Staying Healthy
Short bursts of evening activity fuel better sleep
Research we're watching
- Reviewed by Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
The study involved 28 people ages 18 to 40 (average age 26, 71% women), all of whom reported normally clocking up to at least five hours of sedentary time during the day and two hours each evening. Participants wore an activity tracker for seven consecutive days. Each person completed two four-hour evening sessions in a lab — one in which they remained seated the entire time, and another where they took three-minute activity breaks every half-hour. During the activity breaks, they did simple resistance exercises consisting of chair squats, calf raises, and standing knee raises with straight-leg hip extensions.
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About the Author
Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
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