Activities at Home

Activities at Home

Take a break to move – and feel better

Sit Less, Move More, Stay Healthy

On average, British people sit for at least 8.9 hours of their day, if not longer with the technology available to us.

As humans we are not designed to sit for long periods as prolonged sitting slows down the metabolism dramatically and raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.   THIS is independent of how much Physical Activity you do.

There are lots of ways to combat being less sedentary both at home and during your working day.   It’s easy to convert some of your sitting time to standing time and here are a few examples.

At work

  • Stand up every 20 minutes – you don’t need to go anywhere!
  • Walk to a colleague’s desk instead of calling or emailing them
  • Stand up to make a phone call
  • Pop to the kitchen to make a cuppa or grab a water
  • Eat lunch away from your desk
  • Try raising your desk and standing at it for periods throughout the day

And if you’re feeling adventurous:

  • Start meetings with a ‘ten minute stand’ or ‘share the chairs’
  • Chair your meetings with a reminder every 20 minutes inviting attendees to stand up
  • Have a walking meeting

At Home

  • Stand up during the TV adverts
  • Tech a break – put your technology away every 20 minutes. If you can’t do that stand up whilst playing on your phone, ipad…… you can still play!!
  • Take the stairs wherever possible.
  • Make your own cuppa!
  • Park your car slightly further away so you have a stretch of the legs.
  • Wave your hands in the air – this can still increase your heart rate.
  • Challenge yourself, how many steps can you take in an hour!
  • Stand up when taking a phone call.
  • Playing a game with your children or grandchild has many physical health benefits

Just by standing up, shaking out and sitting back down will breaks the sedentary behaviour and has health benefits. Ideally you need to meet your physical activity recommended guidelines AND ensure you aren’t sedentary!!

Try out our 'Typical Day' Calculator to see how long you are Sedentary for.

Check out our Active Fife YouTube channel, and try the exercises as many times as you like. Aim for something at least once a day – if it helps add an appointment to your diary. Each session is around 15 minutes.

Mobility & stretching

Try these stretch exercises to help reduce your sedentary behaviour and ease off any stiffness and tight muscles.

Strength & balance

These simple strength and balance exercises will help improve your muscle tone and balance making it easier to do daily activities and help prevent falls. Find out more about strength and balance for all

Gentle aerobics 

Suitable for beginners. Aerobic exercises can reduce the risk of many conditions including Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, strokes and even cancer.

Tai chi – mindfulness

Reduce stress and anxiety as well as improve your flexibility and balance.

Benefits of walking

Find out why a 10 minute walk every day will help improve your mental health, your fitness levels as well as improve your concentration. Find out more about our Bums Off Seats walking initiative