Rewiring the Anxious Brain

If you are stressed to the max you will be glad to know that researchers have discovered the type of sleep that is most apt to not only calm but also reset the anxious brain. It is deep sleep known as non rapid eye movement or NREM. This slow wave sleep allows neural oscillations to become highly synchronized which lead to drops in heart rates and blood pressure.

Researchers at UC Berkeley have identified this new function of deep sleep which is one that decreases anxiety overnight through reorganizing brain connections. This deep sleep appears to be a natural anxiety inhibitor as long as a person gets it each and every night.

The findings demonstrate one of the strongest neural links between anxiety and sleep to date. The team points out that sleep is a natural and non pharmaceutical remedy for a variety of anxiety disorders which have been diagnosed in 40 million American adults and the numbers are rising among teens and children. The research suggests that lack of sleep amplifies anxiety levels and conversely deep sleep helps reduce the stress.

Through a series of experiments utilizing MRI and polysomnography along with other measures, the team scanned the brains of 18 young adults while they viewed emotionally stirring video clips following a full night’s sleep and then again following a sleepless night. The levels of anxiety were measured after each session through a questionnaire which is known as the state trait anxiety inventory.

Following a night of no sleep, the brain scans indicated a shutdown of the medial prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that helps us keep anxiety in check while the deeper emotional centers of the brain were overactive. The team believes that without sufficient sleep, the brain works overtime on the emotional accelerator pedal without sufficient braking.

Following a full night’s sleep when the participant’s brain waves were measured by electrodes placed on their heads, the results indicated their levels of anxiety declined significantly. This was especially true for those participants who had experienced more slow wave NREM sleep.

It appeared deep sleep or NREM sleep had restored the prefrontal mechanism of the brain which regulates our emotions thus lowering physiological and emotional reactivity thus preventing an escalation of anxiety.

The team also replicated the results in another study with 30 participants. Across all participants, the results once again showed that the participants who got more deep sleep experienced the lowest levels of anxiety the following day.

In addition to the lab experiments, the team conducted a study online in which they tracked 280 people of all ages on how both their anxiety levels and sleep changed over the course of four consecutive days. These results indicated that the quality and amount of sleep they got from one night to the next predicted how anxious they would feel the next day. Even very subtle nightly changes in their sleep affected their anxiety levels.

People who suffer from anxiety disorders routinely report experiencing disturbed sleep. However, very rarely is improvement in sleep considered as a clinical recommendation for reducing anxiety. The study shows not only a casual connection between anxiety and sleep, but it also defines the kind of NREM deep sleep a person needs to calm down the overanxious brain.

To view the original scientific study click below

Overanxious and underslept.

Hyper Palatable Foods that People Can’t Stop Eating

Hyper-palatable foods are those made with a mix of ingredients that light up people’s brain-reward neural circuitry and overpower mechanisms that are supposed to signal when we’ve had enough to eat. Because these foods essentially enhance their consumption, overweight and obesity can be the result.

This class of foods which are often processed foods or sweets containing alluring combinations of sugar, fat, sodium and carbohydrates, have been found to be some of the most highly consumed foods in the United States. Food companies have devised formulas for these foods to make them highly palatable and thus enhance their consumption.

While there is no standardized definition for hyper palatable foods, typically descriptive definitions such as “desserts”, “fast foods” and “sweets” will identify these types of foods. However, those words aren’t specific to the actual mechanisms through which the ingredients in a particular food lead to their enhanced palatability. Defining these types of foods has been a substantial limitation.

A team sought to define the criteria for hyper palatable foods through conducting a literature review and then employing nutrition software and applying their definition to over 7,700 food items. They essentially took all the descriptive definitions of these foods from the literature and one by one entered them into the nutrition program to see how it quantifies a food’s ingredients. The software provides in fine grained detail a data set which specifies how many calories, fat, sodium, sugar, carbohydrates and fiber are in the foods.

