image copyrightGetty Images
Sporadic daily activities can reduce our risk of cardiovascular disease and even death. Whether you’re in a meeting, on a plane, or reading this article, there are some simple ways you can be active.
It’s so easy to sit still all day. First you sit at your desk and work, then you might get in your car, then you sit on the couch for a few hours. Before you know it, it's dinner time and you realize you haven't exercised all day.
Many studies around the world have found that a sedentary lifestyle may increase the risk of serious disease. Therefore, anything you can do to reduce the amount of time you spend sitting is good for your overall health. But making time is not easy.
This is where daily sporadic activities can come into play. It refers to the physical activities we do outside of deliberate exercise, also known as "non-exercise activity thermogenesis" (NEAT). Anantha Narayanan, a researcher at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, said this refers to any energy we expend due to physical activity other than sleeping, eating or deliberate exercise.
Small daily activities can be as simple as tapping your legs while sitting or washing the dishes. "Smaller movements also count, such as adjusting your posture, turning your shoulders, or flexing and extending your feet," Narayanan says.
Sporadic daily activities are showing a powerful role in protecting health, and the effect is surprising. It helps us burn more calories, lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, and even reduces the risk of death.
Once we become aware of these “daily bits and pieces,” we can incorporate more of them into our daily lives by making some simple adjustments to our lifestyle. Here are some methods you might want to try.
make some small moves
Take leg shaking for example.
End of Hot Reading
Growing up, we are taught not to make small gestures because it is seen as a sign of boredom and lack of concentration. But there are many reasons not to follow this advice.
Narayanan says the muscles in our legs are relatively inactive when we sit for long periods of time. This reduces regular muscle contractions that help clear glucose from the blood and maintain healthy circulation.
But a recent study found that doing small movements increases muscle activity and therefore helps us burn more calories than sitting still.
"Some older studies have shown that leg shaking may help maintain blood vessel function and improve blood sugar control," Narayanan said. Performing these movements while standing may enhance these benefits.
Likewise, one small study found that habitual leg shaking consumes about 16% more energy than sitting still.
Regular activities
Unlike planned exercise, daily sporadic activities do not require a gym membership or special time on our part.
We often forget that daily chores can reduce sitting time. Cooking, gardening and vacuuming are also part of daily sporadic activities.
We don’t need to be active for hours to reap the health benefits. A large 2024 study found that engaging in brief bursts of sporadic activity of less than a minute each day, for a total of just four minutes, could help offset the increased risk of cardiovascular disease associated with prolonged sitting.
For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 22,000 British participants. They wear tracking devices that record their activity throughout the day. The study sample was limited to people who did not regularly engage in purposeful exercise.
The researchers followed the participants for eight years. They found that more sporadic daily activity could offset the health risks of sitting for more than 11 hours a day. Follow-up research found that sporadic daily activities were also associated with a lower risk of premature death.
Nicholas Koemel, a senior researcher at Australia's Monash University who led the study, said activities we can do include climbing stairs, carrying heavy shopping bags, or playing with our children.
By being aware of opportunities throughout the day that allow us to increase our activity, it's possible to increase the intensity of those activities, says Koemel.
For example, walk to your destination at a faster pace than usual, or park farther away when going to the store. When you get to the store, consider using a shopping basket instead of a shopping cart. Before you know it, you may have built up muscle strength by walking around carrying several kilograms of merchandise.
Integrate exercise into existing habits
Amanda Daley, professor of behavioral medicine at Loughborough University in the UK, says ambitious fitness goals can be daunting, so another strategy for incorporating activity into your day is to "tack on" it to something you're already doing.
Simply put, it means adding a little physical activity to what you already do. You can try standing on your toes while brushing your teeth, raising your legs under your desk, or walking instead of sitting while talking on the phone.
Daly said her family has a rule: all online shopping packages must be delivered to a nearby express locker, not at home. "If we want something, we have to get it ourselves. It's also a great way to get teenagers out of their rooms and add some walking into their day."
We can also create new habits during the workday. In one study, Daly and colleagues equipped doctors with standing desks. This helped them reduce the amount of time they would have spent sitting by about two hours a day. The team found it also prompted them to talk more with their patients about the benefits of sitting less.
"Daily activities are also a time-saving way to be physically active because you don't always have to dedicate a lot of time," Daly says. "It's important to find ways that are less daunting and feel easier to do."
The best part is, the more scattered daily activities you do throughout your day, the more likely they will become intentional and purposeful over time. That could bring momentum, Kommer said. “When something becomes an ingrained habit without even realizing it, it truly becomes a part of your life.”
Thinking of this, I plan to start tapping my legs generously during meetings. Others may look at me strangely, but I know that this is good for my health.
This article was originally written in English. We used artificial intelligence to assist in translation and was reviewed by BBC journalists before publication. Learn more about how we use artificial intelligence.
Explore more
More short films
More short films end
