From 9 am to 5 pm, my brain is very active at work, but my body is very relaxed. That’s not unusual—data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show that nearly 60% of civilian Americans do sedentary or light work, meaning they don’t spend a lot of time lifting, standing or walking.
But it is really bad for our health. A 2024 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that sitting for 11.6 hours or more per day was associated with a 57% increased risk of dying from any cause.
It’s really easy to struggle with these dreaded consequences of sitting all day. A study published in 2023 found that 20 minutes of exercise a day can counteract the life-shortening effects of prolonged sitting, BI previously reported.
In the BI Health team, we often write about the benefits of physical activity, so I decided to try it myself.
Here’s what happened when I tried to reduce my sitting time at work for a week – and what happened.
Break every hour for an “exercise snack”.
I forgot to take breaks to exercise when I got into the flow of work. Seraphina Kenny
“Exercise snacks” are short, intense workouts lasting one to two minutes. Studies have suggested that they can improve endurance, prevent strokes, and reduce the risk of early death from heart disease and cancer. And who doesn’t like breakfast?
So, I tried to break every hour by doing two minutes of squats, jumping jacks, or going up and down the stairs.
In practice, it doesn’t really work for me. For starters, it was hard to remember to stop every hour when in the workflow. Even when I set reminders, I found that I couldn’t actually stop every hour, especially when on a deadline.
It’s tougher in the office than at home. Difficult to find a place – I was no About to start meeting in our open-plan WeWork, sorry – and I didn’t like coming back from the toilets red and sweaty.
Standing meetings have had mixed success
Standing/standing sessions were also easier at home than at the office. I can, with a little effort, clear some space on my bookshelf to upload video meetings, and I can listen to a company-wide live stream while walking around the block.
But it would seem strange to be the only one standing in large, private gatherings. In 2018, researchers actually conducted a study on this, which was published in PLOS ONE, and found that people who stood up in meetings felt psychologically distressed and worried that they were powering out of senior meetings. takes
Standing in meetings at the office would be awkward, so I only stood when working from home. Seraphina Kenny
Also, as a journalist, I do a lot of interviews. I didn’t want to walk or stand during it because I needed to give my interviewers full attention.
lunch Best for long workouts
Before I started this experiment I was trying a lunchtime workout, but I decided to take it a step further, incorporating a Pilates workout into my hour-long break on two days.
I sacrificed some sweet tic-tac-toe and chatting with my housemate and ate lunch at the table, but it meant I could beat the sitting time.
I also went to the grocery store at lunchtime – I live in London so it’s not far to walk. This is a very normal lunchtime activity for me, and hopefully will help me live longer – be able to perform vigorous activities in your daily life, such as carrying heavy shopping bags and climbing stairs, by 2023. In one study it was associated with a reduced risk of cancer. University of Sydney researchers.
Being in an office means I can choose to climb multiple flights of stairs to my place to add extra activity to my day. Seraphina Kenny
Just going to the office meant I sat less
Dr. Andrew Kaczynski, an associate professor at the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health, told me that using public transportation is an easy way to be more active during the workday. Transit allows you to walk to stops and potentially hop on a bus or train.
So before I even go to the office, my day is a little relaxed. This week, it’s been very hot in London, but it’s good to know that jostling against other passengers on the tube and sweating my way through the stations adds to my longevity.
When at the office, I also stop by for coffee (read: gossip) with colleagues, go to meeting rooms, stop to buy lunch from nearby stores, and (occasionally) our place. You climb four flights of stairs. – So there is more movement in my day than working from home.
decision
I may have aged a little better, but I can’t see keeping all these things. Doing jumping jacks every hour and standing during meetings made me less productive, either because it interrupted my work flow or made me feel self-conscious.
But working at lunch, going to the grocery store, and being more active in the office are all very sustainable. They have made my days more enjoyable, and also hopefully help me live longer.