7:30 a.m.: that's the average time we spend sitting each day. Long live the office worker life!
And sedentary behavior at work is a real health issue!
What are the risks and how can you reduce them on a daily basis? We'll give you a few tips!
What is sedentary behavior
It corresponds to the time spent sitting or lying down during waking hours, excluding sleep time.
Every day, we very often adopt sedentary behaviors: watching television, sitting in the car or public transport, at our desk, reading...
This low level of exercise and energy expenditure has a direct impact on health.
It must, however, be distinguished from a lack of physical activity, which is characterized by a duration, frequency, and level of activity below the recommended threshold. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), physical inactivity is responsible for 10% of deaths in Europe.
According to the National Observatory of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior (Onaps), 4 out of 5 children aged 3 to 10 do not engage in daily physical activity, 2 out of 3 adolescents aged 11 to 17 do not follow the WHO recommendations (60 minutes of sports activity every day), and among adults aged 18 to 64, it is 1 out of 3.
A few figures
In recent years, sedentary behavior has become a real public health issue.
Modernization and technological advances offer us much more comfort, but they also push us to move less. We have certainly gained comfort in life, but we have also largely lost physical capabilities.
In France, it is estimated that adults spend about 7 hours and 30 minutes per day sitting. A duration that includes working time, travel time in the car, meals, but also new habits in our personal life such as moments of relaxation and leisure.
And this is even more true with the explosion of screen time.
Also according to Onaps, it is already 2 hours and 10 minutes per day for children aged 3 to 10, and nearly 25% of them spend more than one hour daily in front of a screen.
Adolescents aged 11 to 17 spend an average of 4 hours and 10 minutes per day there, and nearly 60% spend more than 3 hours every day in front of one.
For adults aged 18 to 64, the data rises to 4 hours and 55 minutes of screen time on average, and 86% spend more than 3 hours a day sitting or lying down. For 44% of them, this time increases to 7 hours daily.
We have also become very sedentary for another reason: the use of motorized transport.
Indeed, 65% of us reportedly travel by car, regardless of the type of trip, 8% take public transport, only 22% walk, and 3% use a bicycle.
Sedentary behavior at work
For some time now, we have been increasingly interested in sedentary behavior in the world of work, and for good reason!
This concept, largely amplified by the proliferation of office jobs, digitalization, and teleworking, constitutes a major challenge for employee health and is considered an occupational risk.
Those most affected by these sedentary behaviors at work and the risks they imply are professionals in the service sector who work in an office and spend prolonged periods in a seated position.
According to a study on corporate well-being conducted by Withings, 73% of employees remain seated most of the time during their workday.
The most sedentary professions
The professions most exposed to the risks associated with sedentary work are, unsurprisingly, office workers, but also legal professionals, taxi or truck drivers, designers and graphic artists, customer service representatives, and, paradoxically, healthcare professionals.
Conversely, the sectors where people are most active are catering, construction, tourism, real estate, and journalism.
Health risks
Staying in a seated position for too long is extremely bad for your health!
According to the French National Research and Safety Institute for the Prevention of Occupational Accidents and Diseases (INRS), 95% of French people are exposed to a risk of deteriorating health due to a prolonged seated position and a lack of exercise.
Among the harmful effects on health, we find:
- 😫 musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs): muscle stiffness, lower back pain, neck pain, and back pain due to prolonged static seated position and repeated use of computer equipment
- 🫀 cardiovascular diseases
- 💉 type 2 diabetes
- 🦠 certain cancers
- 🎈 obesity
- 😴 sleep problems: difficulty falling asleep, insomnia
- 😭 mental health disorders: stress, burnout, depression, anxiety
- 👀 eye strain and other vision disorders: sedentary work is often office work sitting in front of a computer; your eyes are highly stressed and overexposed to blue light. In the long run, symptoms of eye strain can appear (irritation, redness, itching, dry eyes, decreased visual acuity, headaches...)
- ☠️ increased mortality rate, all causes combined
How to fight sedentary behavior at work
To prevent the deleterious effects of this behavior on your health, you've understood it: you need to MOVE YOUR BUTT!
There are therefore a few good habits that we advise you to adopt right now:
- 🧘 take active breaks to encourage frequent interruptions of a static position: every 30 minutes, force yourself to get up from your chair and take a few steps. You can also take the opportunity to stretch. Just by doing this, you improve blood circulation and limit the onset of back and leg pain. Plus, this little time will only make you more productive for the rest of the day, so don't deprive yourself of it.
- 🚶 organize standing or walking meetings: this is the perfect opportunity to spend less time sitting and move around a bit during the day. Good for health and productivity, you'll love this new concept! And if the subject interests you, we have an entire article devoted to how to be more productive at work.
- 🧑💻 set up a dynamic workstation: nothing better to easily improve working conditions. This can involve the installation of equipment such as active furniture with the sit-stand desk with variable height, a treadmill, or even an under-desk pedal exerciser. You'll see, it beats the classic desk! We have also prepared a selection of desks for teleworking if you want to dig a little deeper. Equipping yourself with a good chair (ergonomic preferably) is also essential, just like correctly adjusting the position of your screen to have the right screen-eye distance. Finally, don't neglect lighting, it's super important for your comfort! Check out our article on workstation ergonomics to know everything!
- 👌 adopt a good posture: ergonomics is also about this. As a reminder, a good position is back straight, gaze in front of you (your head should not be tilted up or down), elbows at a right angle, forearms parallel to the floor, and feet flat on the floor. For more details, we also have an article (yes, it's a subject close to our hearts): how to sit well at the office.
- 📵 limit screen time: not necessarily obvious if you work all day on the computer, but use your breaks to look away from the screen and force yourself to spend time when you don't use them to rest your eyes.
- 👓 protect your eyes with blue light blocking glasses: to reduce the harmful effects of blue light and eye strain, equip yourself with a good pair of glasses that filters it out. Are you looking for the perfect model? We definitely have the one you need: gaming glasses with top-notch filtration, or screen work glasses for an elegant style that won't make your boss blink.
- 🪜 take the stairs instead of the elevator: incorporate this habit into your daily routine. In addition to getting a little exercise, it's excellent for your heart!
- 🏊 exercise regularly: to compensate for all those days sitting for hours, think about exercising whenever you can. Walking or running, cycling, swimming... choose the sport you want, as long as it allows you to be more active.
- 🍪 avoid snacking: snacking on junk food + sitting for too long = guaranteed weight gain! So minimize the damage and try not to stuff yourself with chips or cookies while filling out your Excel spreadsheets.
A final word: how to reduce the risks associated with sedentary work
People who sit for too long expose themselves to many problems: increased cardiovascular pathologies, sleep, vision, and mental health disorders, obesity, MSDs... not moving harms your health and represents a significant risk for employees.
Fortunately, there are good habits to adopt to make up for this lack of activity.
Putting in place adapted equipment, well-organizing your workspace, practicing a regular sports activity, and adopting the proper postures are all solutions that can help prevent these risks.
Now it's your turn!