They looked for items that met the criteria established by the literature review as enhancing palatability and specifically when the synergy between key ingredients in a certain food creates an artificially palatable experience which is larger than any key ingredient would produce by itself.

They identified these particular synergies with specific values which were applied to three clusters – combinations of sodium and fat (such as bacon and hot dogs), combinations of simple sugars and fats (such as ice cream, cookies, and cake), and combinations of sodium and carbohydrates (such as pretzels, chips and popcorn).

Essentially the team wanted to be able to identify foods that seem to cluster together which what seemed like similar levels of at least two ingredients. That is the theoretical basis for producing the synergistic palatability effect. Through a process using visualization, they were able to see there were essentially three food types that appear to cluster together in relation to their ingredients.

Once the team was able to quantify characteristics of hyper palatability, they were able to apply their definition to foods that are cataloged in the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s FNDDS (Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies). The hope was to discover just how prevalent these types of foods are in the American diet.

The team discovered that 62% of foods in the FNDDS met the criteria for at least one of the three clusters they had identified. Most of those foods (70%) were high in sodium and fat (such as egg or meat dishes and milk based foods like cheese dips). 25% of the hyper palatable foods were high in sugar and fat and 16% of those foods were also high in sodium and carbohydrates. Less than 10% qualified in more than one cluster.

The most shocking discovery were items labeled as reduced or no fat, salt, sugar or calories represented 5% of hyper palatable foods. Additionally, of all the items that were labeled as low/reduced/no fat, sugar, sodium and/or sugar in the FNDDS, 49% met the criteria as a being a hyper palatable food.

More evidence is needed, however if research starts to support that these hyper palatable foods may be problematic for society, it might warrant food labels saying “this is hyper palatable”. And it might also lead to restriction of certain foods that are available in particular places such as elementary school cafeterias that serve kids whose brains are still developing and might be impacted by these kinds of foods.

The plan is to build on the current work by analyzing how the ubiquity of these hyper palatable foods in the U.S. diet compares to foods in other countries. A grant was recently received by the team to research foods consumed in Italy where the Mediterranean diet is prevalent.

To view the original scientific study click below

Hyper Palatable Foods: Development of a Quantitative Definition and Application to the US Food System Database..

Blue Light can Accelerate Aging Even if it Doesn’t Reach Your Eyes

Although blue light may not be shining in someones eyes, it can still affect a person’s longevity. A new study has suggested that the blue wavelengths which are produced by light emitting diodes from phones, household fixtures and computers damage cells in the brain and in the retinas.

The research conducted at Oregon State University utilized the common fruit fly in its study as it is an important model organism due to its developmental and cellular mechanisms which it shares with other animals and also humans.

The team examined how fruit flies respond to daily 12 hour exposure periods to blue LED light. This is light that is similar to the blue wavelengths in devices such as tablets and phones. They found that the blue accelerated aging in the fruit flies.

Flies that were subjected to the daily 12 hours in light and then 12 hours in darkness had shorter lives when compared to flies that were kept in total darkness or those that had been kept in light with the blue wavelengths filtered out. The fruit flies that had been exposed to blue light showed damage to their brain neurons and retinal cells and also had impaired locomotion. Their ability to climb the walls in their enclosures which is a common behavior, was diminished.

Some of the flies used in the study were mutants that do not develop eyes and those eyeless flies also experienced locomotion impairments and brain damage. This suggests that flies don’t have to see the blue light to become harmed by it.

The team was initially surprised that the blue light accelerated the aging process in the flies. They measured expression of genes in the older flies and discovered that stress response, protective genes were expressed when the flies were kept in the light. They hypothesized that light was regulating the genes. They then wondered if it is the light that is harmful so they looked at the spectrum of light. It was quite clear that although light without the blue light slightly shortened the flies lifespan, blue light alone shortened their lifespan quite dramatically.

