a few minutes of body weight movement per day. That's enough writing for me, time to go out and stack firewood.
  - RHSman2 3y ago
    Tell us about the conversion!!!
    - progne 3y ago
      That lifestyle led to severe lower back pain. The only cure for that was getting my body in motion. I've kept in motion because of a deep mewling fear of returning to that pain. You could say I'm driven by the lash.
      - RHSman2 3y ago
        Same same!!! Lower back pain is such an unpleasant existence.
  - kjkjadksj 3y ago
    But if you go to work a job someplace you definitely walk at least 10 mins, even if you park on site, just maneuvering around the property. Grocery shopping alone probably doubles that or more.

CalRobert 3y ago

Well that's a plus! I have never been healthier than when I got to work by walking or biking.

ejb999 3y ago

breaking news: the harmful effects of sitting all day can be offset by not sitting all day. How much did this study cost? I could have saved them some money.

rsynnott 3y ago
I mean, I think it's quite surprising that such a small amount of moderate exercise is effective; per the study 22 minutes _eliminates the increased mortality entirely_.

dpflan 3y ago

"People who sit for long periods more likely to die earlier – but moderate-to-vigorous activity can eliminate risk." "Going for a brisk walk for just 22 minutes once a day may be enough to offset the negative health effects of sitting too much, research suggests." Indeed, being active is natural and healthy. When will the next study show that being active is natural and healthy? I guess the recurrence of these articles can be the impetus for someone to break out of an inactive cycle, so commendable in that regard.

unsupp0rted 3y ago
There's a question as to whether A offsets B, or whether B is so harmful that no reasonable amount of A can offset it. Reducing it to "exercise good" is too blunt an instrument
- dpflan 3y ago
  Yes this is science so must follow the formula for science, else, is it science? Let’s look for more walking for 20min articles posted on HN: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=walking%20health&sort=byPopularity&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

darkclouds 3y ago

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toldyouso2022 3y ago

Many snarky comments, but this study is useful. It gives hopes to those forced to sit all day to work, and therefore motivation to move

mistercheph 3y ago
"Researchers find evidence that a regular sleep schedule reduces the probability of depression" Woooooot! Ifuckinglovescience!!!!

silverpepsi 3y ago

In other words, people destined to die early, of their own accord, don't like to briskly walk, not even for a mere 22 minutes. But how do we know this destined-to-die cohort will change that destiny by merely pretending to be the other group insofar as walking >=22 mins?

strken 3y ago
Walking has a direct casual impact on markers of cardiovascular health like vo2 max. I have no idea whether anyone has the funding to establish causality for exercise and all-cause mortality, but it would be astonishing if exercise improved your heart and circulation but not lifespan. Edit: At least, astonishing if the effect persisted across multiple large and high quality studies.
- patrick451 3y ago
  I'm not so sure. I've seen some rat studies on longevity and fitness with pretty surprising results. Obese, idle rats were the shortest lived (not surprising). But surprisingly, fit, active rats actually had shorter life spans than anorexic, lazy rats. Who knows if it generalizes to humans, but results like this always make me skeptical that first principles thinking will hold up in complex biological systems.
  - strken 3y ago
    I think this is also first principles thinking going wrong: calorie restriction increases rat longevity and (presumably) reduces rat movement, and there's no good way to make calorie-restricted rats voluntarily do more exercise without introducing confounding variables, but that doesn't show whether a calorie-restricted human would live longer if also doing some exercise.
willcipriano 3y ago
It is a interesting question. Some percentage of the harm from smoking is probably that it makes you more sedentary and likely to avoid cardiovascular activity. People who walk briskly for 22 minutes probably also eat better.

RHSman2 3y ago

Exercise is good. They should just post that everyday.

bell-cot 3y ago
For those with limited time or patience for exercise, the details can be important. If only to (hopefully) help convince 'em to do a bit more or more-useful exercise.
- RHSman2 3y ago
  Exercise is good for you. Better?

snapcaster 3y ago

I work a desk job, but when i have those 5-10 minute slots between meetings i'll just walk up the staircase in the office to top floor and back down. Seems to make me always hit my apple watch move targets and pretty easy to do

unyttigfjelltol 3y ago

A stronger study pegged the requirement at 5 minutes of movement per 30 minutes of sedentary time.[1] I was inspired to set a regular prompt to try it and yes, subjectively this does improve a sense of well-being. [1] https://www.npr.org/2023/10/03/1203173458/ted-radio-hour-launches-special-6-part-series-body-electric https://www.npr.org/2023/10/03/1203173458/ted-radio-hour-lau...

