What’s the easiest habit you can implement today to live well and age better? A new study says simply getting off the couch will help.
The 2024 study published in JAMA Network Open observed over 45,000 female nurses over the age of 50 over 20 years, and found that replacing any sedentary time in their daily life with low-intensity activity increased participants’ odds of healthy aging.
“What we found is that if you replace sedentary behaviors with any activities, I mean, even light physical activities, like standing or walking around, or doing household chores, it’s better than just being a couch potato for an extended period of time.”
―Frank Hu, professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an author of the study.
The study found that every two hours spent sitting and watching television was linked to a 12% decrease in the odds of healthy aging. And, even swapping scrolling Netflix for an extra hour of sleep will help you age better.
But what does aging better mean?
For this study, healthy aging was defined as surviving to at least 70 with no major chronic diseases, and no impairment in subjective memory, physical function, or mental health. As Dr. Wang says, “The data, though, suggests the relationship between light activity and healthy aging continues into the 80s and 90s.”
3 SIMPLE ways to add more movement to your life!
- Write your shopping list while standing up.
- Take your next call or FaceTime on a walk instead of on a chair.
- Stand up and stretch while watching a movie.
- Between episodes of your favorite TV show, try this 2-Minute Couch-Moves Class with Movement Living teacher and Performance Training Specialist Amanda June Giannakos.
