Most know prolonged sitting is bad for health, but what are the options when you need to sit for your job? The answer: 5 minutes of walking for every 30 minutes of sitting. Columbia University researchers in New York City compared the physiological and mental effects from five different movement patterns. Participants walked either 1 or 5 minutes after prolonged sitting for either 30 or 60 minutes. A control group didn’t walk. 

Researchers concluded that the 5 for every 30 ratio was ideal based on improvements in blood pressure, blood sugar, mood and fatigue. “What we know now is that for optimal health, you need to move regularly at work, in addition to a daily exercise routine,” said study author and principal investigator Keith Diaz, PhD, associate professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and director of the Exercise Testing Laboratory in the Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health.