--- description: In new research, study authors show replacing two hours of sitting for standing or moving around may have a real positive impact on our health. title: Why You Should Swap Two Hours of Sitting For Standing image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d46bb2a39c99b6b/69885d39cd684882150a10b7/stand.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Heart Disease](/tag/heart-disease/) ## Heart Disease Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's How Much You Should Stand Each Day ## Video: TIME Explains: Trans-Fats [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Explains: Trans-Fats](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XbAGuNXW.m3u8) (1:42)  _Published 2013-11-07. The FDA announced it is moving towards a ban of trans fat. Here's what you need to know._ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 30, 2015 11:00 PM CUT  Low Section Of Woman On Hardwood Floor Low Section Of Woman On Hardwood FloorGetty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 30, 2015 11:00 PM CUT We know that the amount of time we spend sitting each day [wreaks havoc on our health](http://time.com/sitting/ "undefined"), and in a new paper, researchers show that spending just two hours standing or moving around instead of sitting may have a real positive impact on our health. In the [new study](http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/recent "undefined") published Thursday in the _European Heart Journal_, researchers had 782 men and women wear activity trackers 24 hours a day for seven days. The monitors tracked how much time the men and women spent stepping, sitting, standing, sleeping or lying down. The participants also provided blood samples and other measurements like blood pressure and weight. With the data gathered from the trackers, the researchers used a mathematical model to estimate how the allotted time in each condition would impact the men and women’s health. Interestingly, they found that spending two extra hours a day standing instead of sitting was linked to better blood sugar levels and lower levels of fat in the blood (triglycerides). Specifically, more time spent standing was associated with a 2% lower average blood sugar levels and a 11% lower levels of triglycerides. Cholesterol levels showed improvement as well. The findings also showed that spending an extra two hours moving instead of sitting was linked to a significant lower body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. The study cannot definitely prove that these tweaks to the amount of time spent sitting directly causes improvements in health markers, but the researchers note that the findings do fall in line with what’s known about the impact on the body of being active (or at least not being sedentary). More research is still needed, but the findings support the longstanding advice that moving around is better for our health than lounging around, and suggest that any decisions to purchase a standing desk are not made in vain. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3978950/sitting-standing-heart/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3978950/sitting-standing-heart/"},"headline":"Here's How Much You Should Stand Each Day","datePublished":"2015-07-30T23:00:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:45:12.415Z","description":"More evidence suggests getting off your seat and moving around is good for your health","url":"https://time.com/3978950/sitting-standing-heart/","keywords":["Heart Disease","Research","Sitting","heart"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d46bb2a39c99b6b/69885d39cd684882150a10b7/stand.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d46bb2a39c99b6b/69885d39cd684882150a10b7/stand.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"538842399","caption":"538842399","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/heart-disease/","name":"Heart Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3978950/sitting-standing-heart/","name":"Here's How Much You Should Stand Each Day"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Explains: Trans-Fats","description":"The FDA announced it is moving towards a ban of trans fat. 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