From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., my brain is super active at work, but my body is pretty sedentary. That’s not unusual — data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows almost 60% of civilian Americans do sedentary or light work, meaning they don’t spend much 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 a day was associated with a 57% higher risk of dying from any cause.
It’s actually quite easy to counteract these scary consequences of sitting all day. Research published in 2023 found that 20 minutes of exercise a day can offset the life-shortening effects of extended sitting, BI previously reported.
On BI’s health team, we often write about the benefits of physical activity, so I decided to try it myself.
Here’s what worked when I tried to reduce my sedentary time at work for a week — and what didn’t.
A break every hour for “exercise snacks”
Serafina Kenny
“Exercise snacks” are short, one-to-two-minute bursts of intense workouts. Studies have suggested they can improve endurance, prevent strokes, and lower risks of early death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. And who doesn’t like snacks?
So, I tried breaking every hour to do two minutes of squats, jumping jacks, or running up and down the stairs.
In practice, it didn’t really work for me. For starters, it was hard to remember to stop every hour when in a flow with work. Even when I set reminders, I found that I couldn’t realistically stop every hour, especially when on a deadline.
It’s also much harder in an office than at home. It’s difficult to find space — I was not about to start squatting in our open-plan WeWork, sorry — and I didn’t fancy returning from the toilets red and sweaty, either.
Standing meetings had mixed success
Standing/walking meetings were also easier at home than in the office. I could, with a little effort, clear some space on my bookshelf to take video meetings stood up, and I could listen to companywide livestreams while walking around the block.
But it would have looked odd to be the only one standing in larger, in-person meetings. In 2018, researchers actually did a study on this, published in PLoS ONE, and found that people who stood in meetings felt psychological discomfort and worried they were taking authority away from meeting leaders.
Also, as a journalist, I do a lot of interviews. I didn’t want to be walking or standing during these because I needed to give my interviewees my full attention.
Lunch breaks were better for longer workouts
I was already trying lunchtime workouts before I started this experiment, but I decided to step it up, taking pilates workouts in my hour-long breaks on two days.
I sacrificed some sweet TikTok-and-chatting-with-my-housemate time and had to eat lunch at my desk, but this meant I could break up periods of sitting.
I also went to the grocery store one lunchtime — I live in London so it isn’t far to walk. This is a pretty normal lunchtime activity for me, and will hopefully help me live longer — doing vigorous activity in your daily life, such as carrying heavy shopping bags and walking up stairs, was associated with a lower risk of cancer in one 2023 study by researchers at the University of Sydney.
Serafina Kenny
Just going into the office meant I was less sedentary
Dr. Andrew Kaczynski, associate professor at the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health, told me that using public transport is an easy way to make the workday more active. Commuting makes you walk to and from stops and potentially stand while on the bus or train.
So before I’ve even gotten into the office, my day is less sedentary. On this week, it was horribly warm in London, but it’s nice to know that being squashed up against other commuters on the Tube and sweaty walks from the stations were increasing my longevity.
When in the office, I also stand up while drinking coffee (read: gossiping) with co-workers, walk to and from meeting rooms, walk to buy lunch from nearby shops, and (sometimes) climb the four flights of stairs to our space — so there’s a lot more movement in my day than when I work from home.
The verdict
I probably improved my lifespan a little, but I can’t see myself keeping all these things up. Doing jumping jacks every hour and standing during meetings made me less productive, either because it meant my workflow was interrupted or I felt self-conscious.
But working out at lunchtime, walking to the grocery store, and being more active in the office are all pretty sustainable. They made my days more enjoyable, as well as hopefully helping me live longer.
