Having a daily-10-minute walk can significantly boost your vascular health, a new study published in the journal Experimental Physiology suggests.
Due to long-hour working shifts at offices that lead to a sedentary life, major consequences to health could be suffered unless advices like this are taken into account.
According to WebMD, vascular diseases affect all the circulatory system, meaning that the primary heart function, pumping blood, doesn’t work right. The lack proper circulation causes diseases in your arteries, veins and lymph vessels. They can cause aneurysms, blood clots, varicose veins, renal artery diseases, among others.
Scientists from the University of Missouri School of Medicine found that blood flow was reduced after being seated at a desk for six hours, when they analyzed the vascular functions of 11 young men.
“It’s easy for all of us to be consumed by work and lose track of time, subjecting ourselves to prolonged periods of inactivity,” said Jaume Padilla, Ph.D., an assistant professor of nutrition and exercise physiology at the MU School of Medicine and lead author of the study.
Researchers found that when they made the subjects take a 10 minute walk after prolonged seated time, their blood flow would activate again, meaning that these vascular malfunctions could be reduced by making it a habit.
“When you have decreased blood flow, the friction of the flowing blood on the artery wall, called shear stress, is also reduced,” Padilla said in the study. “Moderate levels of shear stress are good for arterial health, whereas low levels of shear stress appear to be detrimental and reduce the ability of the artery to dilate. Dilation is a sign of vascular health,” Padilla pointed out.
Although the results may be promising, scientists conclude that further studies must be done in order to, “Determine if repeated periods of reduced vascular function with prolonged sitting lead to long-term vascular complications.”
Source: University of Missouri School of Medicine