Tomorrow is On Your Feet day — the national activity awareness day when two million desk-based workers across Britain participate in a variety of fun and simple activities to #SitLess and #MoveMore at work.

To mark the occasion, at Madlug we’re challenging ourselves to convert ‘sitting time’ to ‘standing time’ by following some simple changes — and we want to encourage everyone from office workers and stay-at-home parents to students and teachers to do the same. But first, let’s talk a bit about why that’s so important.

Too much inactivity = poor health

It’s no secret that sitting down for long periods of time is bad for our health, but you may be surprised to learn just how severe the impact can be. As well as leading to weight gain, poor muscle tone and posture, sitting down for too long can increase our chances of developing heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, and shorten our life spans.

On average, the average adult sits down for nine hours a day, while school children spend over half of their day sitting. Even if we are physically active for the recommended 30 minutes per day, it’s still important that we take steps to avoid sitting for too long throughout the rest of the day.

As well as leading to better health, research shows that regular movement throughout the day can lead to increased motivation, improved concentration, and various other wellbeing and performance benefits.

Sit less, move more

Are you a sitting duck? Give yourself a nudge to move a bit more and sit less every day. Here are just a few of our favourite suggestions:

• Reward activity. Each week, let the most active member of your household choose an activity for everyone to take part in.

• Highlight an active transport zone around your house and use active transport, such as walking, running, or cycling within this zone (our Outdoor Backpack is the perfect accompaniment for these activities!)

• Use activity as a focus when catching up with family and friends. Catch up for walks or bike rides, play frisbee in the park, go to a yoga class together.

• Employers, give permission and encourage staff to stand or move during meetings and conferences, and teachers, do the same with pupils. We can make positive changes if we lead by example.

• When taking a phone call, stand up or walk around if you can.

• Replace watching TV in the evening with taking a walk.

• Build at least 10 minutes standing and walking time into every hour of the day.

• Park farther away when you are out in your car.

• Do calf raises while doing mundane tasks like cleaning your teeth or washing dishes.

• Use a Fitbit or health tracker to count your steps. Aim for at least 10,000.

Let us know how you get on by sharing your updates using the hashtag #MoveWithMadlug on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Written by Emma Gibbins