Incorporating brief, unstructured physical movements into daily routines can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death, offering an accessible way to counter sedentary lifestyles.
With many people spending prolonged periods sitting at work desks, in cars or on sofas, finding time for structured exercise remains a widespread challenge. However, health experts say reducing sedentary time through incidental exercise, technically known as non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), can deliver substantial health benefits, reports BBC.
Anantha Narayanan, a research fellow at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, defines NEAT as the energy expended through physical movement other than sleeping, eating or deliberate exercise.
Incidental exercise includes household tasks such as washing up, as well as small physical movements such as changing posture, rolling the shoulders, flexing the feet or tapping a leg.
Narayanan explains that during prolonged periods of sitting, leg muscles remain relatively inactive, reducing the regular muscle contractions needed to clear glucose from the bloodstream and maintain healthy blood circulation.
Fidgeting increases muscle activity and burns more calories than sitting still. A small study found that habitual leg shaking, a common form of fidgeting, burns approximately 16 per cent more energy than sitting motionless.
Earlier research has also suggested that leg fidgeting may help preserve blood vessel function and improve blood sugar control, with standing while fidgeting further enhancing these physiological benefits.
The health benefits of brief movements were reinforced by a large 2024 study led by Nicholas Koemel, a senior research fellow at Monash University in Australia.
Researchers analysed tracking-device data from more than 22,000 UK participants who did not regularly engage in purposeful exercise and followed them for eight years.
The study found that just four minutes of brief incidental activity a day, in bursts lasting less than one minute, could offset the increased risk of cardiovascular disease associated with sitting for more than 11 hours daily. Follow-up research also linked higher levels of incidental activity to a lower risk of premature death.
Koemel says everyday activities such as climbing stairs, carrying heavy shopping bags and playing with children can provide effective forms of incidental movement.
Household chores, including cooking, gardening and vacuuming, can also help reduce sedentary time without requiring a gym membership or dedicated exercise sessions.
For additional benefits, Koemel suggests increasing the intensity of everyday activities. This could include walking faster than usual, parking further away from shop entrances or carrying shopping in a basket instead of pushing a trolley to build muscle strength.
To help people overcome the challenge of setting ambitious fitness targets, Amanda Daley, a professor of behavioural medicine at Loughborough University in the UK, recommends “habit piggybacking” — incorporating small movements into established daily routines.
Examples include doing calf raises while brushing teeth, performing leg raises at a desk or walking while taking phone calls.
At her home, Daley has introduced a rule requiring family members to collect online parcels from a nearby locker rather than having them delivered to the doorstep. The arrangement encourages family members and teenagers to walk.
In workplace research, Daley and her team provided doctors with standing desks, reducing their daily sitting time by approximately two hours and encouraging them to discuss the health benefits of reducing sedentary behaviour more frequently with patients.
Daley says incidental activity offers a time-efficient and manageable approach to physical fitness because it does not require setting aside lengthy periods for exercise.
Koemel adds that as incidental movement becomes part of everyday routines, it can develop into a lasting lifestyle habit that supports long-term health.
