Melbourne: In a new study, scientists have told how much time a person should spend during the day in activities such as standing, sitting, sleeping and engaging in any physical activity.
According to Australia’s Swinburne University of Technology, these suggestions about dividing 24 hours a day are aimed at helping people improve their health.
The team, led by Dr. Christian Breckenridge, examined the sleeping, sitting, and physical activity habits of 2,000 people to determine the ideal distribution of time for activity over a 24-hour period.
The researchers reported in the study that the least amount of time in the optimal sequence is time spent sitting, while the best time is spent standing and the best time is being physically active.
Research published in the journal Diabetologia breaks down the recommended time for optimal health so that we sit for an average of six hours (between 5 hours 40 minutes and 7 hours 10 minutes), standing for an average of Five hours and 10 minutes, sleeping time should be eight hours and 20 minutes on average, while light activity time should be two hours and 10 minutes on average and moderate to vigorous activity time should be two hours and 10 minutes on average.
Dr. Christian Breckenridge has called this balance of activity the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ (the distance from the star where liquid water exists, i.e., a place favorable for life to flourish) in terms of health consequences.
