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. 2020 Jun 30;117(26):14883-14889.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.2001284117. Epub 2020 Jun 15.

Temporal dynamics of sitting behavior at work

Pam Ten Broeke  1 , Merlijn Olthof  2 , Debby G J Beckers  2 , Nicola D Hopkins  3 , Lee E F Graves  3 , Sophie E Carter  3   4 , Madeleine Cochrane  3   5 , David Gavin  3 , Abigail S Morris  3   6 , Anna Lichtwarck-Aschoff  2 , Sabine A E Geurts  2 , Dick H J Thijssen  3   7 , Erik Bijleveld  2
Affiliations

Temporal dynamics of sitting behavior at work

Pam Ten Broeke et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Sitting for prolonged periods of time impairs people's health. Prior research has mainly investigated sitting behavior on an aggregate level, for example, by analyzing total sitting time per day. By contrast, taking a dynamic approach, here we conceptualize sitting behavior as a continuous chain of sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit transitions. We use multilevel time-to-event analysis to analyze the timing of these transitions. We analyze ∼30,000 objectively measured posture transitions from 156 people during work time. Results indicate that the temporal dynamics of sit-to-stand transitions differ from stand-to-sit transitions, and that people are quicker to switch postures later in the workday, and quicker to stand up after having been more active in the recent hours. We found no evidence for associations with physical fitness. Altogether, these findings provide insights into the origins of people's stand-up and sit-down decisions, show that sitting behavior is fundamentally different from exercise behavior, and provide pointers for the development of interventions.

Keywords: fatigue; occupational health; sedentary behavior; survival analysis; time-to-event analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Baseline survival functions for the hazard of standing up when sitting and the hazard of sitting down when standing separately.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Estimated survival functions based on model predictions for indicative values of time of day and activity in last 5 h. (A) The estimated survival function for the hazard of standing up when sitting for 9 AM vs. 5 PM time of day, (B) the estimated survival function for the hazard of sitting down when standing for 9 AM vs. 5 PM time of day, (C) the estimated survival function for the hazard of standing up when sitting for high vs. low activity in the last 5 h, and (D) the estimated survival function for the hazard of sitting down when standing for high vs. low activity in last 5 h. The values for high (50%; 150 min) and low (15%; 45 min) activity in last 5 h roughly correspond to −1 SD and +1 SD of the mean.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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