A study found big benefits from short walks. I tried it for a week

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Maybe you’ve heard about the Columbia University study that found taking a five-minute walk every 30 minutes appeared to reduce some of the negative effects of sitting in front of a computer all day — improving blood pressure and blood sugar, or glucose, levels. It made headlines. Heck, NPR even created a podcast about it.

When I first heard this advice, I laughed out loud. I mean, how many people can, realistically, take a break every 30 minutes? We have meetings to attend, tasks to complete, deadlines to meet. We are busy, people.

What’s more, many of us lack control over our daily schedules. It can be hard to manage a couple of scheduled breaks in a day, let alone convince your boss to approve a moderate walk every half hour.

But the idea wouldn’t get out of my head. Why had I dismissed it so quickly? What if regular mini walks were the norm? I decided to give them a try, for one week. It seemed like a low bar for entry. (Luckily my boss is a patient person; he may have raised an eyebrow, but no objection to my scheme).

NPR, which partnered with Columbia researchers to study movement breaks in the real world, recruited more than 20,000 people willing to test them out. Only about 60% completed the study, and most didn’t get all their breaks in. Even so, many participants reported feeling benefits, according to preliminary findings. Some said they felt less fatigued and their moods improved. One woman told NPR she had better cholesterol and blood pressure readings.

I resolved to conduct my personal experiment without any special equipment — no treadmill, no walking pad. Just my legs, the trusty sidewalk and a cell phone for a timer.

But when the appointed Monday rolled around, I procrastinated. I read the original research paper, sought advice about how to schedule the breaks and stick with them. No need to jump in blindly, right?

By 11 a.m., I was ready to stop delaying. It was hot, but I was undeterred. I slathered on some sunscreen and headed for the door.

It turns out, five minutes is super short. A few blocks from the house, my timer was already winding down. I resolved to chart a shorter course for the next break, which came soon enough — because holy moly, 30 minutes isn’t very long either. It was already time to pull on my shoes again. My neighbors were going to think I’d lost it.

Around lunchtime I saw a lovely orange butterfly. That was a real treat, but did I mention it was hot out there? I was going to need a better hat. And more sunscreen.

By day’s end, I was exhausted and hungry. I was also quite certain this would never work for me. I had to force myself to climb out of my chair at 4 p.m.

But day two felt a little easier. Maybe my body just needs to acclimate, I thought. At this point, I had three walking routes of about five minutes each, so I didn’t need to time myself anymore. The variety also helped me avoid boredom. I was getting the breaks in, most of the time. And the weather was significantly cooler and dryer that day, which helped quite a bit.

Over the course of the week, I discovered the walks sometimes required planning ahead. It helped to leave a few minutes early if that happened to be a good stopping point, or head out a little late if necessary. I learned not to let one missed break snowball into two or three. Inertia is a powerful force.

The easiest breaks were the ones that fell during meetings or phone calls. I could continue these tasks while walking. If anyone noticed I had stepped outdoors, I explained: "I’m doing a crazy experiment with short movement breaks every half hour." That got some chuckles.

On the best days, I got familiar with the dog walkers and strollers around the neighborhood. There were more of them than I expected! I listened to the chirping of cardinals and house finches, and breathed in the smell of spring flowers and freshly laid mulch. I imagined I felt the mental benefits some study participants described. Maybe I could even keep this up beyond a week, I thought, and tried to picture how that might work.

There were significant challenges, however. The breaks sometimes felt disruptive. I blew through several that would have interrupted a project or meeting in progress if I needed to be in person or on camera.

When I worked in the office, I struggled to find a rhythm. I worried about what colleagues would think (and whether anyone was monitoring the security cameras at the front door). Would they find my behavior suspicious? I doubted the routine would be sustainable on a busier day or week.

In the afternoons, I often felt tired, especially if I’d gone for a jog or spent time at the gym before work. When I decided to stop the walks at 5 p.m., it was a relief to work without interruption.

In the space of that one week, it’s hard to say whether there were any physical benefits, but my step count improved, and I may have skipped some snack breaks. Overall, I found it nice to consider a different approach to the work day, one that increased physical activity, and mental and screen breaks.

But without radical changes to many workplaces, a walk break every half hour could be accomplished only by those privileged enough to control their schedules and physically able to maintain that level of activity — not to mention lucky enough to be in places where walking, indoors or outdoors, is safe and enjoyable.

That said, I’m not ready to dismiss the concept after just one week. I may even try it again for more than a week to see if the routine becomes easier, perhaps with the walks to once an hour. If you try it, don’t forget the sunscreen!

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