A common question asked by desk-based workers during ergonomic assessments is “how long is it okay for me to sit at my desk?”. As a therapist using an evidence-based approach, you watch people eye’s glaze over when giving unsatisfying answers such as “well….you need to move as much as you can fit into your day”. The problem has been, whilst there are clear evidence-based requirements for recommended physical activity time (e.g. the Australian Physical Activity Guidelines), it’s been a hazy picture when it comes to evidence-based guidance on sitting time. A 2024 study from Swinburne University has provided some useful numbers to meet this gap.
The Swinburne research used data from the Maastricht Study, an ongoing, years long health study tracking 1000s of people. The Swinburne analysis determined the ideal amounts of time we should spend sitting, sleeping, standing and being physically active within a 24-hour period for optimal health, and here they are:
Ideal sitting time?……just 6 hours across 24 hours. Large scale studies of Australian workers show that between work, transport and leisure time white collar workers spend more like 10 hours per day sitting.
