Activity Breaks: Are They Worth It?

In physical therapy, we regularly work with individuals who have sedentary jobs that are primarily at a desk for most of the day. It can be difficult to incorporate longer stretches of activity while also being productive with work. I often tell my patients to take more frequent, smaller breaks throughout the work day to promote more position change, blood flow, and joint lubrication among other benefits. Luckily, the research is finding benefits to short, more frequent physical activity.

For example, a study looked at 7 males and 5 females who had less than 150 minutes of moderate to high intensity physical activity per week and daily sitting greater than 7 hours.1 The participants were split up into 3 groups: 7.5-hour prolonged sitting or standing only, 7.5-hour prolonged sitting or standing with intermittent walking, or 7.5-hour prolonged sitting or standing with body weight squats every 30 minutes. The squats occurred every 30 minutes with 15 reps that included a sit to stand from a chair to calf raise. The walks included a 2-minute walk at the average adult walking speed of 3.1 MPH every 30 minutes. Squats and walking were found to increase the myofibrillar protein synthesis as compared to sitting meaning that increased changes in skeletal muscle after activity were found.1 The same study found that interrupting prolonged sitting with short walks or squats reduced the insulin in the bloodstream after eating a meal.2 

Sedentary lifestyles and prolonged periods of inactivity can contribute to negative side effects, such as the development of metabolic disease, which can include high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and being overweight.1-2 The good news is “activity snacks” that interrupt prolonged sitting can improve muscle changes and reduce insulin in the blood after meals. Hopefully future research will look at the more long-term impact of these “activity snacks”.1-2

Another study compared workers with high occupational physical activity versus workers with low occupational physical activity and the impact of leisure time physical activity. High occupational physical activity required moderate to high intensity and may include carrying, lifting, pushing, pulling and extensive walking.3 Low occupational physical activity referred to those with jobs requiring mostly sitting. Leisure time physical activity is activity during free time and is based on personal interests and needs, such as walking, gardening, sports, dancing, and exercise.3

Leisure physical activity showed a consistent protective effect across all occupational physical activity levels with reduction in likelihood of cardiovascular mortality.3 Metabolic syndrome was also reduced; however, it was more impactful in the low occupational physical activity group. Overall, leisure time physical activity was found to be most beneficial among low occupational physical activity.3 

Basically, small, more frequent movement is more beneficial than continued sedentary positioning. Those I work with often feel like they must do “all or nothing” meaning they have to do their whole exercise program multiple times a week or it's not worth doing anything. My philosophy is “something is better than nothing”. Also, don’t worry about watching the clock for those 30-minute intervals. Instead, just set a timer on your watch or phone, so you can focus until it is time to move. This can also be incredibly helpful to combat stiffness/tightness and chronic pain among other benefits. If you are having difficulty implementing activity breaks into your schedule, discuss actionable steps with your physical therapist that cater to you and your daily life. 

Written by Jordan Schmidt, PT, DPT

References

1. Moore DR, Williamson EP, Hodson N, Estafanos S, Mazzulla M, Kumbhare D, Gillen JB. Walking or body weight squat "activity snacks" increase dietary amino acid utilization for myofibrillar protein synthesis during prolonged sitting. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2022 Sep 1;133(3):777-785. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00106.2022. Epub 2022 Aug 11. PMID: 35952344.
2. Gillen JB, Estafanos S, Williamson E, Hodson N, Malowany JM, Kumbhare D, Moore DR. Interrupting prolonged sitting with repeated chair stands or short walks reduces postprandial insulinemia in healthy adults. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2021 Jan 1;130(1):104-113. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00796.2020. Epub 2020 Nov 12. PMID: 33180640.
3. Prince SA, Rasmussen CL, Biswas A, Holtermann A, Aulakh T, Merucci K, Coenen P. The effect of leisure time physical activity and sedentary behaviour on the health of workers with different occupational physical activity demands: a systematic review. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2021 Jul 20;18(1):100. doi: 10.1186/s12966-021-01166-z. PMID: 34284795; PMCID: PMC8290554.