Many of us spend much of the day sitting, whether it’s at a desk, in a car or in front of a screen. Prolonged sitting has been linked to a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses. However, a large new study suggests that the simple habit of getting up and moving for just five minutes each hour can help offset some of these risks.
How the research was conducted
To conduct the study, researchers led by Keith Diaz, PhD, Florence Irving Associate Professor of Behavioral Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, analyzed data from over 19,000 adults participating in the “Body Electric Challenge,” an interactive health initiative organized by National Public Radio (NPR) in the United States. Participants represented a broad range of ages, occupations and work environments.
The study was designed to examine whether movement breaks that have shown promise in laboratory settings could work in everyday life. Before beginning the intervention, participants followed their normal routines for seven days. Then they spent the next 14 days taking 5-minute walking breaks at one of three self-selected intervals: every 30 minutes, every 60 minutes or every 120 minutes.
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Nearly half of the participants selected the hourly schedule. About one-third chose breaks every 30 minutes, while just over one-fifth opted for breaks every two hours. Researchers monitored participants throughout the 21-day study period. Most completed a daily survey at 8 p.m. that assessed fatigue, mood and perceived work performance.
A randomly-selected subgroup of 1,200 full-time employees provided even more detailed information. These participants completed five text-message surveys each day — at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. This allowed investigators to track the immediate effects of movement break as they occurred.
It is easy to assume that taking a break would make it harder to get back into the flow of work, but the data suggests otherwise. If a worker is deep in a task and steps away for a moment, they might worry that returning to the desk will disrupt their concentration. However, the study found that these pauses helped maintain focus rather than breaking it, with participants reporting small improvements in both work engagement and performance.
The best schedule for your day
The research team also wanted to know whether the approach was realistic enough to be adopted widely. Using standardized measures of feasibility, acceptability and appropriateness, they found that participants rated all three schedules positively. When the results were analyzed, the investigators noted improvements across all groups.
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Participants taking exercise breaks reported less fatigue, fewer feelings of low mood and higher levels of positive mood. In general, the benefits increased as movement breaks became more frequent. The 30-minute schedule, for instance, produced the largest improvement in mood and fatigue, though participants found it more difficult to maintain consistently. The two-hour schedule was easier to follow but produced more modest benefits.
That left the hourly schedule as the most balanced option. As Diaz and his colleagues wrote, “The 60-minute arm offered the most favorable balance, yielding acceptability and appropriateness rating comparable to the 120-minute arm, and exceeding MID thresholds for two of three psychosocial outcomes. In addition, it was the most commonly selected dose, selected by nearly half of the participants.”
The study is published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
