When it comes to living healthier, a lot of the advice feels like common sense. Move more, sit less; make sure to get enough sleep, but not too much. But we tend to think of healthy behaviours in isolation, like squeezing a few hours in the gym in where possible, and rarely as interconnected parts of a whole.
Overall, researchers found that “compositions lower in sitting time and with greater standing time, physical activity and sleeping had the most beneficial associations with outcomes.” Notably, those with type 2 diabetes saw a marked increase in beneficial blood glucose measures associated with replacing sitting time with greater physical activity, particularly light physical activity.
“So these are activities where you’re just pottering around your house, like walking to the fridge. You’re not really purposefully walking,” he explains. “This 24-hour optimal range is like a compass, it’s something to work towards and it may not be achievable for everyone. But it tells us we have to start thinking about our health in a more integrated and holistic way, incorporating not just exercise but also sleep-life activity and sitting down.”from the World Health Organisation were updated in 2020 to include recommendations for sedentary activity.