It’s January. A new year. If you have room for one more resolution, make it one that will protect your health and body from the damages of sitting for long, uninterrupted hours at a desk or in front of a computer.
What’s so bad about sitting, you ask?
According to health experts, prolonged sitting — whether at a computer, in a car, or in front of a TV — increases your risk of developing serious health conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, depression, and anxiety. This threat is so serious that it led Dr. James Levine, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, to declare that sitting is the new smoking.
So, what’s the cure? If you guessed exercise, you’re partly right.
Regular exercise is important for your health, but according to the Mayo Clinic, it can’t on its own negate the damage done by extended bouts of sitting. What can? Interrupting long sessions of sitting with short bursts of physical activity.
These short bursts of activity, called exercise snacking, last less than five minutes each session. Done consistently after every hour of sitting, these movements help combat the damages of sitting.
“Exercise snacks can fit easily around your life, no matter how busy or stressed you are,” said exercise physiologist Katie Lawton, M.Ed. “It’s a very short time commitment.”
Benefits of Exercise Snacking
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about half of all Americans have chronic diseases that could be prevented with the help of regular physical activity, like exercise snacking. Some of the health benefits it offers include:
One study found that people who did at least four two-minute high-intensity activity bursts every day had a nearly 40 percent less risk of dying from cancer and a nearly 50 percent lower chance of dying from a cardiovascular disease. Another study found that people with type 2 diabetes who did six one-minute bouts of exercise daily had better controlled blood sugar levels.
Exercise snacking doesn’t require a huge time commitment, special equipment, or costly gym membership, and research proves that doing it even a few minutes throughout the day can help keep you on track to meeting your fitness goals.
How to Begin an Exercise Snacking Routine
The goal is to get up from your chair and take a short movement break every hour or so. If you need help remembering, set an alarm on your phone that sounds every 60 to 90 minutes.
“Almost any length of exercise counts, even a minute, as long as you’re moving vigorously,” said Susan Greeley, MS, RDN, Senior Vice President / National Director Wellness Services, Castle Connolly Private Health Partners, LLC. “If you feel warm and are breathing harder than normal, you’re on the right track.”
Here are a few easy ways to fit exercise snacking into your day:
For more ideas, check out these quick workout moves.
Takeaway
Exercise snacking done consistently — several times a day, every day — is a great way to support your overall health and happiness as well as offset the detrimental effects of prolonged sitting.
Keep in mind that if your fitness goal leans more toward burning calories quickly or bulking up, exercise snacking likely won’t help you achieve the kind of results you’d get with longer, focused, continuous, more vigorous workouts.
Be sure to talk to your healthcare provider or SENS Solution Wellness Program coach before starting any exercise routine, even exercise snacking. Your health team can also provide the guidance you need to choose and follow the exercise program that will best help you achieve your fitness goals this year.
Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy new year!
References
Mayo Clinic, Sitting Is the New Smoking, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/living-with-mild-cognitive-impairment-mci/newsfeed-post/sitting-is-the-new-smoking/
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Physical Activity Guidelines, https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf
Science Daily, Short bouts of stairclimbing throughout the day can boost health, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190118110833.htm
The Hill, Minute-long bursts of vigorous exercise during daily tasks linked with lower risk of death, https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/longevity/3768633-minute-long-bursts-of-vigorous-exercise-during-daily-tasks-linked-with-lower-risk-of-death-study/
BBC Radio 4 (Just One Thing with Michael Mosley), Don’t worry about going to the gym; shorter bursts of exercise could be better for you, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/54mscpFxdQWZMk6jZbq3cWb/don-t-worry-about-going-to-the-gym-shorter-bursts-of-exercise-could-be-better-for-you
CAROL Bike blog, Try Exercise Snacking, https://carolbike.com/science/exercise-snacking/?tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=530441947&msclkid=f3d0cf4a5ccd1fff4507a82215c73d0b&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=DSA%20%2B%20Generic%20-%202024&utm_term=https%3A%2F%2Fcarolbike.com%2Fscience&utm_content=All%20web%20pages
Cleveland Clinic.org, How To Work ‘Exercise Snacks’ Into Your Day, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/exercise-snacks
The Health Sessions, Exercise Snacks: 24 Ways to Fit in Tiny Bursts of Activity Throughout the Day, https://thehealthsessions.com/exercise-snacks/
Parade, Exercise Snacking: What Exercises Snacking Is, and How to Decide If It’s Right for You, https://parade.com/1249450/ashleylauretta/exercise-snacking/
Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, Exercise Snacks: A Novel Strategy to Improve Cardiometabolic Health, https://journals.lww.com/acsm-essr/fulltext/2022/01000/exercise_snacks__a_novel_strategy_to_improve.5.aspx
Shape.com, How to Use Exercise Snacking to Stay More Active at Home, https://www.shape.com/fitness/trends/exercise-snacking-quick-workouts