dpflan 3y ago
What is your prompt? Is it like pomodoro for movement? Do you rigorously time your walking break using the 5-to-30 ratio?
- unyttigfjelltol 3y ago
  I simply set my phone to vibrate an alarm at intervals throughout the day. I was skeptical because it's the opposite of achieving deep focus, but its been a good change!
  - milesvp 3y ago
    Please say more. I’ve been toying with this idea since hearing about this study, and the anecdote about someone on planet money “participating in the study” for a couple of days. I can imagine huge upside, but my fear is basically that I need sometimes upward of 3 hours uninterrupted to make my magic happen in a developer context. Just knowing I’m going to be interrupted is enough for my brain to refuse to make progress on certain tasks.
    - kjkjadksj 3y ago
      Think of it this way: you are a human. What did humans do 20000 years ago, what did we evolve to do before all this society bullshit? Certainly not sitting still for 3 hours at a time. We evolved to be persistant hunters walking down prey to death, foragers who rove over terrain for resources, craftsman and firetenders who cannot just sit still and expect the shelter to be built for them and the fire to be raging with no tending. So yes, get up and walk around for 5 minutes. Simulate picking up some firewood or foraging for some berries. You will be all the more healthy for it, and thats something more meaningful to optimize for than getting more of your bosses work done.

onetimeuse92304 3y ago

I will share one story from my life. Last year I decided to lose weight (I lost 35kg / 70 pounds in 9 months). During that time, I also decided to start running. This year, once my weight stabilised, I started getting huge improvements in running performance (probably from not being on huge calorie deficit anymore). Little did I know, I completely outpaced my body's ability to strengthen tendons and got pretty serious injury in my foot. I could not run for almost 2 months. Once I could walk (but not yet run) I started doing A LOT of walking. I got up to 2-3.5h of brisk walk (about 27k steps / 22km) every day and stayed there for a month. When I started running again, I have noticed not only I did not lose any of my improvements, I actually was way ahead of where I would be if I kept running. It was as if my running performance kept steadily improving at a fast pace even with me doing no running. I now use walking as part of my regular training and I regularly trade some walking volume into running or back, depending on situation. I had enormous running performance improvement (as measured by my ability to run fast and long at a specific low heart rate) and I attribute it to a large degree to high volume of walks (averaged 29k steps for the past 6 months, this includes running). ** As to the topic of the submission, it is no wonder that walking offsets bad effects of sitting. For example, bad effects of sitting on our health include things like increased insulin resistance (this happens when you spend a long time not moving after a meal). When you go for a walk after a meal your muscles start consuming way more energy than when you are at your basal metabolic rate, not moving. This additional requirement for energy helps remove sugar from your bloodstream. This for your body is as if it was more sensitive to insulin -- it needs less insulin for a shorter time to achieve the same effect. And in fact muscle working IS more sensitive to insulin as it opens itself up to receive much needed energy sources. Also training at low intensity (brisk walk for most people) is what athletes use to improve their mitochondria to improve their aerobic capacity. VO2.max has been found to correlate with longevity much more than even diabetes, smoking or even some cancers. It seems if you want to live long and healthy life you should strive to improve your mitochondrial health, aerobic capacity and low intensity aerobic activity that involves large parts of your body that you can do consistently every day, like walking, is the best way to achieve it. I am now helping couple obese people help lose their weight. I asked them, rather than start running to just spend as much time as they can walking at a brisk pace. It carries much less injury risk. It is much easier to do consistently. It has much less overhead (you just walk out the door, no need to drive to gym). It is much more enjoyable and thus easier to stick to. It does not leave people in pain afterwards. And it has some additional utility -- you can walk places.

Tade0 3y ago

When I started taking my daughter to daycare(1300 metres and ~15min with the stroller one way) I noticed a positive change - but it was mostly about loosening up my shoulder muscles and lubricating my joints - stuff that previously made all other activities surprisingly energy-consuming. Cycling 2+ hours weekly on top of that was the real bump in fitness. It's still the bare minimum a person should be doing, but it's nice to finally be able to sit comfortably after all these years. First weeks were rough though - it felt as if I was morphing into something else - something with a higher lung capacity.

