Study reveals sitting less cuts the risk of anxiety, dementia, sleep disorders

Sitting has become a norm in the era of 9-to-5 jobs. Continuous sitting can lead to disorders in the coming age, directly impacting our health.

A recent study by researchers at the American Academy of Neurology highlights the importance of physical exercise in reducing the complications arising from long hours of sitting.

They mentioned that people who engage in physical activities are less likely to suffer from dementia, stroke, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders.

"This research highlights the role of physical activity and sedentary behaviour as modifiable factors that may enhance brain health and reduce the incidence of these diseases," said Jia-Yi Wu, MD, of Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and an author of the study.

The study was conducted on 73,411 people with an average age of 56 who were connected with wearable devices to measure their physical activities for seven continuous days.

Metabolic equivalents (METs) were used to measure the energy of the body or the energy expenditure during physical activity.

The development of the



above-mentioned five diseases is less likely to occur- 14% to 40% of people with moderate to vigorous physical activity energy expenditure.

The ones who spend their day sitting are 5% to 54% more likely to suffer from these diseases than those who spend a small amount of time sitting.

The people who did not develop any of the diseases had an average daily moderate to vigorous physical activity energy expenditure of 1.22 kilojoules per kilogram, compared to 0.85 for the people who developed dementia, 0.95 for those who developed sleep disorders, 1.02 for stroke, 1.08 for depression, and 1.10 for anxiety.

As this study was conducted with numerous participants and the use of devices that provide objective measurements of activity levels, it helps detect the development of diseases.

"It is promising to think that encouraging people to make these lifestyle changes could potentially lessen the burden of these diseases in the future," said Jia-Yi Wu.

The only limitation of this study was that it was conducted on the white population, and it may not apply to other populations.