If you sit for long hours, find out how you can try to reduce the impact with one easy trick that can be done at any time of the day.
If you work an office job, you probably sit for hours, and with so much work piling up and jumping from meetings to final floors, there’s rarely any time to step away from your desk.
Read also: Long hours of sitting at the office lead to serious and chronic diseases in employees in their 30s and 40s: report
But that extra sitting can wreak havoc on your body, affecting key physiological systems, from musculoskeletal and hormonal to metabolism. When movement is minimal throughout the day, you become sedentary, which leads to many lifestyle diseases, from diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity to cardiovascular disease.
However, sitting at a desk is often unavoidable in the modern work routine, so the question is not how to avoid it completely. Although standing desks are slowly becoming more popular, most still spend a significant portion of their day sitting. Instead of sitting for long hours without interruption, there is a simple habit that can help break the cycle of prolonged inactivity and reduce stress on the body.
HT Lifestyle reached out to Dr. Merrin Meria Mathew, Consultant, PMR (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation), KIMS Hospitals, Bengaluru, who shared a hack called the 10-Minute Rule.
What is the 10-minute rule?
Dr. Matthew confirmed that the matter is actually very simple. “For every long period of sitting (about 60-90 minutes), take a 5-10 minute break to move around. Stand, walk, stretch, climb stairs, do some squats. The intensity doesn’t have to be intense; the key is interruption.”
Even in her clinical practice, she sees conditions caused by prolonged inactivity, which is why she often reminds patients that the body is meant for movement, not for sitting for long periods of time. Small changes throughout the day often yield better results than an intense exercise session followed by prolonged inactivity. This also takes into account a vigorous gym session after eight hours of prolonged sitting, which may not be as effective.
Dr. Mathew also shared the benefits of walking for a few minutes:
- Helps regulate high blood sugar after meals
- Reduces pressure on the lower back and neck
- Reduces the risk of deep vein thrombosis (especially when traveling long distances)
- Helps improve concentration and reduce mental fatigue
- It helps increase daily calorie burning, even slightly
What happens when you sit for a long time?
When you sit for a long period of time, it changes how the body functions throughout the day. “Your body enters a state of low energy and low metabolism,” the doctor noted. This shows that when spending hours sitting with very little movement, the body switches to a state of energy conservation, which negatively affects many internal processes and functions.
“Your muscle activity decreases, calorie consumption decreases, blood flow decreases, and enzymes, which help regulate blood sugar and metabolize fat, become less active, Dr. Matthew revealed.
However, when you take regular breaks to move, you will benefit from improved blood sugar regulation, increased circulation, and reduced stiffness. “Physiologically, when you stand and move, the large muscle groups in your legs contract, helping to pump blood more effectively to the heart. This in turn reduces blood pooling in the legs and increases body oxygenation.
Is 10 minutes the final solution?
But here’s the thing: it doesn’t completely solve the problem.
“AWalking for 10 minutes doesn’t completely negate the effects of a sedentary day if you spend the rest of the day sitting.
The doctor urged people to think of it as a supportive habit and not as a complete cure. While the 10-minute rule is effective in improving circulation, metabolism and muscle and bone function, it cannot replace the benefits of regular exercise if overall physical activity remains low.
Your lifestyle needs to be active. Just 10-minute breaks won’t be enough to keep you fit. The doctor recommended the following:
- Exercise: Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week.
- Strength training: Twice a week to maintain muscle mass and metabolic health.
- Active habits: Climbing stairs, walking while taking calls, and using standing desks when available.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician with any questions about a medical condition.
Adrija Dey’s penchant for observation feeds her storytelling instinct. As a lifestyle journalist, she creates compelling, relatable narratives across diverse touchpoints of the human experience, including wellness, mental health, relationships, interior design, home decor, food, travel, and fashion that gently nudge readers toward living a little better. For her, stories exist in flesh and bone, carried by human vessels and shaped by everyday endeavours. It’s the little stories we live and share that make us human. After all, people and their traditions are the most natural and raw repositories of stories, and revealing them, for her, is like peeling an orange under the winter afternoon sun. Always up for a chat, she believes the best stories come from unfiltered chatter, where “too much information” is kind of the goal. An alumnus of Indraprastha Women’s College, Delhi University, and an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, Adrija spends her spare hours sipping on herbal tea and a sultry thriller, scribbling inner monologues that she loosely calls poetic pieces, often in the presence of her succulents. On lazier days, she can be found binge-watching, for the nth time, one of her comfort shows in the holy trinity: The Office (US), Brooklyn Nine-Nine, or Modern Family. However, dancing alone to peppy playlists is a daily ritual she swears by religiously.Read more
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