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More than six million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s disease, and researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) are discovering how lifestyle habits are linked to the likelihood of developing the disease.  

According to a new study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, researchers found that increased sedentary behavior in aging adults was associated with worse cognition and brain shrinkage in areas related to risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. 

Marissa Gogniat, assistant professor of neurology at Pitt and former postdoctoral fellow at the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center at VUMC, led the study, coauthored by Angela Jefferson, professor of neurology at Vanderbilt and founding director of the center.  

“Reducing your risk for Alzheimer’s disease is not just about working out once a day,” said Gogniat. “Minimizing the time spent sitting, even if you exercise daily, reduces the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease.” 

The team of researchers examined the relationship between sedentary behavior, or time spent sitting or lying down, and neurodegeneration among 404 adults aged 50 and older. Study participants wore a watch that measured their activity continuously over the span of a week. Their sedentary time was then compared with their cognitive performance and brain scans captured over a seven-year follow-up period.  

Participants who spent more time being sedentary were more likely to experience cognitive decline and neurodegenerative changes, regardless of how much they exercised. These conclusions were stronger in participants who carried the APOE-e4 allele, a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that reducing sedentary time may be especially important for older adults who are at increased genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease. 

“It is critical to study lifestyle choices and the impact they have on brain health as we age,” said Jefferson. “Our study showed that reducing sitting time could be a promising strategy for preventing neurodegeneration and subsequent cognitive decline, particularly among aging adults at increased genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease. It is critical to our brain health to take breaks from sitting throughout the day and move around to increase our active time.” 

 This study was supported by the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Institute on Aging. 

Over the last few years of working from home, staying at home orders, and social distancing, many people are sitting even more than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Sitting is something so commonplace we often don’t realize just how much of our day is truly spent sedentary. However, sitting for too long can have many negative impacts on health and longevity.

A 2011 study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine found that prolonged sitting was associated with an increased risk of 34 chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Yikes!

A typical American is sedentary for 21 hours out of the day. Including exercise and physical activity, people across the U.S. only spend approximately 3 hours out of the day simply standing.

This phenomenon has been coined as “Sitting Disease,” which, broadly speaking, is defined as a condition of increased sedentary behavior associated with adverse health effects. Sedentary behavior can be defined by two things: the position you are in, which is generally reclining or sitting, and the amount of energy expenditure that your body is experiencing.

You may be asking yourself, “But I work out every day, does this still apply to me?”

Unfortunately, according to The Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, the “Active Couch Potato” phenomenon states that even an active person who works out five times a week still faces the risks associated with “Sitting Disease” if they are living a sedentary lifestyle outside of the gym. Unfortunately, you can’t undo eight plus hours of sitting with a workout!

Although participating in moderate to vigorous exercise 3-5 times a week is recommended, it’s important to start with the first step: standing. Dr. Brian Liem, MD, FAAPMR, from UW Sports Medicine, says that a “lifestyle of prolonged sitting is distinctly different even from a lifestyle absent of routine exercise.”

A study at Mayo Clinic found that for every 2 hours spent sitting 352 calories are conserved as compared to someone standing. Dr. Liem emphasizes that “standing can help get some of that metabolic activity back up because standing causes contractions in your postural muscles in your back, hips, and knees to keep you upright.”

The majority of Americans stare at a computer screen during the day, whether it be at an office desk or at home. If not, we are looking at the computer in our pockets – our smartphones. An average office worker sits for 15 hours every day, which calculates to about 80,000 hours spent sitting over a lifetime.

Technology has become an accepted part of our everyday lives, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be cognizant of what our bodies are doing while we are using technology.

Staring at your computer with poor posture causes the development of a hump at the top of your back, the shortening of your hip flexors, shortened abdominal muscles, a caving chest, weakened shoulders, arm pain, numbness and tingling in your extremities, and worst of all, traumatic pressure on the disks in your back. All of these symptoms are not uncommon.

Good posture is also important when using a smartphone because a human head weighs about 10–12 lbs. Studies show that bending your head down to the 60-degree typical texting position can make your head weigh about 60 lbs. We spend about 700 – 1,400 hours on our smartphones every year, so putting that much stress on our necks and spines just by bending our heads for that long can start to develop problems.

So, what are some solutions?

We know that it is difficult to be removed from technology and that many common solutions can be expensive or difficult to find on the market. Instead, we emphasize the importance of awareness in terms of your posture, bodily movement, and the amount of sitting/reclining per day.

For every hour of sitting, try to get about ten minutes of standing in. For every 30 minutes that you are doing work, there should be 20 minutes of actual computer work, and then a 10-minute break. That 10-minute break should be 8 minutes of standing and 2 minutes of stretching. This alone is a pretty big change from sitting for hours on end, and should over time give back to your body exponentially.

Incorporate movement breaks into your day

Check out the Whole U’s Flex at your Desk and Stretch at your Desk handouts to learn a few movements that you could try at work. We also encourage you to join The Whole U’s daily movement class at 11 a.m. 15-minutes of stretching and light movement to give your body a much needed sitting break.

When you are sitting, think of an ergonomic posture – bringing your keyboard and mouse closer to your body, keeping your shoulder blades pulled back, relaxing your elbows by your side, and maintaining a neutral spine. The Whole U’s Working with Better Posture handout is a great place to start.

