Simple Ways to Break Up Long Periods of Sitting

Sitting is not a fault. Many jobs, journeys, hobbies and bodies involve a lot of it. What public health guidance asks of adults is modest: spend less of the waking day sitting or lying still where you can, and interrupt the long stretches with a little movement.

This piece is a set of checklists, one for each part of an ordinary day. Pick two or three items that fit your life. Nobody needs all of them.

What the guidance says, and how sure it is

The World Health Organization (WHO) describes sedentary behaviour as any period of low energy use while awake, such as sitting, reclining or lying, and says all age groups should limit it. The UK Chief Medical Officers word their advice to adults as minimising time spent being sedentary and, when physically possible, breaking up long periods of inactivity with at least light activity. US federal guidance sums up the same idea as “move more and sit less”.

The evidence behind this is worth reading carefully. The NHS calls it “emerging”. The WHO reports that higher levels of sedentary time in adults are associated with higher rates of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some other outcomes. These are observed links across large groups of people, which is not the same as showing that a particular afternoon in a chair harms a particular person. Our explainer on association and causation covers that difference.

Two more points keep the advice in proportion. The UK guidelines say the evidence does not currently support a specific time limit for sitting, so any app or article giving you an exact safe number of minutes is going beyond the official advice. And the NHS notes that a person can hit the weekly activity target and still be at risk of ill health if the rest of their time is spent sitting or lying down, which is why sitting less is treated as a separate aim from being active.

At a desk

• Stand or walk during phone calls that do not need a screen.
• Put the printer, bin or water jug far enough away that you have to get up.
• Use the natural gaps: when a file is saving, a meeting ends, or the kettle is on.
• Suggest a walking conversation for a one-to-one catch-up. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists walking meetings among its ideas for fitting activity into a working day.
• Take the stairs for one or two floors if stairs are an option for you.
• If you set a reminder, choose an interval you will actually keep. There is no officially recommended one.

Movement breaks combine well with the rest pauses described in planning breaks into a busy working day and with screen breaks: one interruption can serve all three purposes.

At home

The NHS describes light activity as moving rather than sitting or lying down. Its examples are deliberately ordinary: getting up to make a cup of tea, moving around the home, walking slowly, dusting, vacuuming, making the bed, standing up.

• Stand up during the adverts, between episodes or at the end of each chapter.
• Do one small household job in each break rather than saving them all for the weekend.
• Keep the things you use often, such as the remote control or your glasses, away from the sofa.
• Stand to fold laundry, prepare vegetables or sort the post.
• Walk around while you wait for something to cook or to download.

On the move

• Stand for part of a bus or train journey when it is safe and comfortable.
• Get off one stop early, or park a little further away, when time allows.
• On a long drive, use your planned rest stops to walk around rather than staying in the seat.
• Walk or cycle a short trip you would otherwise drive. The NHS counts short car journeys among everyday sedentary habits.

In the evening and at weekends

• Swap one sitting activity a week for a moving version of it: meet a friend for a walk instead of a coffee, or do both.
• Stand or pace during a long phone call with family.
• Choose a hobby session that involves being on your feet, such as cooking something new, tending plants or tidying a shelf.

If standing or walking is not an option

The UK guidelines include the words “when physically possible” on purpose. They acknowledge that some people, including those who use a wheelchair every day, unavoidably sit for long periods. They also make clear that sedentary behaviour means sitting or lying with very little movement; being active while seated is not the same thing.

So the principle still applies in a different form: change position where you can, and add movement in the position you are in. Arm, shoulder and upper-body movements, seated routines and wheeling all count as activity. Our piece on adapting activity to your abilities and circumstances looks at this in more detail.

Keeping it going

Good intentions about sitting fade quickly, because sitting is the default in most rooms. A few things help.

• Tie breaks to events, not willpower. “Every time I end a call” works better than “more often”.
• Change the room. Moving the bin is more reliable than remembering to move yourself.
• Count it as part of the whole. US guidance says activity of any length adds up, and that all physical activity, especially at moderate-to-vigorous intensity, can help offset the risks linked to long sitting.
• Do not aim for zero. Rest, reading, meals and time with other people often happen sitting down, and they matter too.