Standing Can Save Your Life

Standing more during the day might be one key to a longer life.

It turns out that sitting too much might be shortening your life. We are starting to find out more and more just how important to our health standing can be. Standing, instead of sitting, can help cut back on weight. And on long flights, standing every now and then can help prevent blood clots. But now it looks like standing more during the day might save your life.

A new study, just published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that sitting 11 or more hours during the day mean you were 40% more likely to die during the next three years. Sitting more than 8 hours a day still increased your risk of dying as well, by around 15%. And that's regardless of how much you exercised during the day.

Although 8 to 11 hours might seem like a lot of time sitting, think about your average day. Driving to work, sitting at work, driving home, then maybe sitting down to watch some TV. That call all add up. And even though you can't escape your desk at work, you can do a couple of things that should help out. Take as many breaks as possible and stand up and walk around a bit. When talking on the phone, stand up then too. And if you can, instead of emailing someone in your building, walk over and talk to them. Also, try and make sure when you do get home that you get up and around. Going for a walk or even standing up to watch TV can help make sure you don't end up sitting too much.