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Scientists have found a link between standing for too long and circulatory disease risk. Anna Frank/Getty Images
  • Past research shows that sitting for long periods can harm our cardiovascular health.
  • Other studies say that standing may help fix some of the harmful effects of sitting.
  • Researchers at the University of Sydney found that standing more does not improve heart health compared with sitting over the long term, and may increase a person’s risk for circulatory issues related to standing.
  • Scientists also report that sitting for more than 10 hours a day potentially increases a person’s risk for both cardiovascular disease and orthostatic circulatory disease.

Previous research shows that sitting for prolonged periods can be harmful to our overall health, including cardiovascular health.

Past studies report that standing for periods of time may help negate some of the harmful effects of sitting too long.

Now, a new study from researchers at the University of Sydney says that standing more does not improve heart health compared with sitting over the long term and may increase a person’s risk for circulatory issues related to standing, such as deep vein thrombosis and varicose veins.

Scientists also reported that sitting for more than 10 hours a day potentially increases a person’s risk for both cardiovascular disease and orthostatic circulatory disease.

The study was recently published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

For this study, researchers analyzed data from an accelerometer — a wearable device used to track movement — from about 83,000 adults from the U.K. Biobank. The accelerometer data assessed how much time people spent sitting and standing daily.

Scientists also looked for major cardiovascular diseases occurrences within the study population, which were defined as cases of coronary heart disease, heart failure, and stroke, as well as incidences of orthostatic circulatory diseases such as orthostatic hypotension, varicose vein, chronic venous insufficiency, and venous ulcers.

Upon analysis, researchers found that the time participants spent standing was not associated with cardiovascular disease risk but also did not improve cardiovascular health over the long term when compared with sitting.

“This finding wasn’t necessarily surprising because in order to improve cardiovascular health typically requires engaging in physical activity, which is why it is important to mix in physical activity alongside standing,” Matthew Ahmadi, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow in the Faculty of Medicine and Health and deputy director of the Charles Perkins Centre’s Mackenzie Wearables Research Hub at the University of Sydney and lead author of this study told Medical News Today.

During the study, Ahmadi and his team discovered that a person’s orthostatic circulatory disease risk increased by an average of 11% every additional 30 minutes after standing for more than two hours a day.

“Similar to sitting, standing for long periods can cause blood to pool in the legs. When you’re standing still, your muscles aren’t actively helping to pump blood back up from your legs to your heart. This can lead to issues like varicose veins and deep vein thrombosis. That’s why it’s important to mix in walking and other forms of movement,” Ahmadi explained.

When it came to sitting, researchers reported that orthostatic circulatory disease risk increased an average of 26% with every hour after sitting for 10 hours a day.

Cardiovascular disease risk increased by an average of 15% for every additional hour a person sat after sitting for 10 hours a day.

“This finding confirms previous studies that have found sitting for long periods can lead to increased risk for cardiovascular disease. We extended these to also look at the association of sitting with orthostatic incidence risk,” Ahmadi said.

“Standing is better than sitting, and to optimally improve heart health and prevent circulatory conditions, it’s important to mix in physical activity and to get ourselves moving. To optimize heart health, a person should mix standing with periods of walking and moving about. Mixing in physical activity such as taking the stairs or a walk around the block.”
— Matthew Ahmadi, PhD

“(Our next) plan is to next look at the effects from breaking up long periods of sitting or ‘sitting breaks’ and what an effective combination of standing and physical activity might be,” Ahmadi added.

MNT also spoke with Christopher Yi, MD, a board certified vascular surgeon at Memorial Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, about this study, who said he was a little surprised by its findings.

“I had seen the previous studies about standing is more healthier than seating, and so I was surprised to see that standing is not as healthy as we were led to believe. But at the same time, as a vascular surgeon, I see a lot of people who have what they call in the study orthostatic circulatory disorders. That’s kind of in (relation) to the things that can happen with prolonged standing, and so I see that, so that that part was not a surprise to me,” Yi explained.

“(The study shows) that you start having increased risk after standing more than two hours a day — that’s what’s associated with higher risk of orthostatic circulatory diseases. And so what (the researchers) recommend is a maximum of two-hour intervals. And usually, they recommend between those or before these two-hour intervals to be active with movement, so not just the stationary standing.”
— Christopher Yi, MD

When asked what he would like to see as next steps for this research, Yi said he would like to see a study arm added examining participants who are not stationary.

“’I’m sure they’ll see dramatic differences between the stationary and moving in terms of standing, walking, and sitting. I think that’s a more comparative study and a more complete study,” he added.