Natural light is critical for the body’s circadian rhythm which is the 24 hour cycle of physiological processes such as hormone production, brain wave activity, and cell regeneration which are important to sleeping and feeding patterns. There is evidence that suggests that increased exposure to artificial light is a risk factor for circadian and sleep disorders. With the widespread use of LED device displays and lighting, people are exposed to increasing amountsof light in the blue spectrum. Commonly used LEDs emit a high fraction of blue light. However, LED lighting has not been used for a long enough period to know its effects across the lifespan of humans.

Flies when given a choice avoid blue light. The team is going to test to see if the same signaling that causes them to escape blue light in involved in longevity. Advances in medicine and technology could work together to address the damaging effects of blue light if the research in flies proves applicable to humans.

As science looks for a variety of ways to help people stay healthy as they live longer, creating a healthier spectrum of light may be a possibility, not only in terms of better sleep, but in terms of overall health.

There are a few things people can do to protect themselves that do not involve being in darkness for hours. Eyeglasses that have amber lenses will filter out blue light and will protect the retinas. Some laptops, phones and other devices can be set to reduce blue emissions. Blue light screen filters can be purchased and cut to size for almost any device including LED televisions. Special light bulbs are available that are filtered to reduce or eliminate blue light. These products can be found on Amazon.com or LowBlueLights.com. In the future there might be phones that auto adjust their display depending on length of usage which the phone perceives. This kind of phone while most likely difficult to create, would have a big impact on health.

To view the original scientific study click below

Daily blue-light exposure shortens lifespan and causes brain neurodegeneration in Drosophila.

Improved Cardiac Regeneration Developed

A novel multi pronged approach for concurrently rejuvenating both the vasculature and cardiac muscle of the heart has been recently developed. The results give hope to developing a new treatment for repairing hearts that have been damaged by myocardial infarction. This new therapy could serve as an alternative to heart transplants

The joint research team consisted of scientists and researchers from City University of Hong Kong along with other organizations, conducted the first study that involved two distinct stem cell effects for cardiac repair. The aim was to concurrently rejuvenate both the vasculatures and heart muscles by using two major stem cell types – bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and cardiomyocytes which were derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. (hiPSC-CMs).

The hMSCs was used in the study because of their prominent paracrine activity of secreting good proteins which promote the regeneration of blood vessels and endothelial cell survival. The other stem cell type, hiPSC-CMs, was used because of their similarities with human primary CMs in terms of their expressions of structural proteins, cardiac specific genes, ion channels and most importantly their spontaneous contraction.

Earlier studies describe the beneficial effects of either hMSCs or hiPSC-CMs on a myocardial infarction (MI) separately. The recent study was the first to simultaneously study the effects of these two distinct stem cells for cardiac repair. The team used a dual approach in which the hiPSC-CMs and hMSCs were delivered by two distinct routes. The hiPSC-CMs were injected intramyocardially directly into a border zone of a rat’s heart. The hMSCs loaded patch was implanted on top of the infarct area similar to a bandage.

The results of the study indicate that this dual approach showed a significant improvement in cardiac function and enhancement of vessel formation on a MI heart. The hMSC loaded patch not only provided a micro environment which enhanced vascular regeneration which was expected, but in addition showed improvement in the retention of hiPSC-CMs. Ultimately this augmented heart function and also restored the injured myocardium.

In addition, histological analysis demonstrated that the implanted hMSC loaded patch promoted the functional maturation of injected hiPSC-CMs. They became more rectangular and elongated in cell shape and appeared to be more organized in order which are typical morphological characteristics of mature adult CMs. Functional maturation of intramyocardially hiPSC-CMs is very important because it can reduce the potential risk of arrhythmia’s which are a major cause of sudden cardiac death.

The team believe the novel dual approach could potentially provide clinical and translational benefits to the field of cardiac regeneration. Using the same principle, the protocol could be utilized in repair of other organs including the liver, pancreas and brain where multiple types of stem cells co exist.

