Stand up frequently and optimise your blood sugar
“The fantastic news is that something as simple as standing up frequently can have huge health benefits. It doesn’t cost anything, it doesn’t require any preparation or equipment, and it’s something most people can actually do.”
Are you dreaming of a long and healthy life? Then you’ve probably read about the many different methods that are said to increase your chances without the need for scientific intervention. However, this scientific study shows that it’s our basic healthy habits that are crucial to increasing our life expectancy. In 2018, a US study published in the medical journal Circulation, showed that those included in the study increased their chances of living a longer life by 14 years for women, and 12 years for men, by following five healthy habits. The healthy habits included eating a balanced diet, taking regular exercise, maintaining a healthy body weight, not smoking, and moderating your alcohol intake. I believe that studies like this provide great inspiration for making wise and healthy choices. Personally, I can sometimes get overwhelmingly frustrated over how much time, commitment, and money is spent on things that have no lasting positive result and could have a detrimental effect. On the other hand, this study shows how significant our basic healthy habits are and that, at present, there is nothing that can compare to them. And the good thing is that these aren’t expensive or exclusive methods, but something everyone can do.
A holistic approach is best for balanced blood sugar
Our blood sugar, and its effects on our health, has attracted significant attention in the past few years. The majority of research has shown that having stable blood sugar levels over time minimises your risk of type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other conditions, and low-grade invisible inflammation that can eventually damage your health. In a health context, much of this focus has been around what kind of foods we should eat, and even more often on what foods we should not eat, to avoid a negative impact on blood sugar levels. With a holistic approach to health, it’s important to remember that there are other lifestyle factors than diet that impact our blood sugar, for example stress, sleep and physical activity. This is something that’s worth bearing in mind so as not to overfocus on one area, such as what you do eat and don’t eat. For instance, fruit is often listed as something to avoid in this context. Something that has been subject to a lot of attention recently for its ability to stabilise our blood sugar is how often we move and thus reduce our sedentary lifestyles. It’s important and interesting to know that something as simple as getting up and moving around when we’ve been sitting for too long can have positive effects on the body. One such positive effect is the reduction in blood sugar levels, which increases our chances of a healthier and longer life.
“Did you know that after just 25 minutes of sitting still, substances are formed in our fat cells which, amongst other things, increase the risk of type-2 diabetes and contribute to low-grade harmful inflammation?”
Unique Swedish research is contributing to our new understanding of everyday activity.
There’s nothing ground-breaking in saying that exercise and physical activity are healthy and reduce the risk of things like obesity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, cancer and type-2 diabetes. Physical activity builds muscle and muscles increase metabolism. Muscle work has a positive effect on our blood sugar levels, which in turn is good for health. When we use our muscles, they take up the sugar in the blood, glucose, and use it as fuel. Another positive impact that physical activity has on blood sugar levels is that it helps to make the cells more sensitive to insulin. The hormone insulin can be thought of as a key that opens the door to muscle cells to enable sugar to enter and be used as energy. Both of these side effects reduce the risk of developing type-2 diabetes. We’ve all heard how important regular exercise is for our health. But working out is not enough – we also need to make sure we move around in everyday life in a natural way. In recent years, new, exciting research has been published that shows the negative impact on our health of long-term sitting. Among other things, it has been shown that being very sedentary can lead to twice as high a risk for type-2 diabetes. Those who sit for more than 8-9 hours a day have a higher increased risk of developing ill health. The negative health effects of too much sitting still apply to those who exercise regularly a couple of times a week, even if the exercise reduces the risk. This also suggests that the sedentary habits of our modern lifestyles, such as driving a car, watching TV, using a computer and not least a lot of desk work, are not compatible with our genes. Genetically, we’re built for a physically active life. Ground-breaking Swedish research, the so-called SCAPIS study, has contributed new information. This is a population study and a data bank in cardiovascular and lung research. They have looked at physical activity and low-intensity everyday activity and its effects on the body. Very exciting insights will be made possible through this project and the hope is that more individually tailored advice can be given to prevent disease in the future.
My advice:
The body needs both active exercise and low-intensity everyday activity. Challenge yourself and find a way to break up long-term sitting by taking short, evenly spaced breaks, moving around for a few minutes once every half hour. You might want to use a watch that reminds you to do this if you’re likely to forget. Another way to reduce sitting is to stand while you work if possible, stand when talking on the phone and have more ‘walk-and-talk’ meetings. And remember that a little is better than nothing at all, and you have the best chance of sustaining new changes if you introduce them gradually. Even for those who exercise regularly, low-intensity everyday activity is important for good health.
