A joint study by Columbia University Medical Center and National Public Radio has investigated how short walking breaks affect the body and mind during long periods of sitting.

哥倫比亞大學醫學院與國家公共廣播電台的一項共同研究，調查了在長時間久坐期間，短時間的步行休息如何影響身體與心理。

The research was based on the known link between sitting too much and serious health problems, such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and an increased risk of heart disease and obesity. Previous lab tests showed that walking for five minutes every half hour could lower blood sugar spikes after meals by about 60%. However, researchers wanted to find out if this routine was actually possible for people to follow in their daily professional and social lives.

該研究基於久坐與嚴重健康問題之間的已知關聯，例如高血壓、高血糖，以及心臟病與肥胖風險增加。先前的實驗室測試顯示，每半小時步行五分鐘，可將餐後血糖飆升降低約 60%。然而，研究人員想了解在現實的專業與社交生活中，人們是否確實能遵循此習慣。

To test this, a practical study was conducted with around 20,000 participants across the United States. These people followed movement schedules every 30, 60, or 120 minutes. The results showed that while walking every 30 minutes improved mood and reduced tiredness the most, fewer people were able to stick to this schedule. On the other hand, walking every 120 minutes was the easiest to follow but the least effective. Consequently, the 60-minute break was identified as the best balance, as it reduced fatigue by 25% and increased productivity by 4% without interfering with work.

為了測試這一點，一項針對全美約 20,000 名參與者的實務研究隨之展開。這些參與者遵循每 30、60 或 120 分鐘一次的活動時間表。結果顯示，雖然每 30 分鐘步行一次對改善心情與減輕疲勞最有效，但能堅持此時間表的人數最少。另一方面，每 120 分鐘步行一次最容易遵循，但效果最差。因此，60 分鐘一次的休息被認為是最佳平衡點，因為它能減少 25% 的疲勞並提高 4% 的生產力，且不會干擾工作。

Beyond health data, the study suggests that schools and offices could benefit from these breaks. In educational settings, movement breaks helped students engage better with scientific learning. Furthermore, the researchers emphasized that adopting these short walks could be a simple public health strategy to fight the health decline caused by modern lifestyles spent in front of screens.

除了健康數據外，研究建議學校與辦公室也能從這些休息時間中獲益。在教育環境中，活動休息有助於學生更好地參與科學學習。此外，研究人員強調，採取這些短暫散步可以作為一種簡單的公共衛生策略，以對抗現代螢幕生活所導致的健康衰退。

The study concludes that taking a five-minute walking break every hour is a practical and effective way to reduce the negative effects of sitting for too long.

研究結論指出，每小時進行五分鐘的步行休息，是一種實用且有效降低久坐負面影響的方法。