The Big Health Benefits of a Short Break Away from Your Desk

Spending most of your day sitting increases your risk of chronic disease and early death, but taking a five-minute walk every hour is a simple habit that helps counter many of those harmful effects Researchers found that hourly walking breaks offered the best balance between meaningful health benefits and a routine that people could realistically maintain, while also improving mood and reducing fatigue without hurting work performance You don't need to reach 10,000 daily steps before your health improves; increasing your daily total to about 4,000 to 4,500 steps was associated with substantial reductions in the risk of death and cardiovascular disease The lowest long-term risk of death was associated with accumulating roughly 9,000 to 10,500 steps each day, even among people whose jobs required them to spend much of the day sitting The greatest protection comes from combining two habits: interrupt long periods of sitting with regular walking breaks and gradually increase your total daily steps until active movement becomes part of your everyday routine