Compared to our hunter gatherer ancestors, the modern humans have become quite sedentary. Sedentary behaviour, defined as any activity done sitting, lying or reclining with low energy expenditure, occurs across the day and across multiple settings, including the workplace. However, this increase in prolonged, uninterrupted sedentary behaviour can have multiple detrimental impacts in both the short and long term, with high levels of sedentary time associated with cardiometabolic disease, earlier deaths due to any cause, cancer, diabetes, obesity, hypertension and more! Given over 80% of Australian workers report sitting for at least some of their workday, effective workplace interventions that break up sedentary time are needed to protect workers against the many health risks of prolonged sedentary time.
Are bodyweight resistance exercise breaks the solution?
One possible intervention is the use of resistance exercise. Laboratory studies have shown that resistance exercises that can be done at the desk, like calf raises and half squats, can be beneficial for glucose control. Rogers and colleagues took this concept into the workplace in their recent study that investigated the acceptability and feasibility of bodyweight resistance exercise breaks in the work place to reduce sedentary behaviour. The effects of these breaks on perceived sleepiness, physical discomfort, and productivity were also studied.
Participants were 29 individuals from the University of Iowa that sat at least 7 hours on weekdays. The study was a randomised cross-over design with each participants randomised to start in either the intervention or the control group. The intervention condition was resistance exercise breaks, where participant completed body weight squats, high knees and calf raises were performed for 3 minutes at a time, while the control condition was usual activities. After five days in their respective groups, the participants switched over to the other condition.
What was found?
Overall discomfort decreased by 20% in the intervention condition, but increased by 50% during the control condition. Additionally, decision-making ability and concentration significantly increased in the intervention condition from day 1 to 5 but no changes were observed in the control condition. The intervention condition also increased stepping time, sit-to-stand transitions and concentration, and reduced sedentary time at their workplace over a full workweek.
So why aren’t we more active at work?
Imagine if you were one of the participants, what do you think are some barriers against performing REB at your work place? Your boss not letting you? The time commitment? Sweatiness? Fatigue? Fear of disrupting others? For participants in this study, the most common barriers to performing resistance breaks were feeling embarrassed in front of co-workers and taking too much time away from work.
The scientific benefits for regular breaks are obvious, but for them to be truly implemented into the workplace, social acceptability is key. To combat the most commonly reported barrier in the study (feeling uneasy about performing resistance exercise breaks in front of others), Rogers et. al suggested that privacy at work be increased through screens or exercise rooms. Additionally, occupational health programs that educate workers and managers about the benefits of resistance exercise (decreased risks associated with sedentary behaviour, increased decision-making, comfort and concentration) should also help to reduce the unwillingness to take time away from the desk.
So as you finish this article, consider whether now is a good time for a resistance exercise break!
This blog article was written by Joanna Ho, a first year Medical Student at the University of Queensland.
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