Learn more by watching 2 recorded webinars

Working Ergonomics with Dr. Peter Johnson

Join Dr. Peter Johnson, Professor Emeritus, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, and Adjunct Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering to learn everything you need to know about creating an ergonomic workspace—wherever you’re working! Click here to download Dr. Johnson’s updated slides. 

Sitting Disease Deep Dive with UW Sports Medicine

Elliot O’Connor, DPT, and Dr. Brian Liem from UW Sports Medicine share information about what sitting disease is, how it can lead to chronic back and neck pain, and provide some simple exercises that you can do to prevent and beat the sitting disease.

Small steps can make a big difference – literally!

You can also combat “Sitting Disease” through small things. Try parking farther away, standing while you eat lunch, and doing one-leg balance stances while you watch television or brush your teeth. Every little step you take is one less moment spent sitting.

Alongside standing, aerobic exercise is extremely important. As recommended by the HSS, you should be performing a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity about 5 days a week or 20 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic activity about 3 days a week.

Fight against the avoidable effects of “Sitting Disease” by standing up and moving away from a sedentary lifestyle!

Vacations are a time to relax, recharge, and escape from the responsibilities and routines of everyday life. If you’re a fitness fan, a vacation can present a challenge: how to balance rest and fun while maintaining the consistent fitness routine that is important to you. Whether you’re an avid gym-goer or just starting on your fitness journey, taking your fitness routine on vacation is not only possible but can also be an enjoyable way to make your trip memorable.

In this article, we’ll explore why staying active during a vacation is beneficial, the challenges of maintaining a fitness routine while vacationing, and strategies to overcome these challenges. We’ll also consider that even elite athletes take breaks. And that you might want to as well.

Vacation Fitness: Finding Benefits and Finding Balance

Maintaining your fitness routine on vacation has real benefits; you continue to progress toward your goals while supporting related health benefits (like feeling good and sleeping better). At the same time, there is value in taking some time off to rest and recover. And know it takes longer than a week or two away from scheduled fitness to see a significant drop in cardiovascular health and muscle strength.

Maintaining your fitness routine on vacation comes with its own set of challenges you may have to balance like a packed schedule, the lack of familiar fitness equipment, and how offset your fitness needs with the preferences of your travel companions. Maintaining a fitness routine while on vacation requires flexibility, creativity, and a shift in mindset.

Here are some strategies to help you stay active while enjoying a fun, relaxing and balanced vacation:

1. Set Realistic Goals

While it’s important to stay active, make enjoying your time away your primary focus. Setting achievable fitness goals, like 20 minutes of movement each day or incorporating one active activity into your plans, can help you stay accountable without feeling pressured.

A vacation might not be the best time to launch a new fitness program, especially if you are beginning to build fitness into your life. Capitalize on the physical activity that is part of your vacation and that makes it fun, like walking through museums or climbing stairs to historic sites. Take that momentum home with you and see if your vacation fitness work builds enthusiasm for fitness at home.

2. Make Your Workouts Short and Efficient

Instead of spending an hour at the gym, aim for a 20-30 minute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) session. Or try a bodyweight circuit including exercises like squats, push-ups and jumping jacks for a full-body workout in a short amount of time.

3. Try Supplemental Fitness Work

If you think about fitness options like stretching or pliability work, but don’t make time for them at home, your vacation may be a good time to try this supplemental work. Rest and recovery are components of peak athletic performance, and a vacation might be an ideal time to add these valuable yet less demanding elements to your program.

4. Pack Portable Fitness Equipment

Pack lightweight, portable fitness equipment like resistance bands, a jump rope, or a yoga mat. Resistance bands, for example, are versatile tools that can provide strength training without the need for weights. A jump rope is an excellent tool for cardio work that can be used virtually anywhere.

5. Use Your Surroundings to Stay Active

Where you vacation can offer unique opportunities for physical activity that doesn’t feel like exercise. If you’re by the beach, go for a swim or try paddleboarding. In a city? Take a walk or rent a bike. Live like a local by sampling fitness classes that interest you.

6. Bite Sized Options Count

Walk instead of taking public transportation or an Uber when possible. If you’re staying in a multi-story hotel, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Add a walk along the shoreline to a day at the beach. These small efforts add up over the course of your trip, helping you stay active without feeling like you’re taking time away from your vacation.

7. Use Fitness Apps and Online Workouts

If you’re staying somewhere without a gym and you want guidance for your workouts, fitness apps and online workouts can be great resources. If you work with a personal trainer, ask your coach for three to six simple bodyweight exercises you can do on your own. You might even record these programs on your phone in real-time, so you stay on track and maintain proper form.

Balancing Fitness and Relaxation

Ultimately, the goal of taking your fitness routine on vacation is to strike a balance between staying active and enjoying the relaxation and rejuvenation that comes with time away. It’s important to remember that fitness is not just about the time spent in the gym but about staying healthy and active in a way that complements your life. Vacations offer the perfect opportunity to try new activities, explore different ways of moving, and offset fitness with some recovery time.

Staying active on vacation doesn’t have to be a burden—it can enhance your experience, improve your mood, and help you return home feeling both refreshed and fit.