The team is now working on additional studies using larger animals such as pigs and they have applied for a patent.

To view the original scientific study click below

Dual stem cell therapy synergistically improves cardiac function and vascular regeneration following myocardial infarction.

Transplanted Brain Cells Survive without Anti-Rejections Drugs

Through experiments using mice, researchers have developed a method to successfully transplant a particular kind of protective brain cells without the use for life long anti-rejection drugs. The team at Johns Hopkins Medicine, have selectively circumvented the immune response against foreign cells which allows for transplanted cells to survive and even thrive and protect brain tissue after immune suppressing drugs have been discontinued.

A significant obstacle to the ability to replace brain cells is the mammalian immune system. The immune systems works by quickly identifying non self or self tissues and then mounting attacks to destroy foreign or non self invaders. This is beneficial when targeting viruses and bacteria, however it is a significant hurdle for transplanted organs, tissues or cells which are also flagged for destruction.

Traditional anti rejection medications that unspecifically and broadly tamp down the immune system at once frequently work to fend off tissue rejection. This leaves the patient vulnerable to infection and a variety of other side effects. Patients need to continue with these drugs indefinitely.

The Johns Hopkins Medicine team sought out ways to manipulate T cells which are the immune system’s elite infection fighting force that goes after foreign invaders. Specifically, they focused on a series of so called costimulatory signals that T cells must encounter in order to start an attack.

These particular signals are in place to help ensure the immune system cells don’t go rogue by attacking the body’s own healthy tissues. The idea is to exploit the normal tendencies of these signals as a means of training the immune system to eventually accept transplanted cells as self permanently.

To accomplish this, the team used two antibodies, CTLA4-lf and anti-CD154 which keep T cells from initiating an attack when they encounter foreign particles by binding to the surface of the T cell which essentially blocks the go signal. This particular combination was previously used successfully to block the rejection of solid organ transplants in animals, however had not been tested for cell transplants to repair the myelin in the brain.

In a significant set of experiments, the team injected the brains of mice with the protection glial cells which produce the myelin sheath that surrounds neurons. These very specific cells were genetically engineered to glow so that the team could keep track of them.

The glial cells were transplanted into three mice types. This included mice that were genetically engineered to not form the glial cells which create the myelin sheath, normal mice and mice that were bred to be able to mount a response of the immune system. They used the antibodies to block an immune response, concluding treatment after six days.

Each day the team used a specialized camera that could detect the glowing cells and capture pictures of the mice brains. They were particularly looking for the relative absence or presence of the transplanted glial cells. Cells that had been transplanted in the control mice that had not received the antibody treatment immediately started to die off. Their glow was no longer seen by the camera by day 21.

The mice which had received the antibody treatment were able to maintain significant levels of the transplanted glial cells for more than 203 days. This indicated they were not killed by the mouse’s T cells even in treatment absence.

The fact that any glow had remained showed the team that cells had survived the transplantation even long after stopping the treatment. This was interpreted as a success in selectively blocking the immune system’s T cells from killing the cells that had been transplanted.

The next step for the team was to see whether the transplanted glial cells would survive well enough to do what glial cells typically do in the brain which is create the myelin sheath. To accomplish this, the team looked for key structural differences between the mouse brains which contained thriving glial cells and those without using MRI imaging. The team discovered in the images the cells in the treatment mice were indeed populating the appropriate portions of the brain.

The results confirmed that the cells that had been transplanted had the ability to thrive and assume their normal function which is to protect the brain neurons. The results are preliminary, however the team was able to deliver these cells and allow them to thrive in a localized part of the mice brains.

For the future, the teams hopes to combine their findings with additional studies on cell delivery methods to the brain to help in repairing the brain on a more global scale.

To view the original scientific study click below

Induction of immunological tolerance to myelinogenic glial-restricted progenitor allografts.

