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The health benefits of fidgeting could become obvious during the next occasion when you find yourself being unsettled at work, and you should think twice before avoiding it. Long times of remaining seated have been known to produce serious health problems, with a sequence of researches finding that an inactive life increases the danger of becoming overweight, having cardiovascular illnesses and even premature death.
Fidgeting in the seat could prevent some of the negative effects of a long sedentary work schedule, according to a research released these days in the United States. Experts have analyzed data from more than 13,000 females between the ages 35 and 75 who took part in their study, one of the biggest cohort researches of women’s diet and wellness.
The members responded to questions about their regular daily-seated activities and ranked their habit of fidgeting from 1 to 10, from “absolutely no fidgeting” to “permanent fidgeting.” The participants also offered information about their diet plans, exercise routines and the frequency of alcohol and cigarettes consumption. The females originally responded to these surveys in 2000, and scientists followed up with the study for approximately 10 years.
After taking into consideration the other factors in the participants’ way of life, the scientists noticed that women who were seated for a daily period of over 6 hours were 25% more likely to die from other causes than females who remained seated for less than 5 hours. The more inactive women only seemed to have increased health risks if they did not fidget at all, but their problems were depending at some point on the amount of physical activity at their workplace.
The analysis revealed no higher danger of dying for people who were themselves average and frequent fidgeters during their work time. Even if further analysis is needed, the results raise some questions about whether negative connotations linked to fidgeting, like disrespect and lack of focus, must continue in our society if such a simple motion is beneficial for human wellness.
The research contributes to a growing set of proofs that an inactive way of life is detrimental for our health, even when we are active at the gym or in other rare occasions. Previous studies have shown that simply getting up and taking a break from being seated for a long time at work, at home or in any other environment, can improve the physical indicators of a good health, like BMI or sugar and insulin levels. This is the first analysis to prove that fidgeting can change the correlation between death risk and long sitting.
The results are only effective at this time, and the research has several restrictions. Females in the tests might have over- and under-estimated the amount of fidgeting, for instance, and fidgeting could be just an addition to another factor that has advantages to people’s wellness. While fidgeting certainly does not replace a regime of regular exercising and correct diet, the scientists say these results show that it is an addictive habit which could help during the long hours of a sedentary work schedule.
Image source: NY Times
