Ever find yourself annoyed while, say, at the DMV, on a train or in a doctor's waiting room because everyone else got a seat—but you didn't?

So you are forced to stand for 10…20…maybe even 30 minutes?

The next time you face this irritating situation, thank your lucky stars—because due to the “inconvenience” of standing, you may end up living longer than the people who got seats!

In other words, sitting might kill you. That's the message from a recent Australian study.

So is it really that easy to lengthen your life—just don’t sit down as much? Here’s what the research really found…

SITTING IS DEADLY

What the researchers discovered: People age 45 or older who sat for four to eight hours a day had a 2% increased risk for death within three years, compared to those who sat for less than four hours a day…those who sat for eight to 11 hours a day, on average, had a 15% greater risk…and subjects who sat for 11 or more hours a day had a 40% greater risk!

And these stats held true even after the researchers controlled for age, gender, weight, physical activity level, diabetes and other preexisting cardiovascular health problems. Now, of course, this doesn’t mean that sitting necessarily caused those people to die, but it is certainly an unsettling association.

THE SECRET POWERS OF STANDING

Emily Banks, MBBS, PhD, a professor of epidemiology at Australian National University in Canberra and a study coauthor, has some theories as to why standing may be linked to better health. For example, when you stand, you usually walk around, an activity that increases the rate at which you burn calories. And even short periods of standing raises the level of lipase, an enzyme that’s essential for breaking down fat and turning it into energy—yet another important factor when it comes to living a long and healthy life.

This study examined only the total amount of time spent sitting each day, so researchers can’t say whether sitting for short or long stints at a time made a difference. But Dr. Banks noted that prior studies suggest that sitting for shorter periods may pose fewer health risks.

HOW TO GET ON YOUR FEET

There are some instances where you have to sit, of course. But there are lots of situations (more than you might think) in which you have the option to stand. Dr. Banks suggests trying the following…

• Ditch the car. Since you have no choice but to sit when you're in a car, instead walk, bike or take public transportation (and stand while using it) whenever possible. If you must drive, park farther away from your destination (whether it's your office or the entrance to the supermarket, movie theater or mall).
• Change how you work. Stand and/or walk around while you're on the phone. If your coworkers are game, you might even bring in a counter-height table and have everyone stand around that for meetings. If you work on a laptop, prop it up higher during at least part of the day so that you can stand while using it. While it can be expensive (usually about $300 to $600), if possible, switch to a standing desk (a.k.a., an "adjustable height workstation"), which you can find at OfficeMax, Office Depot and Amazon.com.
• Avoid the couch. You may find that simply standing while watching TV feels weird—maybe because you consider relaxing to be the main reason for watching TV. But interestingly, it doesn’t feel nearly as weird if you do something while watching TV—such as walk on a treadmill or perform standing stretches or even iron your clothes. And if you play video games at home—stand. Why should the video characters’ legs be the only ones getting used?
• Cook more. Instead of ordering food, make it yourself. Not only is the food likely to be healthier, but you'll be working in the kitchen, which usually entails standing, lifting and reaching. Then stand while you eat.

I bet you can find even more ways in your own life to stop sitting so much—so please share your personal tip in the comment section below!

Source: Emily Banks, MBBS, PhD, is a professor of epidemiology at the National Center for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University in Canberra. She is also the scientific director of the 45 and Up Study, which conducts research into the health of people ages 45 and over, including the recent study on the benefits of standing. The research was published in March in Archives of Internal Medicine.