michael1999 3y ago
You probably were. Tight shoulders and ribs inhibit inhalation. Once you loosen up and grow stronger, you will increase the volume of your ribcage. As you do that, the tissues of the lungs unfold or stretch to fill them. Some corners of your airway will get cool/fresh air for the first time in ages. It all feels pretty odd -- tickles, itches, or even a fearful asthma response.
- superturkey650 3y ago
  Just reading this comment made my lungs feel constricted and caused a subconscious deep breath to fill them up.
- Tade0 3y ago
  Wow, so it wasn't just my imagination, good to know.
- oarfish 3y ago
  What's the clinical definition of "tight shoulders" and is it shown to correlate significantly with inhalation problems?
  - michael1999 3y ago
    You need a cite to understand that the bellows of the ribs might be constrained by tension held in the intercostals and shoulder girdle? Lol. Here ya go. https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article/86/3/345/2805157 https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article/86/3/345/2805157 The diaphragm is also a muscle, and can be trained. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1746068914000650#:~:text=Our%20results%20demonstrate%20that%20diaphragm,respiratory%20pressures%20and%20pulmonary%20function https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S17460....

throwaway22032 3y ago

I feel as if this kind of reporting is a bit daft. For the most part people know what's healthy, it's somewhere in between being a marathon runner or powerlifter and being obese. I feel that someone who seeks to optimise their exercise in this way is kind of missing the point. The healthiest older people I know don't metricise everything, they just incorporate things like hikes, generally walking, eating proper food etc into their lives.

notjustanymike 3y ago

Coincidentally the amount of time it takes to walk my dog in the morning.

chaibiker 3y ago

We are just launching something related. Basically the harm from static sitting actually begins at around 10-12 minutes and builds from there. The more often you can interrupt it before that the better, but of course that also starts impacting productivity. There are also many sitting health impacts from muskuloskeletal to metabolic and these kinds of studies might show benefit in some areas but aren't testing everything. Our thought is if we can also build significant posture changes (sit-stand) more easily into the workday it can help a lot, and our first study showed this dramatically. We just launched on Indiegogo here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/movably-pro-the-freedom-of-movement-at-your-desk#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/movably-pro-the-freedom-o...

bwestergard 3y ago
Could you point us to some research supporting harms from sitting for 10-12 minutes?
- dotancohen 3y ago
  Anecdotally, I can sit in a chair for hours, but sitting on a rock or reclining on the ground (things I do often) seem to cause my (45+ year old) body to "set in" and it becomes difficult to move afterwards.
- chaibiker 3y ago
  Here is a large study, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28892811/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28892811/ My guess is today's recommendations to move every 30m/45m or so were a compromise between ergonomists and employers given more frequent interruption was not practical in the workplace. In our study 100% of participants reported no discomfort even compared to high end ergonomic chair. Aside from what our chair does it does show how impactful more frequent posture changes can be. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003687023000820 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00036...
morninglight 3y ago
This has worked for me for over 25 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneeling_chair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneeling_chair ..

lm28469 3y ago

We're at that point in human history where you have to tell people to walk 20 min a day for "benefits". It's so depressing I don't even know where to begin with, it's bellow the bare minimum I'd expect for a 70+ years old Dedicating even 5 hours of your week for real vigorous activities will absolutely change your life. Is the baseline really "do just enough to not die of an heart attack before 50" ? So much wasted potential...

pandemicsoul 3y ago

Just like a month ago there was a study showing that no amount of quick walks could offset a day of sitting.

taeric 3y ago
Would love to see the study. Per the other comments, it may mean that you can't concentrate the walking and the sitting? That is, 22 minutes of walking every 2 hours could be a lot different from 44 minutes every 4 hours. This wouldn't be much different from any other process. And, of course, could call into question many other things we have fixed times in the day for.
- zparky 3y ago
  https://archive.ph/jZCMg https://archive.ph/jZCMg
  - taeric 3y ago
    Thanks! This seems to support the general thought I put up. You have to substitute sitting time with exercise. The article talked about people that would sit for 10-12 hours a day, and how if they sat that long, adding exercise did not help. My assertion is that added exercise has to reduce the time sitting. I'm actually struggling to imagine sitting 12 hours a day and also getting real exercise in. Unless they don't count walking around the house to eat and such, that is a crap load of sitting.
acuozzo 3y ago
Which is why the words "proof" and "fact" have no place in science. Science is built upon a foundation of falsifiability. The pinnacle of understanding in science is an accepted theory which can, of course, be discarded if significant evidence to the contrary comes to light.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

HappySweeney 3y ago

As a point of anecdata: I walk about 1.5 to 2 hours a day, mostly for cannabis consumption, in my late 40's with at least 12 hours per day of sitting, no gym/jogging/weights, eat whatever I want and I have none of the symptoms of being excessively sedentary. Also my walking is quite brisk.

