11:24
TED
What Sitting All Day Does to Your Brain and Body | Keith Diaz | TED
Exercise scientist Keith Diaz argues that being highly sedentary is toxic, and that a daily workout cannot cover for a still day. The average adult now sits or is idle 187 days a year, and even elite bodies unravel fast: three days of bed rest costs athletes about 20 percent of their aerobic fitness, and 40 days ages a healthy heart like 50 years. His fix is small and frequent movement, since muscle is a metabolic sponge for blood sugar that dries out when idle. His lab found a five minute walk every half hour cut the post meal blood sugar spike by about 60 percent, and when 20,000 people tried movement breaks, they stayed for how it made them feel, energized and clear instead of drained.