Getting physical: the benefits of changing how you balance your day

A study has identified the ideal balance of daily sitting, standing and physical activity for optimal health. Peta Bee looks at how to get maximum results in 24 hours

Finding time to stand rather than sit while working can improve health. Picture: iStock

ACTIVITY trackers allow us to document everything from our sleep and steps to our heart rate. Increasingly, we rely on them for motivation, the data providing us with a sense of guilt and accomplishment often in equal measure.

For scientists, the information gleaned from trackers offers meaningful insights into how we move (or don’t), enabling them to drill down through data in a way that could change activity guidelines for maintaining and improving health.