Research shows that staying stationary – whether sitting or standing – for long periods of time, can be bad for your health. Here are some examples:

Transforming Work Breaks to Promote Health

• Many Americans spend a substantial amount of time in the workplace, making the workplace an ideal place to promote healthy behavior. Work breaks can be used more effectively to promote health by encouraging physical activity during breaks. Even light walking or stretching for just a few minutes has great benefits for both physical and mental health. Many work breaks are used for activities that may harm health, such as smoking, drinking coffee, or sitting. Transforming work breaks to instead promote healthy behaviors can have a substantial impact on employee health. American Journal of Preventive Medicine

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis: The Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon of Societal Weight Gain

• Many people have a narrow view of “exercise”- they think exercise only counts if it’s the traditional sport-like exercise, such as going to the gym, jogging, or playing tennis. In actuality, exercise is so much more! Think about all the ways you move throughout the day- taking out the garbage, washing the dishes, dancing to your favorite song, walking to the drinking fountain, etc. These non-sitting activities are called Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). As it turns out, these NEAT activities ad up. Obese individuals, on average, sit for 2.5 hours more per day than their non-obese counterparts. By implementing more NEAT activities, people can become more active without exerting much extra effort. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology

Association Between Biologic Outcomes and Objectively Measured Physical Activity Accumulated in Less Than 10-Minute Bouts and Greater Than 10-Minute Bouts

• How much exercise do you have to get at a time for it to “count”? This is a question that elicits varying answers. Many people believe that they must get a certain number of recommended minutes of exercise at a time. Researchers studied this question by looking at biologic health outcomes in people after exercising for less than 10 minute and after exercising for greater than 10 minutes. The results showed that exercising for less than 10 minutes at a time still had fantastic health benefits, indicating that people who don’t feel like they have time to exercise can get little bouts of physical activity throughout the day. American Journal of Health Promotion

Too Much Sitting: The Population-Health Science of Sedentary Behavior

• Too much sitting is distinct from too little exercise. It is great to get some exercise every day, but if you put in 20-30 minutes of exercise every morning and are then sedentary for the rest of the day, that could be a problem. Even when people meet the recommended physical activity guidelines, too much sitting can be a threat to health. This has implications for future physical activity guidelines. Perhaps, in addition to recommended amounts of physical activity, there will be recommendations against excessive time spent sitting. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews

Energy Expenditure and Heart Rate Response to Breaking Up Sedentary Time With Three Different Physical Activity Interventions

• Many people feel like they don’t have enough time to exercise, so it is important for these people to fit in little bursts of physical activity throughout their days. Some workplaces encourage employees to be more active on their breaks, with many employees using work breaks to stand up from their desks or go for walks. This study examines how different types of workplace physical activity compare to one another. The researchers compared stretching, walking, and calisthenics, and they found that calisthenics had the best impact on energy expenditure and heart rate increase compared to stretching or walking. All three exercises are great options for a health-promoting work break. Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases