Researchers at the University of Turku in Finland asked 99 people who split their week between the office and home to wear a motion sensor on the thigh for a week.
On home days, they slept about 15 minutes longer. They also spent 45 more minutes sitting or lying down, and less time standing, walking about or doing anything brisk.
Safety+Health magazine covered the study this week, quoting the lead author, Kristin Suorsa: the extra sitting was “mostly caused by spending less time standing.” Her suggested reason: standing desks are common in offices, but not always at home.
She calls that a possible explanation, not a finding. It also points straight at a purchase, so it’s worth checking where the 45 minutes went before you make one.
Two Gaps, Not One
The same team posted a more detailed breakdown of the same workers last November, before other scientists had reviewed it. Office days averaged 9 hours 42 minutes of sitting or lying down while awake. Home days averaged 10 hours 27 minutes.
Of the extra minutes, 31 came during working hours. That’s the gap a standing desk is aimed at.
The other 14 came outside working hours. Brisk activity, such as fast walking or cycling, fell by 15 minutes a day, half of it outside work time. Steps fell by just over 1,000.
Much of the activity gap showed up in the morning, when people would normally be commuting. The team couldn’t measure commuting directly, but thinks the missing trip to work is the likely reason. Most participants were university staff, so treat the exact minutes as a guide.
Why Standing Can’t Replace the Walk
In the team’s own scoring, standing counts as light activity, alongside light walking. A standing desk can win back standing time, but not brisk minutes.
Those minutes matter. The World Health Organization sets a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate activity a week for adults. Lose 15 on each of three home days and that’s 45 minutes, 30% of the minimum, gone without anyone noticing.
A 2024 study of 83,013 UK adults adds a warning about simply standing more. Standing time wasn’t linked to the risk of heart disease or stroke, and standing beyond two hours a day went with more circulatory problems, such as varicose veins.
Sitting was different: above 10 hours a day, it was linked to a higher risk of both. The UK study used wrist sensors on adults averaging 61 years old, so treat that line as rough. Still, the Finnish home days, at 10 hours 27 minutes, landed just over it.
What to Change on Home Days
Walk the commute anyway. Fifteen brisk minutes before you start work replaces what the trip to the office gave you for free. It’s the one fix a desk can’t make.
Use a standing desk to switch, not to stand. Change position through the day rather than standing for hours, and leave the cables enough slack that switching takes one button press. If you don’t own one yet, read this before you spend $500.
Check your own gap. Compare your phone’s step count on an office day and a home day. If home days come in around 1,000 steps short, this study is describing you, and the walk is the fix.
