A new study from Australia breaks down the amount of time that an adult should spend doing certain activities in order to maintain good cardiovascular health and blood-glucose levels.
Spearheaded by the Swinburne University of Technology, the study involved 2,000 adults whose physical routines were analysed over the course of seven days. Using that data, as well as other information about their health, a model was created to determine the ideal amount of time that an individual should be spending on five common activities over a 24-hour period if they wish to stay healthy.
The research found that a person should spend no more than six hours sitting, and aim for five hours of standing and eight hours of sleeping. People also ought to aim for two hours of light physical activity and two hours of moderate to vigorous exercise per day.
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Christian Brakenridge, one of the main authors of the paper, pointed out that “these findings are preliminary” and said that more long-term studies were required.
However, the researchers’ initial conclusions are that “shorter sitting time and more time spent standing, undergoing physical activity and sleeping are associated with preferable cardiometabolic health.”
The authors also found that short walks to the bathroom or coffee machine were highly correlated with optimal glucose levels and that these spurts of light activity should be done sporadically over the course of the day rather than being concentrated into a single period of time, like a lunch break. Taking a 3-5 minute walk per hour is also beneficial to one’s metabolism.
