By Gaby Grammeno Contributor

Studies have shown that sitting still for long periods of time can adversely affect your risk of cardiovascular disease – a collective term for diseases of the heart and blood vessels which lead to outcomes such as heart attacks, strokes and deep vein thrombosis. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally.

Some research has suggested that spending more time standing instead of sitting may lower the risk, but studies assessing longer term outcomes such as hospitalisation from heart disease and mortality risk are very scarce and don’t show a clear picture. 

Moreover, previous research assessing sitting and standing time has not differentiated orthostatic circulatory diseases from other CVD types. Orthostatic circulatory disease is a condition where the act of standing up tends to make you feel light-headed and possibly experience other symptoms as well.

But just how much sitting might be bad for you? And does standing – for example, working at a standing desk – alleviate the risk? To answer these questions, a new study was carried out with the aim of quantifying the health risks of ‘stationary behaviour’, which includes both sitting and standing still for long periods. The results were published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Given how many of us spend our working days sitting – at a desk or elsewhere – the insights gained through the research can help inform choices to optimise health outcomes. For example, it can help with decisions regarding the choice of office furniture and systems of work.

By optimising the comfort and wellbeing of staff, employers can potentially contribute to improving staff morale and minimising sickness absence and staff turnover.

Time spent sitting or standing still

The study looked at data from over 83,000 adults. It assessed their daily time spent sitting and standing using an accelerometer device worn on the wrist, and compared that with their follow-up indicators of coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke. 

The researchers also investigated the subjects’ markers of orthostatic circulatory disease, looking for conditions including orthostatic hypotension (a sudden drop in blood pressure – which makes you feel woozy – upon standing up after sitting or lying down), varicose veins, chronic venous insufficiency and venous ulcers.

Risks of sitting

They found that sitting for more than 10 hours a day was associated with an increased risk of both CVD and orthostatic circulatory disease. With every extra hour spent sitting, CVD risk increased by an average of 15 percent, and the risk of circulatory diseases increased by about 26 percent. 

Risks of standing

However, standing for prolonged periods was not risk-free either – standing for more than two hours a day was associated with a higher risk of orthostatic circulatory disease, and the risk increased by an average of 11 percent with every extra 30 minutes above two hours a day.

More time spent standing did not appear to raise the risk of CVD, but nor did it protect against these diseases.

Risks of keeping still

In short, it’s stationary behaviour – keeping more or less still – that’s the problem. Merely swapping standing desks for traditional sit-down desks does not protect against the adverse health effects of lack of physical activity. On its own, standing may not help to lower CVD risk, and it may lead to a higher risk of circulatory conditions.

The researchers suggested that the lack of muscle movement during stationary time may result in a pooling of the blood, which in turn can contribute to problems with the circulation of the blood.

Options for work systems, furniture and fittings

The results have important implications for levels of physical activity in work routines and for the use of standing desks at work. In the absence of other strategies, substituting standing for sitting may not live up to the hopes of better health outcomes.

The results of the study support the public health message ‘Move more’.

What it means for employers

Standing desks on their own do not address the health risks of too much time spent sitting. More physical activity is critically important as a strategy to manage the health risks of excessive sitting time.

Where feasible, build physical activity and movement into task and job design. For example, one-on-one conversations in person can be held while walking around, and under some circumstances, online meetings and interviews may also be possible while on the move.

Frequent exercise breaks should be encouraged and promoted, and prolonged stationary behaviour discouraged.

Read the study

Device-measured stationary behaviour and cardiovascular and orthostatic circulatory disease incidence