What this calculator works out
This calculator totals your sitting time across a week from workday hours, the number of workdays and other sitting during the week. It shows the weekly total, a daily average, and what share of waking hours that represents.
The share figure is the one that tends to surprise people. Sitting is largely invisible because it is distributed across the day in ordinary activities.
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Before you total it up
- Include everything: desk work, commuting, meals, television, reading and time on a phone or tablet.
- Workday hours means sitting during the working day, not the length of the working day.
- Other weekly hours covers evenings and weekends.
- The share of waking hours assumes 16 waking hours a day.
Long periods of sitting are associated with health risks that are not fully offset by meeting activity guidelines. Someone who exercises regularly and also sits for ten hours a day carries some of the risk associated with prolonged sitting. Breaking up sitting matters independently of how much exercise you do.
How this calculator works
A weekly total, then two derived figures:
Weekly sitting = (hours per workday × workdays) + other weekly hours
Daily average = weekly ÷ 7
Share of waking hours = daily average ÷ 16 × 100UK guidance does not set a maximum sitting time. It recommends minimising extended periods of sitting and breaking them up with light activity, which is a behavioural recommendation rather than a numerical target.
Worked example: a desk job
Using the default figures — 7 hours a workday across 5 days, plus 14 other hours:
- Weekly sitting: (7 × 5) + 14 = 49 hours
- Daily average: 7 hours
- Share of waking hours: 44%
Nearly half of waking life spent seated, from a working pattern most office workers would consider unremarkable. The practical response is not to sit less overall — that is often not available — but to break it up: standing during calls, walking to speak to someone rather than messaging, and moving for a few minutes every half hour. Frequency of breaks appears to matter more than their length.
Common mistakes
- Counting only work. Evening sitting frequently exceeds workday sitting.
- Forgetting the commute. Driving and public transport are both sitting.
- Assuming exercise cancels it out. The risks are related but not interchangeable.
- Aiming to eliminate sitting. The recommendation is to break it up, not to stop.
- Standing all day instead. Prolonged standing carries its own problems; variety is the aim.
Frequently asked questions
How much sitting is too much?
UK guidance deliberately avoids a threshold, recommending instead that adults minimise extended sedentary periods and break them up. The evidence supports a dose-response relationship rather than a cliff edge — more sitting is associated with more risk, without a specific number at which it starts.
Do standing desks help?
They reduce sitting time, which is the point, and many people find they encourage more movement generally. Prolonged standing has its own drawbacks including leg and back discomfort, so alternating between sitting and standing is better than either alone. A sit-stand desk used occasionally is common; using one all day is rarely sustainable.
How often should I break up sitting?
Research on interrupting sedentary time has typically used breaks every 30 minutes, with even a couple of minutes of light movement showing measurable effects on glucose and blood pressure responses. The frequency appears to matter more than the duration of each break.
Does fidgeting count?
Non-exercise activity thermogenesis — fidgeting, shifting position, standing up briefly — does contribute to energy expenditure and varies considerably between people. It is not a substitute for breaking up sitting with actual movement, but it is not nothing either.
Is what I enter stored?
No. Your figures are processed in your browser and never transmitted or retained.
Related tools
References
- NHS — guidance on sedentary behaviour and physical activity
- GOV.UK — UK Chief Medical Officers' guidelines on sedentary behaviour
Sources are checked at publication and can change — how I choose and check references.