An excuse to stand up and look at the fridge aimlessly

Simply getting up from your desk or couch and going on a short walk will decrease stroke risk. 

Artwork: Emilia Tortorella

Simply getting up from your desk or couch and going on a short walk will decrease stroke risk. 

People who sit down for more than 13 hours a day have a 44% greater chance of having a stroke than those who are more active.

A study by South Australian researchers with colleagues at San Diego State University found that short bursts of moderate to vigorous activity decreased stroke risk by 43%, while light activity throughout the day was also associated with a lower risk of stroke.

The study, published in the Journal of American Medicine, involved 7607 participants who were tracked over a period of seven years, wearing devices that measured their daily activity. During the study period, 286 individuals had a stroke.

“Higher sedentary time was associated with a 44% greater risk of incident stroke,” the researchers found.

“When comparing the highest with the lowest tertile, mean sedentary bout duration was associated with a significantly greater risk of incident stroke.”

The scientists found that the amount of time spent in moderate to vigorous activity that was associated with a significant reduction in stroke risk was 25 minutes per day.

“This finding is consistent with existing physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity, although further investigation to assess whether a lower level of moderate to vigorous physical activity is protective against stroke is warranted because our data suggest potential benefits at fewer than 25 minutes per day,” the researchers said.

Longer bouts of sedentary time throughout the day of 17 minutes or more were associated with a 54% higher risk of stroke than shorter bouts, the study found.

Even if people were unwilling or unable to partake in moderate or vigorous activity, simply getting up from their desk or couch and going on a short walk or climbing some stairs decreased stroke risk.

Brad Pitt, True Romance

“The finding that, when expressed as a continuous variable, light intensity physical activity was associated with a lower risk of stroke was notable given that many middle-aged and older adults are not capable of or willing to engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity at the recommended levels,” the study said.

“However, caution is advised because the amount of accumulated daily time spent in light-intensity physical activity that was associated with reduced stroke risk in this cohort was 4 to 5 hours. This amount is not trivial and is likely only to be achieved with concerted effort.”

Those that survive a stroke can be significantly disabled, suffering paralysis and motor function deficits, problems with language and speech, vision loss, memory and cognitive impairments, fatigue, social isolation, dependency, job loss, and depression.

And stroke doesn’t just affect the elderly - one-third of all stroke survivors in Australia are under the age of 65.

People can reduce their risk of stroke by maintaining healthy blood pressure, avoiding type 2 diabetes by maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, and being physically active. But until now, the exact amount of physical activity that was necessary to reduce stroke risk had remained unknown.

The results of this study back up those of the recently-reported Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health study, which found that for each 1-hour increment of light physical activity, there was a 14% reduction in heart disease.