Is it Better to Work Out Before or After Breakfast?

A new study has found that just be changing when you eat and exercise, you can have achieve better control of blood sugar levels. The study by health scientists at the Universities of Birmingham and Bath, shows that exercising before breakfast burns more fat which improves the body’s response to insulin and can lower people’s risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

This six week study involved thirty men who were classified as overweight or obese and compared the results from two intervention groups. One group were those who are breakfast then exercised. The other control group were those who made no lifestyle changes. The results showed that people who exercised before breakfast burned double the amount of fat compared to the group who exercised after breakfast.

The researchers found that increased fat use is mostly due to lower insulin levels during exercise when a person has fasted overnight. This means that they can use more fat from their fat tissues and the fat found in their muscles as fuel. To test the proof of the principle, the first study involved only men. Future studies will look to translate their findings for different groups of people including women.

While the results did not lead to any differences in weight loss over the six week period, it did show positive and profound effects on the participant’s health. Their bodies were better able to respond to insulin which kept blood sugar levels under control which can potentially lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

The team behind the study sought to focus on the impact of the fat stores in muscles for people who either worked out after or before eating and the effect the timing had on insulin response to eating. This study built on emerging evidence that timing of meals in relation to when a person’s exercises can shift how effective exercise is.

The results suggest that by changing the timing of when a person eats in relation to when they choose to exercise, very positive changes to overall health can occur. The group of men who exercised prior to breakfast increased their ability to respond to insulin which is remarkable given that both groups lost a similar amount of weight and both groups gained a similar amount of fitness. The only difference between the groups was the timing of breakfast.

The scientists also found that the muscles from the group of men who exercised prior to breakfast were more responsive to insulin in spite of identical food intake and training sessions. The muscles from this group showed increased key proteins, specifically those which are involved in transporting glucose from the blood stream to muscles.

The study shows that engaging in exercise after an overnight fasted state can increase the health benefits without a change in duration, intensity, or perception of their effort. The team now look to explore the longer term effects of the timing of exercise and eating and whether women will show similar benefits to those found with the men in the study.

To view the original scientific study click below

Lipid metabolism links nutrient-exercise timing to insulin sensitivity in men classified as overweight or obese.

Plastic Teabags and Possible Health Effects

While many people are doing their part in reducing plastic use, there are some tea manufacturers who are actually moving in the opposite direction. Some tea producers are replacing the traditional paper teabags with plastic teabags. A new study has found that those plastic teabags may come with a bit of micro and nano sized plastics which are shed from the bag. What is unknown at this time, is what possible effects on health could come from ingesting these particles

Plastics break down into tiny microplastics and even smaller nanoplastics over time. Nanoplastics are less then 100 nanometers in size which is less than the diameter of a human hair. Scientists have discovered these microscopic particles in aquatic organisms, in the environment and even in the food supply.

Microplastics are found everywhere. Much of our food is wrapped in plastic and often ends up in our food. It also leaches out into the environment. Plastics can end up in things like canned fish, sea salt, honey and chicken.

The study team wondered if these recently introduced plastic teabags could be releasing micro and nanoplastics into the tea during brewing. They also wanted to explore possible effects of the released particles on small aquatic organisms known as water fleas. These are model organisms commonly used in environmental studies.

To conduct the analysis, the team bought four different varieties of commercial teas which were packaged in plastic teabags. They opened the bags, removed the tea leaves then washed the empty bags. They then heated the plastic teabags in containers of water to stimulate the brewing conditions.
To ensure cutting the teabag did not influence the number of particles released, they also used several teabags that had not been emptied or rinsed out.

For each brand tested, three emptied teabags were placed in a clean, single glass vial and then steeped in 10 milliliters of 95 degree Celsius water for a period of five minutes. The teabags were then removed and the water poured into another clean glass container.

