If you spend most of your day sitting, then go home and just want to sit on the couch, this is for you. I’m sharing why taking a sitting break is going to change your health and reduce your stress. Plus I’ve got a super quick “workout” you can do to maximize the benefits of your sitting break!
New Here? I’m here to help you make sense of all the health and fitness info out there and create a simple, healthy lifestyle you love, even if you don’t know what that looks like yet!
- 5 Day Movement Habit Challenge (FREE!)
- 1 Week (FREE!) Getting Started with Cardio Program
- The Monthly Meal Planner eBook (FREE!)
- Join the Making Sense of a Healthy Life Community (FREE!)
- Creating Crucial Habits 4 Week Program
- Book a 15 minute Coaching Consultation here to learn how I can help you rebuild your health and fitness and create a healthy lifestyle that works for you.
The World Health Organization lists physical inactivity as the 4th leading risk factor for global mortality. And physical inactivity is considered the main cause of up to 25% of breast and colon cancers, 27% of diabetes, and 30% of ischemic heart disease cases. That’s crazy!
Want to hear some equally crazy yet awesome news? You don’t need to go sweat buckets in the gym after your long work day full of sitting to decrease your health risks. All you need to do is take more breaks from sitting!
Recent research has actually found that long periods of sitting dramatically increase your risk of chronic diseases – even in people who meet the physical activity guidelines!
That means that the weekend warrior who knocks out crazy HIIT workouts on the weekend yet spends the rest of the week tethered to their desk has nearly the same health risks as the complete couch potato.
Yeah, no joke.
The solution? Take more sitting breaks!
The more you can move your body throughout the day, the better. I’m not talking about exercising all day every day. Movement means low to moderate intensity activity which can include:
- Walking
- Housework
- Stretching
- Physical forms of work
- Recreational activities and
- Playing (with or without your kids)!
How to Take More Sitting Breaks:
My favorite method, and probably the most effective, is to set an alarm and get up and move!
- Every hour, take a sitting break for 5-10 minutes
- Every 20 minutes, take a 2 minute sitting break
Turn your sitting break into a stress-relieving, health- and immune-boosting session by:
- Moving your muscles to boost your immune system
- Incorporating slow, deep, calming breathing to reduce stress
- Finish by drinking a cup of water to promote good health
Get even more health benefits and stress relief when you start the free 1 week Getting Started with Cardio Challenge. It only takes 10 minutes a day! Click here.
Need more Movement in your life? Take the 5 Day Movement Habit Challenge!
The 5 Minute Sitting Break Workout
Struggling to get motivated to move more? This worksheet can help!
Disclaimer: Before starting any workout program, get clearance from your doctor and use common sense to reduce and avoid injury. The information shared by Jess Roe Fitness and StudyInFitness.com is for educational purposes only. By performing any fitness exercises, you are performing them at your own risk. Jess Roe Health & Fitness and StudyInFitness.com will not be responsible or liable for any injury or harm you sustain as a result of any program, online videos, or information shared on our website. Use of any of the information shared on our site does not constitute the creation of a client contract. This includes emails, videos and text. Thanks for your understanding. View my full Disclaimer here.
References:
The World Health Organization. Global strategy on diet, physical activity, and health: Physical activity. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/pa/en/
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: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Intern Med. 2015;162(2):123-132. https://doi.org/10.7326/M14-1651