Wake-up call for retirees: Average person naps more and moves less after leaving work…increases risk of a host of health problems, study warns
- Finnish researchers tracked 515 people for a week before and after retirement
- They found that retirees slept on average about 36 minutes more a day
- But they exercised up to an hour less than when they were still at work.
- Scientists warned of health risks including obesity, heart disease and cancer.
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According to a study, people sleep more and move less after leaving work, which increases the risk of a host of health problems.
Finish researchers tracked 515 people for a week before and after they retired to see how their habits changed.
It revealed that retirees slept on average about 36 minutes more a day, but exercised up to an hour less.
The scientists asked older people to stick to the guidelines of at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day, such as brisk walking or playing tennis.
Researchers have asked seniors to follow guidelines of at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day after a study showed they exercise up to an hour less after retirement than before (file photo)
Not exercising in old age has been linked to many health problems, including heart disease, dementia, and high blood pressure.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also warn that not moving enough can increase the risk of some types of cancer, such as colon and uterine cancer.
For the study, researchers at the University of Turku in southern Finland recruited 515 people aged about 63.
They wore an accelerometer 24 hours a day for a whole week before retiring to track their movements.
And then, a year after they retired, they put the device back on.
The participants slept an average of seven hours and 58 minutes per night while working. But after retirement began, this increased to eight hours and 35 minutes.
The amount of light activity they did, such as walking, dropped by an average of 22 minutes, from almost four hours a day to three hours and 37 minutes.
And the amount of moderate-to-vigorous activity, such as riding a bike, dropped by eight minutes from 50 to about 42 minutes a day.
Women in manual jobs, such as factory work, saw the largest increase in their sleep time with an average of 45 minutes per night.
They also saw the steepest drop in their daily light activity levels. It was reduced by about an hour from four hours and 44 minutes to three hours and 41 minutes per day.
Kristin Suorsa, a postdoctoral researcher who led the paper, said activity had probably slowed down because participants no longer had to travel.
She said: ‘Based on our research, people retiring should try to increase the amount of physical activity they get, particularly moderate to vigorous activity.
“At the same time, long periods of sedentary time should be avoided and sitting should be broken up into shorter periods with frequent walking breaks.”
The data comes from the Finnish Study of Retirement and Aging (FIREA), which began in 2013. The article was published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
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