By using electron microscopy, the research team took images of the teabags both before and after steeping and their chemical composition analyzed. After brewing, the teabag water was fixed to silicon wafers and dried and Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis was used to count the particles.

They found that the teabags showed significant cracking and degradation after the steeping process. They found that just a single plastic teabag at a brewing temperature of 95 degrees Celsius released about 11.6 billion microplastic and 3.1 billion nanoplastic particles into the brewed water.

These levels are thousands of times higher than those that had been previously reported in other foods. Currently it is estimated that people consume over 74,000 particles of microplastics per year. According to the new study, there is almost 200,000 times that amount in a single cup of plastic teabag tea. The team estimated that a tea drinker would swallow 2.3 million micron sized and 14.7 billion submicron particles in a single cup of tea.

In a different experiment, the team treated water fleas with a variety of doses of the micro and nanoplastics from the teabags. The fleas survived, however they did show some behavioral and anatomical abnormalities.

More research is needed for scientists to determine if drinking tea laced with plastic could lead to negative health effects on people. Very little research has been conducted on human health and the toxicity of microplastics. If these products remain on the shelf, there needs to be a big push do conduct more toxicity tests.

To avoid the possibility, the best bet is to choose paper teabags or loose leaf tea. However, some paper teabags are reinforced with plastic so one needs to do their homework to insure they are purchasing 100% paper teabags.

To view the original scientific study click below

Plastic Teabags Release Billions of Microparticles and Nanoparticles into Tea

Napping for Heart Health

A new study has shown that naps are associated with a lower risk of heart disease. Occasional napping can cut a person’s risk of strokes, heart disease and heart attack by half when compared to those who don’t nap.

The health benefits of napping have been debated for years. Earlier research was inconclusive. Many argue that the studies failed to consider frequency of napping as an important factor.

The research team at the University of California collected data from almost 3,500 randomly selected residents of Lausanne, Switzerland between the ages of 35 and 70. They analyzed the associations between average nap duration and nap frequency effects on the risk of cardiovascular disease over a 5 year period which indicated some interesting trends.

About 58% of the participants did not take naps at all. One in five participants took 1 to 2 occasional naps on a weekly basis and this was associated with a 48% decrease in the risk of a cardiovascular event. One in 5 who were frequent nappers of 3 to 7 naps on a weekly basis, who tended to be male and older, also weighed more, slept longer at night, smoked often, reported more daytime sleepiness and were more likely to have sleep apnea, had a 67% increase in risk of heart disease.

However, when the team took into account lifestyle; cardiovascular risk factors such as age, hours of sleep per night, and disease risks; and sociodemographic, the risk for cardiovascular disease among occasional nappers disappeared.

Initially, frequent napping seemed to increase a person’s risk of heart disease by 67%. That disappeared after taken into account the other factors. This suggests that napping may have a positive impact on cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, no associations with cardiovascular events were found for length of naps – from 5 minutes to 1 hour and more.

The study was observational so it can’t be assumed that napping directly contributed to the decrease risk of heart disease. However, it does contribute to the ongoing debates over health benefits due to napping. Sleep researchers have never completely defined a nap and different cultures look at naps differently. Some sleep researchers say a 20 to 30 minute nap in the early afternoon is the perfect nap.

The study also suggest that might not only be the duration of the naps, but also the frequency that matters. The study of napping is very challenging given it is largely dependent on data. There remains many more questions than answers, however it is time to begin unveiling the power naps may provide for a supercharged heart!

To view the original scientific study click below

Association of napping with incident cardiovascular events in a prospective cohort study.

Humans Have Ability to Regrow Joint Cartilage

Researchers have discovered, contrary to popular belief, that human joint cartilage can repair itself. It does it in a manner similar to that used by creatures such as zebrafish and salamanders. This finding could potentially lead to treatments for osteoarthritis which is the most common disorder of joints in the world.

