Abstract
We investigated the impact of wearing vs. not wearing graduated compression stockings on psychological and physiological responses in 18 healthy young people (12 men and six women) during 3 h prolonged sitting. Profiled of Mood States (POMS) scores did not show marked differences between with and without stockings. A 3 h sit significantly decreased saliva cortisol in both conditions; with no differences between conditions. Wearing stockings suppressed a subjective uncomfortable sensation (e.g., pain; fatigue; swelling) in the lower limbs, as assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS). Increase in heart rate at 1 h and 3 h was significantly greater without than with stockings. In addition, high-frequency oscillations (HF: 0.15–0.4 Hz), used as an indicator of parasympathetic nerve activity, showed higher values with than without stockings throughout the 3 h sitting period—significantly higher at 1 h. When data for both conditions were pooled pre-to-post changes in saliva cortisol were positively associated with higher uncomfortable sensations of VAS in the lower limbs and negatively associated with changes in the Vigor subscale of POMS. Collectively, these findings suggest that wearing graduated compression stockings may benefit from subjective comfort and increased parasympathetic nerve activity.
Highlights
It has been reported that people with sedentary jobs sit more and stand less on work days than on leisure days [1]
The major findings of the present study are that wearing compression stockings may have more positive effects on subjective feeling of comfort, especially in the lower limbs, and heart rate (HR) responses, as indirect indices of autonomic nervous system
Pre-post changes in saliva cortisol, as a marker of psychological stress, were associated with lower limbs visual analogue scale (VAS) and changes in the Vigor subscale of Profiled of Mood States (POMS), independent of wearing or not wearing compression stockings. These results were partly supported with previous studies in women, showing that an appropriate clothing pressure modulated autonomic nerve system, including HR [35,36], and that wearing compression legwear did not induce any stress during 4-h prolonged sitting [37]
Summary
It has been reported that people with sedentary jobs sit more and stand less on work days than on leisure days [1]. Prolonged sitting time is associated with increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular diseases mortality, regardless of physical activity level [2,3]. In this regard, several studies have investigated ways to reduce risk of cardiovascular diseases through interventions during prolonged sitting. Interrupting prolonged sitting with a few minutes of activity breaks [4,5,6] or with standing [7] significantly reduced postprandial glucose responses when compared with uninterrupted sitting. As compared with 7 h uninterrupted sitting, light-intensity walking interruptions suppress elevations in postprandial lipids [8,9]. Regularly breaking up during 7 h prolonged witting with walking of light or moderate intensity reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure in overweight/obese adults [10]
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