In a busy modern life, maintaining a regular exercise routine is something that not everyone can do. However, health experts say that it is still possible to improve health and stabilize blood sugar levels through a simple method called the "2/20 rule".
Dr. Manisha Arora, Director of Internal Medicine at CK Birla Hospital in Delhi (India), said that just getting up and moving for two minutes after every twenty minutes of sitting (2/20), whether at work or watching TV, you can still make a significant difference.
These movements do not need to be complicated, just walk gently, stretch your shoulders or walk around the room. Dr. Manisha Arora says this habit can help reduce blood sugar levels by up to 25% after meals.
The reason is that when sitting for a long time, the leg muscles are less used, slowing down the absorption of glucose and easily causing increased blood sugar.
Sharing the same view, Dr. Birali Swetha, a nutritionist at Gleneagles aware Hospital, Hyderabad (India), said that standing up or walking for short walks helps increase muscle activity, improve blood circulation and promote the body to use glucose more effectively.
Not only that, the 2/20 rule also helps reduce insulin levels in the blood, improve insulin sensitivity and reduce the risk of insulin resistance.
This is especially important for people with prediabetes or newly infected people, especially office workers with a sedentary lifestyle and limited exercise time.
Dr. Arora affirms that even small movements such as sitting down slowly for thirty seconds can bring the same benefits as a few steps of walking.
Although it cannot completely replace specialized physical exercise, this rule is still a practical solution to help increase the level of exercise during the day, especially when combined with a healthy diet and appropriate health care.