The research team identified a mechanism for repair of cartilage that seems to be more robust in ankle joints and less so in hips. They believe that further understanding of this salamander like regenerative capacity in humans combined with the critically missing components of this regulatory circuit, might provide a foundation for new approaches for joint tissue repair and even whole human limbs.

The team created a way to determine the age of proteins through internal molecular clocks which are integral to amino acids. These amino acids convert one form to another with predictable regularity.

Proteins which are newly created in tissue have very few or no amino acid conversions. Older proteins actually have many. Through understanding this process, the team was able to use sensitive mass spectrometry to identify when key proteins found in human cartilage, including collagens, were young, middle aged or old.

The team discovered that cartilage age depends largely on where it resides in the body. Cartilage found in the ankles is young, middle aged in the knee and older in the hips. This correlation between the location of cartilage in the body and age aligns with how repair of limbs occurs in certain animals which more readily regenerates at the furthest tips such as the ends of tails and legs.

Additionally, the findings also explain why injuries to the knees and especially the hips, take a long time to heal and often times develop into arthritis. Ankle injuries typically heal much quicker and are less prone to becoming severely arthritic.

The team also learned that molecules which are known as microRNA regulate this process. These microRNAs are much more active in animals that are known for tail, fin or limb repair including zebrafish, salamanders, and African fresh water fish and lizards.

Humans also have these microRNAs…an evolutionary artifact which can provide humans the ability for repair of joint tissue. Similar to animals, microRNA activity is significantly different depending on its location. It is highest in ankles compared to the knees and hips and also higher in the top layer of cartilage as compared to deeper levels of cartilage.

The team explains that the regulators of regeneration in the limbs of salamanders appears to also be the controllers of repair of joint tissue in human limbs. They are calling it the “inner salamander” capacity. They believe microRNAs could be developed as treatments that might prevent, slow or even reverse arthritis.

They believe there is the ability to boost these regulators to fully regenerate cartilage that has degenerated in an arthritic joint. By figuring out what regulators are missing compared with salamanders, they may be able to add the missing components back and then develop a way to regenerate part or even all of an injured human limb. The team believes this is a fundamental mechanism for repair that could be applied not only to cartilage, but also many tissue types.

To view the original scientific study click below

Analysis of “old” proteins unmasks dynamic gradient of cartilage turnover in human limbs.

Combat a Sedentary Lifestyle with More Time Standing

Humans are not meant to spend a great portion of their day sitting. However, a lot of people do spend even their entire days moving from chair to chair. A recent study has found that sitting can lead to a variety of health issues.

The study conducted by a team from the University of Granada (UGR), recommends that people spend more of their time standing which will help increase energy expenditure which can help them avoid health problems which are associated with a sedentary lifestyle. The study also quantifies how many extra calories a person will burn when they remain standing…45 calories more than in a sedentary state every six hours.

For the study, 53 adults were split into two groups…energy savers and energy spenders which were dependent on how much energy a person typically used when switching from lying down or sitting to standing up. While the team wasn’t quite sure why some people spend more energy than others, one factor did seem to appear to be muscle mass. The people with more muscle mass used more energy than those with less.

Energy spenders burn about 10% more energy when they switch from lying or sitting to standing. Energy savers consume very little energy in activities and the difference between lying or sitting or standing is practically nil for them.

It is really important for people to change their position. Even if a person is to get up, take 10 steps and then sit down again, it appears the effects of a sedentary lifestyle could be greatly reduced.

The research team recommends the widespread adoption of height adjustable standing desks in workplaces. These type of desks are very common in Nordic countries and the team suggests these types of desks be utilized around the globe to help reduce the risk of health issues.

The team also recommends educating school age children and young people and their teachers about the importance of avoiding long periods of time sitting down. More standing can considerably help reduce the negative consequences of sedentary lifestyle choices which can lead to obesity, excess weight and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

To view the original scientific study click below

Energy expenditure differences across lying, sitting, and standing positions in young healthy adults.