bottlelion 3y ago
Like you take a walk to smoke a joint?
- HappySweeney 3y ago
  Yes; I rent and my lease states there is to be no smoking of anything in the condo.

throwawaaarrgh 3y ago

Not gonna walk around for 22 minutes, it's boring. I can barely get myself to exercise regularly, so I go on hikes on the weekend. During the day I do pushups, pullups, overhead press, squats, jump tucks. But I only do 10-20 reps per day (total); sometimes I only do 5. Surprisingly, I'm getting stronger every few weeks (can do more reps). And I'm a stronger hiker than anyone I know. So, if I die early, so be it.

e12e 3y ago
> Not gonna walk around for 22 minutes, it's boring. (...) I go on hikes on the weekend. Maybe you should walk in a more interesting environment?
- Broken_Hippo 3y ago
  What sort of environment stays interesting month after month after month, though?
  - nlh 3y ago
    I do a ~25 minute walk basically every day -- the key for me is doing a defined loop. Doesn't matter where, just so long as it's a single loop (eg no repeating, no backtracking) and it always stays interesting for me. And in fact the more you do it, the more it becomes rote, and the LESS you care about the route being interesting. You can just tune out, go on autopilot, and keep thinking about what ever you want to keep thinking about but also get some exercise in. Just my $0.02
  - lm28469 3y ago
    I go for a 50 min walk every night with my gf, virtually always the same route, and it's never boring quite the opposite. It's the only time where you have nothing else to do than focus on the essentials, no screen, no music, no food/snacks. Before I met her I did the same alone and it wasn't boring either. If it's boring it probably mean you're addicted to overstimulation
    - 3y ago

bufordtwain 3y ago

If sitting for long periods is bad what about lying in bed for long periods (e.g. sleeping)? It's difficult to reconcile the findings that sleeping is great for the body and mind (essential actually) but sitting is terrible.

nemomarx 3y ago
Sleeping for too long causes lots of problems, right? I thought that was part of why they paid people to do rest studies, to monitor muscle atrophy from lying down 12 hours a day or similar.
ch4s3 3y ago
What the body does during sleep is quite different. During sleep your muscles relax and the body fills them with blood and hormones that trigger tissue repair and growth. Sleep is part of the body's repair process. When you're just sitting none of that happens.
e12e 3y ago
Lying in bed all day causes sores and severe muscle atrophy.
lm28469 3y ago
Sounds a lot like "if water is good why is coke bad ?" Just look at the average desk worker posture and it'll tell you more than half of the story already, it's bad for your back, it's bad for your neck, it's bad for you hips, it's bad for breathing, it's bad for blood circulation, it's bad for lymph circulation, &c. Then there is the fact that you cannot survive without sleep, if you were to spend another 8 hours in bed you'd likely develop bed sores and all kind of nasty things
RHSman2 3y ago
Humans have not evolved from sitting. Ask your hip flexors.

tjpnz 3y ago

I used to do a fairly brisk walk on most nights and still felt like shit. But I recently got back into running. Thirty minutes a night, every night - no exceptions. Weight loss was the primary goal, alas it's still slow. I do however feel less stressed during the day and feel I'm less of an asshole towards colleagues.

willcipriano 3y ago
You can't out run your diet. Cardio for weight loss is mostly a waste of time. It has secondary benefits like reducing hunger post work out but it's hard to exercise enough to quickly lose weight. Running a marathon will burn around 2500 calories, less than a pound of fat.
- mathieuh 3y ago
  2500 calories for a marathon sounds way too low. I do bike rides every weekend that are typically burning over 3000 calories. This is with a power meter on the bike so it's not going to be miles off.
  - sceptical 3y ago
    General rule is 100 calories per mile so 2500 calories for a marathon seems reasonable.
- _Wintermute 3y ago
  Running maybe not, but if you get too into cycling or swimming (or I guess any low-impact endurance sport), it can sometimes be a chore to shovel enough food into you.
- taeric 3y ago
  Ish? Yes, you can't just "run off the calories" of food, per se. That said, the more time you spend running/walking/whatever, the less time you spend eating, in many cases. That marathon, for example, is not nearly as simple as eating a burger. One takes several hours for a very fit athlete. The other is minutes for most people. That is, it is easy to view some exercising as a substitute for some snacking. And, in that job, it works rather well. Is my hypothesis on why the simple walk around the neighborhood has outsized impact on weight loss.

