Active Sitting: Vital Exercise for Business Travellers

Work productivity during travel is about more than time management. Practising active sitting helps fight mental and physical fatigue when travelling for work. Easy ways to do this while staying with Novotel include using the stairs, maintaining an exercise routine and eating well.

Despite the flexibility of the modern-day workplace, business travel still involves long periods of sitting during flights. Long-haul flights in particular take their toll physically and mentally, then you’re often holed up in meetings or in your room/lobby with your laptop. As well as leading to obesity and muscle weakness, 21st-century sedentary lifestyles can cause health issues like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. But it’s easy to up your fitness game with active sitting (also known as “dynamic sitting”): small steps towards better holistic health that will have you energised, mentally focussed and prepared to face work after travelling. 

So what does “active sitting” actually mean? The polar opposite of slumping in front of your screen, it’s a practice that keeps core muscles engaged and in motion while you’re sitting, be it on a plane or train, at a conference or in remote meetings. By making slight and subtle movements, you can strengthen your core, improve posture, boost circulation and reduce any residual aches and pains. It’s a powerful way of reducing health risks associated with sedentary, long-term desk work by reminding the body to keep moving. 
 

Ergonomic work environments designed to suit the physical and cognitive needs of their users combine furniture design and workspace layout to maximise workforce comfort, safety and efficiency. Adjustable chairs, desks that allow a neutral body posture, screens at eye level, optimal lighting, sound control and comfortable temperatures all enhance focus in the workplace.
 

You can take active sitting one step further and buy ergonomic seating that supports mobility too. Unlike conventional static work seats, wobble stools, exercise balls and saddle or kneeling chairs all require you to balance, keeping abdominal muscles active and strengthening your body as you work. The constant tiny movements needed to keep you stable also help stimulate blood flow, delivering oxygen and nutrients to the brain and improving heart function. 

Active sitting introduces continuous movement through posture variation and micro-mobility habits. Performing these easy exercises helps promote blood circulation, encourage spinal alignment, reduce stiffness during travel and improve focus while working.
 

• Neck rolls: Lower your chin to your chest and roll your head in slow circles.
• Shoulder shrugs: Raise your shoulders to your ears, hold for a few seconds then roll them down.
• Arm stretches: Pull your shoulders back and stretch your arms above your head.
• Seated spinal twists: Gently twist your upper body to one side. Repeat on the other side.
• Thigh presses: Place your palms on the outside of your knees and push your knees against them for 10 seconds.
• Leg extensions: Lift one leg parallel to the floor, hold for a moment and lower. Repeat with the other leg.
• Calf raises: Alternate raising your heels and toes off the floor while sitting.
• Ankle rotations: Rotate your ankles in both directions. 

As part of Novotel’s long-term philosophy of fostering small and practical steps towards better health, we have a collaboration with Paris 2024 Olympics gold medallist Kauli Vaast and Paris Saint-Germain football team to encourage our guests to move more and stay energised while travelling and staying at our hotels. Our meetings and events rooms make use of all the latest ergonomic designs and tech, and most of our hotels have pools and fitness centres – no matter whether you use them for an hour or just a few minutes, it’s all about building positive and easily sustainable habits.

Incorporating physical activity, eating and healthy sleep into your busy agenda means utilising hotel facilities for better health and productivity. It may sound hard to add well-being into a busy work schedule when you’re away from home, but as well as being easy to implement, these 10 habits are simple steps towards a healthier, more effective you. 

1. Use the stairs: Choose stairs over elevators between hotel floors to boost your heart rate.

2. Maintain an exercise routine: Practise a short in-room travel routine of breathing exercises, squats and stretches immediately upon waking to steady your circadian rhythm and promote brain power.

3. Walk to work: If your meeting/conference/interview isn’t at your hotel, walk to the venue to up your daily step count instead of taking a taxi.  

4. Hold breakout meetings outside: Replace coffee breaks with informal discussions while walking around the hotel grounds to increase physical activity.

5. Utilise gyms and fitness centres: Many hotels have 24-hour fitness facilities so you can schedule exercise around your work diary.

6. Swim between meetings: Use the hotel pool for a quick cardio session to loosen cramped muscles.

7. Exercise during downtime: Ask reception staff about local running routes or bike trails so you can stick to your normal exercise regime and top up those “feel-good” endorphins.

8. Eat well: Ditch calorie-laden stodgy food and stick to light, healthy and plant-based buffet meals to boost supercharge brain health.

9. Combine work with leisure: Maintain your work-life balance by combining work with leisure. For example, stay in a city-centre hotel like Novotel Paris Centre Tour Eiffel, and fit in a quick sightseeing trip to the Eiffel Tower after work.

10. Sleep soundly: Turn the thermostat in your room to 18°C (65°F); this is the ideal temperature for undisturbed slumber. 

Now you’re on board with how active sitting boosts mental clarity and mitigating physical stresses, perhaps you’d appreciate some long-haul flight tips or care to lighten your workload by practising 3digital minimalism? Wherever you travel in the world, Novotel is with you every step of the way.

Factor in exercise breaks like small movements, walking and stretching on the plane. At your hotel, make use of the pool, gym or fitness centre, walk in the grounds or do exercises in your room. Hydration is also key to reducing sedentary impacts and combatting jet lag.

If your work schedule doesn’t allow time for group fitness activities or sessions in the hotel pool or gym, incorporate a few stretching exercises into breakouts between meetings or go for a quick stroll outside.

Your posture has a two-fold bearing on productivity in meetings: it influences how you are perceived by other attendees, and it affects your cognitive performance. The golden rule? Sit tall for improved energy levels, focus and breathing. Avoid slouching at all costs!