News articles are constantly being pushed to our phones preaching the dangers of sitting. You may be familiar with phrases such as "sitting is the new smoking", or ideas about how our ancestors (Hunter-gathers) were significantly more active than us. Naturally, we begin to believe that sitting is one of the worst things for your health (sitting = bad; standing = good). Now, the overall objective of these articles (encouraging an active lifestyle) is great, but they lack a nuance which is critical for us to understand the facts.
Let's dive into the comparison between how much modern day humans and hunter-gatherers sit everyday. A recent study looked into the activity levels of a modern day hunting & gathering community (Hadza of Tanzania). They found that they were stationary approximately the same amount of time as industrialized nations (~10 hours/day). They go on to say, "However, while long total time spent sitting is often linked with increased CVD [Cardiovascular Disease] risk, our results presented here, combined with our previous work show that Hadza adults are generally free of biomarkers of high CVD risk".
How could the Hadza people be free of CVD biomarkers if they sit as much as industrialized nations? There is a detail here that is critical - it isn't about how often they are sitting, rather it is about HOW they sit ("Active Sitting"). They sit in positions that often require more muscle activation (see graph below), and as a result have to change positions frequently (average sedentary bout was ~15-minutes).
Most Common Sitting Positions of the Hadza People
This goes to show that things aren't as simple as sitting = bad and standing = good. Sitting is not inherently bad, the kicker is HOW you sit and HOW LONG you stay in a single position. The point is not to bash standing and walking, and, naturally, there is strong evidence supporting the benefits of doing so. Rather, the takeaway is to encouraged you to integrate active sitting into your daily life.
There are plenty of ways to integrate active sitting into your life, but best to start simple. Since the advent of television, we have grown accustomed to sinking into our couches for hours on end. Television directs our attention towards the events on the screen and distracts us from what our body is telling us. Interestingly, we can actually "hack" the distraction from the TV by doing 1 simple thing: Sitting on the floor.
When our mind becomes distracted by the TV we tend to adopt a single posture and forget to move. Sitting on the couch is comfortable because we are not using any muscles at all, allowing us to stay in one position for extended periods. Just by sitting on the floor you are subconsciously engaging in mobility and strength training by constantly changing positions, squatting to/from floor, and actively engaging your postural muscles to stay upright.
Of course, we don't only sit while watching TV, Try challenging yourself to sit on the floor with other activities, like reading or even eating. It may be difficult to sit on the floor for long periods initially, so build a habit by starting small. This could mean during initial phases you only sit on the floor for the first 10 minutes of your activity (e.g., TV, reading). Try the strategies below to integrate floor sitting into your life today!
References
Baddeley B, Sornalingam S, Cooper M. Sitting is the new smoking: where do we stand? Br J Gen Pract. 2016;66(646):258-258. doi:10.3399/bjgp16X685009
Hadza people. In: Wikipedia. ; 2021. Accessed February 22, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hadza_people&oldid=1059639752
Raichlen DA, Pontzer H, Harris JA, et al. Physical activity patterns and biomarkers of cardiovascular disease risk in hunter-gatherers. Am J Hum Biol. 2017;29(2). doi:10.1002/ajhb.22919
Raichlen DA, Pontzer H, Zderic TW, et al. Sitting, squatting, and the evolutionary biology of human inactivity. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2020;117(13):7115-7121. doi:10.1073/pnas.1911868117
The dangers of sitting. Harvard Health. Published May 23, 2019. Accessed February 22, 2022. https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/the-dangers-of-sitting
Healthy Is Wellness, LLC (“Healthy Is Wellness”) is not a health care provider, and does not provide professional medical advice, diagnosis, and/or treatment. THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY HEALTHY IS WELLNESS IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
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