10-minute walk break can reverse vascular dysfunction

“Our study found that when you sit for six straight hours, or the majority of an eight-hour work day, blood flow to your legs is greatly reduced,” said lead author of the study Jaume Padilla, assistant professor of nutrition and exercise physiology at University of Missouri School of Medicine in the US.

“We also found that just 10 minutes of walking after sitting for an extended time reversed the detrimental consequences,” Padilla noted.

During the study, the researchers compared the vascular function of 11 healthy young men before and after a period of prolonged sitting. 

The findings indicated that blood flow in the popliteal —an artery in the lower 

leg—was greatly reduced after sitting at a desk for six hours. 

The findings appeared in the journal Experimental Physiology.