As students, a good portion of the day is spent sitting down while doing homework and attending classes. As most students know, sitting too long is harmful to one’s health. Many people have been told to get at least 30 minutes to an hour’s worth of exercise each day. Also, science tells us that an individual should at least stand up once for every hour one sits.
According to Nashville’s Health Day News, a British research team conducted a recent study about fidgeting. They took women between the ages of 35 and 39 and analyzed their habits as they sit. The study revealed that fidgeting is a good source of movement while sitting, so keep moving by fiddling thumbs, tapping feet, and shifting around in the office chair.
That study from the United Kingdom (UK) showed that sitting with little to no movement at all for several hours each day can result in a higher chance of obesity, heart disease, and earlier death. In the UK’s Women’s Cohort Study, conducted by University of Leeds and University College London, it has been proven that those who sit for seven or more hours a day are thirty percent more likely to die from any cause compared to those who are more active.
Fidgeting helps more than just the average person. It also helps those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The idea here is that those diagnosed with ADHD struggle with paying attention. It helps if their arousal system is active and fidgeting is the way to do so. Seventy-five percent of children with ADHD fidget very often, according to Julie Schweitzer, the Director of the ADHD Program UC Davis MIND Institute. Children are often instructed to sit still and not be disruptive, but this concept should change for the overall health of an individual.
“What I suspect is that kids with ADHD are moving to increase their attention by activating their arousal system,” Memphis Fox News, Julie Schweitzer speculated. “Being aroused does increase attention. The movement likely increases noradrenergic and/or dopamine functioning in the brain, which then enhances attention to the target stimuli.”
