Whether it’s at the office, when we’re WFH, watching telly, or out for a girls’ dinner, we spend a lot of our time sitting. In fact, the NHS says that the average Brit spends around nine hours a day plonked on their behind.
Yet, a new study has determined exactly how long we should be sitting for and – hint – we’re well overshooting the recommendation.
Researchers at Swinburne University of Technology and the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Australia have found how we should be splitting each of our precious 24-hour days, breaking it down into how long we should spend sitting, standing, sleeping, and exercising.
According to the researchers, the ideal daily balance is as follows:
- 6 hours of sitting
- 5 hours and 10 minutes of standing
- 8 hours and 20 minutes of sleeping
- 2 hours and 10 minutes of light-intensity physical activity
- 2 hours and 10 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity
OK now, before you balk at the notion that we should be doing nearly – *checks notes* – FOUR AND A HALF HOURS of exercise per day, the researchers caveat this by saying that the light activity can involve household chores and making dinner, while the moderate activity includes intentional movement like a brisk walk or a session at the gym.
“This breakdown encompasses a wide range of health markers and converges on the 24 hours associated with overall optimal health,” Dr. Christian Brakenridge from Swinburne’s Centre for Urban Transitions, said.
Yet, with most Brits getting an average of seven hours of sleep per night, and working roughly eight hours per day, how possible is it really to meet these recommendations?
“Although it is important to prioritise good-quality sleep every night and incorporate movement into your day, it can be difficult for everyone to do so,” fitness, wellness, and nutrition expert Penny Weston tells GLAMOUR UK.
“If you have a mainly sitting job such as at a desk for eight hours a day, or have young children, it can be difficult to fit this much exercise and movement into your day. A lot of people struggle to achieve over eight hours of good-quality sleep a night, every night, so that’s also not completely realistic.”
Dr Aileen Alexander, founder of Nourish adds that, unless your work involves exercising, fitting in this amount of workouts each day would be “difficult”.
“Additionally, I would seriously question whether two or more hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity each and every day is healthy,” she adds. “An important part of exercise is recovery to allow our bodies to adapt and get strong. This amount of exercise everyday doesn’t allow for adequate rest and recovery.”
However, Dr Alexander says that this study carries an important message – that we should spend more time moving or standing, and less time sitting.
“The best way to approach that would be to build new habits rather than using such specific guidelines,” Dr Alexander explains. She suggests investing in a standing desk if you work from home, or suggesting walking meetings with a colleague to get some fresh air and incorporate movement into your work day.
Weston says that gradually switching up how you split your days is better than following these guidelines strictly.
“A better way to go about it is to assess what you’re usually doing and gradually increase your movement,” she explains. “So, for example, if you now sit for 10 hours a day and only do light activity for an hour a day, try taking more walks during the day and taking small breaks throughout your day to stand up and move around.
“As for sleep, try implementing a sleep routine and switching off your electronics at least one hour before going to bed, if you are struggling to get enough hours of sleep per night. As long as you’re making positive changes for you, it’s better than nothing at all.”