{"id":4738,"date":"2026-02-26T08:29:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T08:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/practicalhealthpsychology.com\/?p=4738"},"modified":"2026-03-23T09:50:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T09:50:23","slug":"sitting-less-small-changes-that-make-a-big-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/practicalhealthpsychology.com\/sv\/2026\/02\/sitting-less-small-changes-that-make-a-big-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Sitting less: Small changes that make a big difference"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Zofia Szczuka, SWPS University, Poland and Deakin University, Australia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sedentary behaviors: more than just \u201cnot being active\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The health benefits of increasing physical activity are widely known. But do we give the same attention to so-called \u2018sedentary behaviors\u2019?<\/p>\n

Sedentary behaviors are any waking activities we do while sitting or lying down during the day that require very little energy from our bodies<\/a>. Importantly, sedentary behaviors are NOT the same as low physical activity. You may spend your mornings jogging for 30 minutes each day, yet still spend the rest of the day sitting for prolonged periods at work or at home. This is sometimes described as the \u201cactive couch potato<\/a>\u201d phenomenon, where regular exercise coexists with long hours of sitting. Reducing sedentary behavior and increasing physical activity are complementary goals in current\u00a0World Health Organization guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The risks linked to sedentary behaviors<\/strong><\/p>\n

We sit during work, calls, meals, travel, and the time we spend on social media. Data<\/a> suggest that many healthcare professionals, for example, general practitioners, reach more than 10.5 hours of sitting during a normal workday. These numbers matter. Long sitting time raises the risk of many health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, several kinds of cancers, and depression<\/a>. Have you ever thought about how much of your own day is spent sitting, and how often do you break it up? What about the people you take care of at home and at work? These are questions worth considering.<\/p>\n

Why does it matter for you and your patients?<\/strong><\/p>\n

How much you sit and how often you move can influence not only your health but also how patients react to your health guidance. Research shows that when patients believe their healthcare specialist is active, they feel more confident about being active themselves<\/a>. For many people, healthcare specialists are important role models; when you try to reduce your overall sitting time or break it up with short active breaks, you support your own health and you also model healthier routines for your patients.<\/p>\n

And even if your role already involves a lot of moving throughout the day, encouraging patients to reduce sedentary behaviors remains essential, because many adults and children spend most of their waking time sitting<\/a> – and this amount has been steadily rising over the years<\/a>. At the same time, public awareness of this issue remains low<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Replacing sitting with movement<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can look for simple ways to replace sitting with movement.\u00a0Evidence<\/a> also suggests that these changes may be easier when done with a close friend, romantic partner, or family member. Small adjustments can help, such as getting off the bus one stop earlier on your way to work or choosing a more active way to spend time with your family instead of sitting in front of a screen. And when sitting is unavoidable, short breaks for a quick walk or stretch can still make a real difference. Getting up from our chairs for even a few minutes improves our focus, mood<\/a>, and productivity<\/a>. Frequent movement breaks also decrease stress levels, sleepiness<\/a>, pain or body discomfort<\/a>, cardiac risk<\/a>, and two-hour plasma glucose<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Different sitting patterns, different health effects<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even when two people spend the same amount of time sitting, the pattern in which this time accumulates can differ substantially. And this difference matters for health. In the accelerometer-based study<\/a>, these differences were illustrated by contrasting two behavioural profiles. \u201cProlongers\u201d tend to sit for long, uninterrupted periods across the day, often with only a few short breaks. \u201cBreakers\u201d stand up often, for example during phone calls or short pauses between tasks. The researchers found that people who broke up their sitting more frequently had better metabolic outcomes, independent of total sedentary time and moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity. What\u2019s especially interesting is that participants in the highest quartile of breaks (most frequent breaks) had waistlines about 6 centimeters smaller than prolongers in the lowest quartile.<\/p>\n

As the research in this area is still in an early phase, there are no official recommendations on how often to interrupt sitting, but current evidence suggests taking a brief break about every 30 minutes<\/a>. Reducing overall sitting time and adding short active breaks to your day can make a difference for both you and the individuals you support,\u00a0regardless? of\u00a0whether the recommended levels of physical activity are met.<\/p>\n

Practical recommendations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are practical ways to reduce sitting at work and at home<\/p>\n

Break up sitting whenever you can<\/strong>: Long, uninterrupted periods of sitting are common in clinical and desk-based work. Even brief movement, standing, stretching, or a short walk, helps interrupt these long bouts (see examples<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Build movement into things you already do<\/strong>: Movement doesn\u2019t need to be a separate task. Walking during phone calls, between patients, or on the way to grab a coffee can add up over the day.<\/p>\n

Stand for lighter tasks<\/strong>: Reading notes, checking emails, or watching TV don\u2019t always need a chair. Simple adjustments, like a raised laptop or standing desk, can make standing an easy default.<\/p>\n

Use everyday activities as opportunities to move<\/strong>: Household tasks, errands, and leisure time all offer chances to replace sitting with light activity, taking the stairs, walking short distances, or moving while watching TV.<\/p>\n

Set up your environment to prompt movement<\/strong>: Small changes to work and home spaces can encourage movement without much effort, placing items out of reach, setting reminders to stand, or keeping a few simple exercises in mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Zofia Szczuka, SWPS University, Poland and Deakin University, Australia Sedentary behaviors: more than just \u201cnot being active\u201d The health benefits of increasing physical activity are widely known. But do we give the same attention to so-called \u2018sedentary behaviors\u2019? Sedentary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":4744,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,9,13,59,56,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-goal-setting","category-habit","category-interventions","category-physical-activity","category-public-health","category-self-regulation"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"sv","enabled_languages":["en","id","my","bg","zh","hr","cz","da","de","es","fr","gr","he","it","ja","kr","lv","lt","hu","nl","no","pl","pt","ro","ru","sk","fi","sv","tr","uk"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"id":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"my":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"bg":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"hr":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"cz":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"da":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"de":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"fr":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"gr":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"he":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"it":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ja":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"kr":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"lv":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"lt":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"hu":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"nl":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"no":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"pl":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"pt":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"ro":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"sk":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"fi":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"sv":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"tr":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"uk":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/practicalhealthpsychology.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/practicalhealthpsychology.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/practicalhealthpsychology.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/practicalhealthpsychology.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/practicalhealthpsychology.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4738"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/practicalhealthpsychology.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4781,"href":"https:\/\/practicalhealthpsychology.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4738\/revisions\/4781"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/practicalhealthpsychology.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/practicalhealthpsychology.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/practicalhealthpsychology.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/practicalhealthpsychology.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}