Sitting for Long Hours leads to Depression in Middle-Aged Women: Study

A recent study conducted by the researchers of the Victoria University along with the University of Queensland has found that people who sit for long hours throughout the day suffer from symptoms of depression.

Around 9,000 women aged 50 to 55 years participated in a survey for the study. These women were given mail surveys to respond to in 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010. The experimenters kept a close watch on their physical activity levels as well as depressive symptoms of these mid-aged women.

It was found that the risk of depressive symptoms was 47 percent greater for women who sat for more than seven hours a day in compared to women who sat for four hours or less daily.

It was also found that women who did not exercise at all were at a 99 percent greater risk for depression in contrast to women who exercised for at least half an hour on most days.

Though sitting too much is not linked with depression in the future but it signals towards the presence of depression in the moment, Runners World reported.

Sitting in a chair for long hours is also said to make one more prone to health issues like diabetes and heart diseases.

People having a job that involves a lot of sitting are advised to take a short recess every 20 to 30 minutes to relieve muscle tension, roam around a bit, take deep breaths etc., according to a report.

Walking to meet other co-workers, using stairs not the lift and standing up to receive phone calls are various other ideas given to people with desk jobs.

The findings are published in the September edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.