This is exactly how long you should be sleeping, standing and moving each day
When it comes to living more healthily, a lot of the advice feels like common sense. Move more, sit less; make sure to get enough sleep, but not too much. But we tend to think of healthy behaviours in isolation, like squeezing in a few hours at the gym where possible, and rarely as interconnected parts of a whole.
A new study from a team of Australian and international researchers set out to determine the perfect daily balance of sitting, standing and physical activity for optimum health. Their findings, which include a luxurious eight hours and 20 minutes of sleep a night, and two hours and 10 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day, are good news for sleep lovers and bad news for couch potatoes.
Credit: Bethany Rae/iStock
Published in the medical journal Diabetologia, researchers analysed the behaviour of more than 2000 people aged between 40 and 75 to determine the amount of time we should be spending sitting, standing, sleeping and exercising for optimal health.
Participants wore thigh monitors to track their activity, which was measured against six markers of health that included waist circumference, glucose measures and a clustered cardiometabolic risk score.
The mean optimal compositions of 24 hours time use, considering all outcomes, were:
- Sitting: Six hours
- Standing: Five hours and 10 minutes
- Light-to-moderate physical activity (fewer than 100 steps per minute): Two hours and 10 minutes
- Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (more than 100 steps per minute): Two hours and 10 minutes
- Sleeping: Eight hours and 20 minutes
Overall, researchers found that “compositions lower in sitting time and with greater standing time, physical activity and sleeping had the most beneficial associations with outcomes”. Notably, those with type 2 diabetes had a marked increase in beneficial blood glucose measures associated with replacing sitting time with greater physical activity, particularly light physical activity.
Lead author Dr Christian Brakenridge, from Swinburne University of Technology’s Centre for Urban Transitions, says one of the most significant aspects of the study was its consideration of how things like sleep and sitting relate to movement.
“Previously, people have thought of how we should spend our day mostly in terms of physical activity, and how much we need to do,” he says. “But that is now shifting. We’re recognising that what we do each day, whether it’s sleep, moving around, standing, sitting, all have important implications for health.”
“So using some statistical modelling, we can get a better idea of the best way to spend each 24-hour period.”
According to Brakenridge, the findings in relation to type 2 diabetes confirm existing research about the benefits of light physical activity.
“So these are activities where you’re just pottering around your house, like walking to the fridge. You’re not really purposefully walking,” he explains.
“There’s a bit of evidence now to suggest that breaking up periods of sitting down with regular bouts of activity, in and around meal times, is especially good for people with type 2 diabetes.”
While the research findings broke down the exact amount of activity we should be doing daily for optimal health, Brakenridge says this should not be taken prescriptively but used as a guide.
“This 24-hour optimal range is like a compass, it’s something to work towards and it may not be achievable for everyone. But it tells us we have to start thinking about our health in a more integrated and holistic way, incorporating not just exercise but also sleep-life activity and sitting down.”
Brakenridge says the research could be used to inform upcoming releases of the Australian government’s physical activity guidelines, which currently only take into consideration exercise and intensity.
Internationally, the latest guidelines from the World Health Organisation were updated in 2020 to include recommendations for sedentary activity. Their recommendations include 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week for adults.
Earlier this year, Emmanuel Stamatakis, professor of physical activity, lifestyle and population health at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre, led a similar study.
Like Brackenridge, he says there is a burgeoning body of research that takes into account the interrelated effects of daily activity on health.
“It’s very clear from all research to date that there are synergies and interactions between different behaviours. So, for example, there is a certain threshold of physical activity above which some of the adverse long-term health effects of poor sleep may be offset.”
Brackenridge says the research is preliminary, and merely observes existing data sets of behaviour. The next step will be to ask participants to change aspects of their 24-hour day, to get a stronger sense of cause and effect.
One thing the wearables used in the study were not able to differentiate between is moderate and vigorous physical activity, something Stamatakis says would be incredibly valuable.
“We know from other research that vigorous, intensive activity in particular does deserve separate attention because it’s by far the most efficient type of activity.”
Ultimately, Stamatakis says this research should be taken in relation to your individual levels of fitness and comfort. “If you do nothing, do something. If you do something, do a bit more, and if you are somewhat active, aim to be very active.”
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