bloopernova 3y ago

Anecdotally, when our previous dog passed away, mine and my wife's health declined significantly because we weren't walking regularly. This continued for a year, until we got our new pup, and now we're walking again. Unfortunately my wife has hypermobile ehlers-danlos syndrome (HEDS) and her connective tissue is very weak, so the lack of exercise affected her hugely. With the dog, I walk for at least an hour a day, but maybe 20 minutes of that is brisk.

hirvi74 3y ago

Getting a dog was the best thing to ever happen to me. I take multiple walks every day since I got the rascal.

chankstein38 3y ago
Mine is in his later years (he's 14) and now walking him is basically "Walk really slowly in front of him while trying to encourage him to move at more than a snail's pace" so enjoy that while you can!
- stronglikedan 3y ago
  A second younger dog may benefit all three of you!
- hirvi74 3y ago
  Mine is 5, but I have already planned for this. I plan to get something like stroller or a wagon, and I will just cart him around the neighborhood, on trails, etc. so he can at least still sightsee. We are best friends, and I can't do our activities without him.
  - chankstein38 3y ago
    <3 Right?! I feel bad if I go to a park or go for a walk without him. He needs the exercise and he's my buddy. I haven't done the stroller or wagon thing yet but I love that! Right now I'm still hoping that forcing some activity will slowly strengthen him. He had some seizures at the beginning of the year and has been slower since but I've seen him go from barely being able to get up and walk to being able to run around inside pretty happily and keeping a better pace outside. Not sure how much longer I've got with him but I hope he is happy he's alive still.
- deafpolygon 3y ago
  Mine's 12 and still gives the neighborhood dog hell whenever she sees them! Plus, she keeps pushing to walk faster all the time. I don't know where she gets it, and I'm starting not to look forward to the days when she inevitably slows down.

fifilura 3y ago

Make it a streak! I am currently on a 400+ day runstreak where i run around 20 minutes/day (what my lunch-hour allows). The psychology behind the streak is that it is somewhat tough the first month, but after that there simply isn't enough reason to stop. When it comes to health, I am not sure. Possible that I sleep better, at least I get more tired in the evenings. I think I may get a cold a bit more often. But as someone else noted, my muscles are less tense, and that is throughout the body, not legs in particular.

jl2718 3y ago

I think we should all have recess and play tag.

euroderf 3y ago
And in the same vein, our kids' schools should follow the Finnish model.

_trampeltier 3y ago

Just use a variable table and stand 50% of your working time.

amai 3y ago

The study was only measuring a lower risk of death for those doing 22 minutes if activity. It doesn’t say that this will undo all the health issues caused by sitting. I actually doubt that 22 minutes can undo the damage done to your body by sitting 8 hours a day. See the book https://thereadystate.com/product/deskbound-standing-up-to-a-sitting-world/ https://thereadystate.com/product/deskbound-standing-up-to-a...

diimdeep 3y ago
I skimmed trough book, looks like exhaustive resource, thanks !

koonsolo 3y ago

For those interested, you can walk and work at the same time! This article was my inspiration and it works great! https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2019/02/seeking-the-productive-life-some-details-of-my-personal-infrastructure/ https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2019/02/seeking-the-prod...

maxglute 3y ago

A few weekly mobility/flexibility sessions (10-15m) to keep things limber also goes a long way.

oldbbsnickname 3y ago

Shit. This is what I need. A point 0.5 mile / 0.8 km away at 3.1 mph / 5 kph.

streakfix 3y ago

Very important information for the target audience of HN.

throwaway9274 3y ago

Start small and be consistent. A few years ago at over 300lbs I started by walking around the park across the street. About .5 miles. Every day I tried to add 1%. After six months I added a light jog for a mile. Six months after that I was well enough to start HIIT classes. Six months after that I was strong enough to start real weight training and distance running. Three years later I am down ~80lbs, able to run 10 miles at an 8:00 pace, and bench 205. These aren’t extreme numbers for someone who started off reasonably healthy. But if you’ve been sedentary a long time, the difference in how you move and feel will be shocking. Starting off can pose real challenges to your sense of self-worth, because you feel pathetic when you see how small your initial efforts are compared to what you see online and in media. It’s important to shift your mindset toward self-comparison, being slightly better than yourself yesterday. If you’re struggling because you have chosen other priorities over your body (e.g. coding, family) in your 20s, I promise you, you will get there with consistent effort and compounded effort over time.