Fidget your way to a longer life

Even when meeting ideal requirement for rest and physical activity it’s still possible for adult to be sitting dormant for large portions of their day. (Fabio Mascarenhas/ Creative Commons)

That person sitting next to you irritatingly tapping their leg, they might be on to something. A lot of people nowadays seem to be living more sedentary lives which can wreak havoc on your health, but now there might be a solution.

“Those of us who are more fidgety seem to have better long term health outcomes,” said Janet Cade, professor of nutritional epidemiology at the University of Leeds. “It might be a good thing to fidget. I don’t think we are going to train people to fidget for health reasons, but it’s interesting that these small, active movements could be beneficial.”

Cade divided 12,778 women in an experiment into groups of low, medium and high fidgeters.

She found that those in the low fidgeters group, who sat seven or more hours a day were 30 percent more likely to die from any cause, while those in the middle and high had no greater risk when sitting for just as long.

Even when meeting ideal requirements for rest and physical activity it’s still possible for an adult to be sitting dormant for large portions of their day. Studies done by researchers in Toronto analyzing 47 investigations of sedentary behaviors showed that sitting can lead to death from cardiovascular issues and cancer as well as chronic conditions such as Type 2 diabetes.

This is all because our bodies aren’t designed to be sitting for such long periods of time. This new digital age caters to a lifestyle where you can do just about anything by simply clicking a mouse or using your smartphone.

Our bodies need movement which most likely why many people fidget instead of staying completely inactive, tapping their foot or clicking their pen. It’s your body way of saying I’m trying to help you live longer, even though it can get pretty annoying.

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