How to Sit Without Harming Your Muscles and Health, According to Dan Lieberman

TL;DR

Make sitting less harmful by interrupting long bouts and choosing positions that keep your back or leg muscles active. Hadza hunter-gatherers sit about 10 hours a day, but they regularly get up for tasks and do not rely on supportive chairs. Even modest muscle activation uses glucose and fat from the bloodstream, so read on for practical ways to change how you sit.

Transcript

We have been told that sitting is the new smoking over the last few years. What's your take on sitting? Well, again, it's completely normal to sit, right? I mean, cows in the field sit, you know, moose sit, chickens sit, birds sit, everybody sits, and and humans are no different, right? And so, when Dave Reichlin and Herman Ponzer and Brian Wood me... Read More

Key Insights

• Sitting is a normal human behavior, not exclusively a modern Western problem. Researchers measuring the Hadza found that they sit about 10 hours daily, showing that the health concern is less about sitting itself and more about how sitting occurs.
• Uninterrupted sitting distinguishes many modern routines from traditional lifestyles. People without chairs frequently stand to tend a fire, pick up a child, complete small tasks, or relieve discomfort, preventing their sedentary periods from continuing unchanged for hours.
• Chair backrests reduce the muscular work required to hold the upper body upright. When the chair supports the torso, back muscles can remain largely inactive, while conventional seated positions also demand little work from the leg muscles.
• Active sitting engages muscles without requiring strenuous exercise. Backless seats, ground sitting, and squatting make the back, quadriceps, or hamstrings stabilize the body, creating low-level muscular activity even though it does not burn enough energy to produce meaningful weight loss.
• Muscle activation changes biological activity during sedentary time. According to Lieberman, contracting muscles activates genes and helps use glucose and fat circulating in the bloodstream, which can make an active or frequently interrupted sitting pattern less harmful.
• Simple movement reminders can improve modern sitting routines. A watch prompt, making tea, using the bathroom, or another reason to stand can interrupt prolonged sitting without requiring people to abandon chairs, offices, or urban lifestyles.
• The 10,000-step target began as the name of a Japanese step meter created before the 1964 Olympics. The number was reportedly chosen because it was considered auspicious, although it later proved to be a reasonable motivational target for increasing daily movement.
• Step-count benefits vary by health outcome and individual circumstances. Heart disease risk may continue decreasing at 15,000 or 20,000 steps, while all-cause mortality benefits appear to level around 7,000, and results can differ with age, injuries, and other individual factors.

Questions & Answers

Q: How can I make prolonged sitting less harmful?

Break up long, uninterrupted sitting bouts by getting up periodically, and use sitting positions that require some muscular stabilization. Sitting without a backrest, squatting, or sitting on the ground can activate the back, quadriceps, and hamstrings.

Q: Is sitting really the new smoking?

Dan Lieberman says sitting is completely normal rather than a uniquely modern Western problem. Hadza hunter-gatherers were measured sitting about 10 hours a day, but they interrupt their sitting frequently and use positions that require more muscular effort.

Q: Why is uninterrupted sitting a concern?

Modern Western routines can keep people seated for hours without getting up. Populations without chairs interrupt sitting to tend a fire, pick up a child, do small tasks, or change an uncomfortable position, so their sitting does not remain continuous for as long.

Q: Why do chair backrests reduce muscle activity?

A backrest supports the upper body, reducing the work required from the back muscles to keep the torso upright. Conventional chair sitting also avoids the leg-muscle activity involved in squatting or sitting on the ground.

Q: What is active sitting?

Active sitting uses a position that requires muscles to stabilize the body instead of letting a backrest provide complete support. Examples in the discussion include sitting without a backrest, squatting, and sitting on the ground, which engage the back, quadriceps, or hamstrings.

Q: Can active sitting help with weight loss?

The muscle effort involved is not large enough to help someone lose weight, according to Lieberman. Its value is that activating muscles turns on genes and uses glucose and fat circulating in the bloodstream, making sitting less harmful.

Q: How often should I stand up while sitting?

The discussion does not prescribe a fixed schedule, but recommends getting up periodically instead of sitting uninterrupted for hours. Natural interruptions can include tending to a task, picking something up, or changing position when discomfort develops.

Q: When did modern chairs with backrests become common?

Lieberman says chairs with backrests did not become common until the Industrial Revolution. He identifies 1859 as the year the first mass-produced chair was made by a German producer, describing it as a café chair with bent components.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Sitting is not uniquely modern or inherently abnormal. Hadza hunter-gatherers have been measured sitting about 10 hours daily, but their sitting differs from typical Western behavior. Without supportive chairs, they frequently interrupt sitting to tend fires, care for children, perform tasks, or change positions when discomfort develops.

• Modern chairs minimize muscular effort by supporting the back and allowing the legs to remain inactive. By contrast, sitting without a backrest, squatting, and sitting on the ground require muscles in the back, quadriceps, and hamstrings to stabilize the body. This modest activity affects biological processes even without burning substantial energy.

• Movement goals should guide rather than dictate behavior. The 10,000-step target originated with a Japanese step meter before the 1964 Olympics, not as a medical prescription. More steps are generally associated with lower heart disease risk, while all-cause mortality benefits appear to level around 7,000 daily steps, with substantial individual variation.