By Sam Cortes, Communications Coordinator
Over the past two years, you might have felt stuck inside your house more than usual, especially during cold winters.
However, we can prevent sedentary behaviour by staying active indoors.
Sedentary behaviour refers to physically inactive behaviours that require very little energy. We can engage in sedentary behaviour by sitting or lying down for prolonged periods (Diamond & Byrd, 2020) – and desk jobs and enticing couches can make us immobile without even realizing it.
Breaking up our days of sitting and staying active can have several benefits, and it can take as little as two minutes (Villar, 2021).
The Benefits of Reducing Sedentary Behaviour
Improve Immune Function
Doing more light physical activity can also help improve our immune function! Having the right amount of physical activity is related to an increased immune response to diseases (Shephard, 1998). A more responsive immune system can be helpful, especially during flu season.
Decrease Risk of Disease
Reducing sedentary behaviour is also a great way to maintain or improve your health. You may decrease the risk of obesity, various types of cancer, heart diseases, and other chronic diseases by getting up and moving more frequently (Diamond & Bird, 2020; Public Health Agency of Canada, 2018).
Improve Insulin Sensitivity
Decreasing sedentary behaviour and increasing light physical activity can help improve our insulin sensitivity (Yates et al., 2015). Insulin is the hormone that helps our body control how much sugar is in our blood. Healthier blood sugar levels can help decrease your risk of developing type 2 diabetes (Biswas et al., 2015).
Reduce Joint and Muscle Pain
Breaking up your workday can also reduce pain and fatigue in your muscles and joints affected by prolonged sitting (Dzakpasu et al., 2021). Try to get up for two minutes after every 20 minutes of working, reading, or watching TV.
What ‘s the Solution?
The solution to reducing sedentary behaviour is simple: Get up and move! And it doesn’t have to be too intense – even light physical activity, such as going up and down the stairs, doing house chores, or walking around the block, can go a long way.
Stretching can also count as light physical activity and improve your mobility. Here are some examples of stretches you can do. If possible, try moving for two minutes for every 20 minutes of sedentary behaviour (Villar, 2021). Sitting for over 20 minutes will not lead to severe issues, but frequently getting up can help (Slater et al., 2019).
Pec stretch using a wall. This is a helpful stretch for loosening up the chest muscles you were contracting while hunching over a computer.
Quad stretch while holding on to a chair. This stretch will target your quadriceps (front thigh muscles). Keep your knee pointing straight at the floor.
Child pose. This relaxing pose will help you stretch your back and hips.
Step ups. Going up and down the stairs is a great alternative to get the blood flowing after sitting for a while.
How Do We Do This?
The concept of moving more is simple, but hard to execute. Our jobs or hobbies may make us forget about the time or how stiff our muscles are.
Try to note how long you stay in the same position at a time; you might be surprised! With that said, there are various strategies for looking after our health.
For example, we can remind ourselves to get up by setting alarms on our phones or placing sticky notes in front of us. We can also use step counters on our phones to see if we take enough breaks. Try to brainstorm new ideas and change your environment to move more throughout your day (Gardner et al., 2015; Nguyen et al., 2020).
Here is one example you can try:
| 9:00 AM | – Work |
| 9:20 AM | – Walk and make coffee |
| 9:22 AM | – Work |
| 9:45 AM | – Make work calls while walking around |
| 10:00 AM | – Work |
| 10:20 AM | – Check the mail |
| 10: 23 AM | – Work |
We can all use the simple formula of two minutes of light physical activity per 20 minutes of sedentary behaviour to lead a healthier lifestyle. Light physical activity can be done without strenuous effort or a shift in schedule. We just have to be a little mindful of our health to reap the benefits of reducing sedentary behaviour!
References
Biswas, A., Oh, P. I., Faulkner, G. E., Bajaj, R. R., Silver, M. A., Mitchell, M. S., & Alter, D. A. (2015). Sedentary time and its association with risk for disease incidence, mortality, and hospitalization in adults. Annals of Internal Medicine, 162(2), 123–132. https://doi.org/10.7326/m14-1651
Diamond, R., & Byrd, E. (2020). Standing up for health: Improving mental wellbeing during COVID-19 isolation by reducing sedentary behaviour. Journal of Affective Disorders, 277, 232–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.137
Dzakpasu, F. Q., Carver, A., Brakenridge, C. J., Cicuttini, F., Urquhart, D. M., Owen, N., & Dunstan, D. W. (2021). Musculoskeletal pain and sedentary behaviour in occupational and non-occupational settings: A systematic review with meta-analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-021-01191-y
Gardner, B., Smith, L., Lorencatto, F., Hamer, M., & Biddle, S. J. H. (2015). How to reduce sitting time? A review of behaviour change strategies used in sedentary behaviour reduction interventions among adults. Health Psychology Review, 10(1), 89–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2015.1082146
Katzmarzyk, P. T., Church, T. S., Craig, C. L., & Bouchard, C. (2009). Sitting time and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 41(5), 998–1005. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e3181930355
Nguyen, P., Le, L., K., Nguyen, D., Gao, L., Dunstan, D. W., & Moodie, M. (2020). The effectiveness of sedentary behaviour interventions on sitting time and screen time in children and adults: An umbrella review of systematic reviews. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-020-01009-3
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2018, June 28). What is sedentary behaviour and how do we measure it?. Government of Canada. Retrieved January 25, 2022, from https://health-infobase.canada.ca/datalab/sedentary-measurement-blog.html
Schmid, D., Ricci, C., Baumeister, S. E., & Leitzmann, M. F. (2016). Replacing sedentary time with physical activity in relation to mortality. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 48(7), 1312–1319. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000000913
Shephard, R. J. (1998). Immune changes induced by exercise in an adverse environment. Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 76(5), 539–546. https://doi.org/10.1139/y98-046
Slater, D., Korakakis, V., O’Sullivan, P., Nolan, D., & O’Sullivan, K. (2019). “Sit up straight”: Time to re-evaluate. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 49(8), 562–564. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2019.0610
Villar, R. (2021, September). Lifestyle Behaviours and Health Part 2. Lecture, Winnipeg; University of Manitoba.
Yates, T., Henson, J., Edwardson, C., Dunstan, D., Bodicoat, D. H., Khunti, K., & Davies, M. J. (2015). Objectively measured sedentary time and associations with insulin sensitivity: Importance of reallocating sedentary time to physical activity. Preventive Medicine, 76, 79–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.04.005
