Tracking your sitting helps you sit less
Across 19 trials, programs that had people track their sitting, especially with a device, cut sitting time in the short term.
Programs that had people track how much they sat cut their sitting time, at least in the short term.
The study
Sitting often happens without much notice, so the researchers looked at whether tracking it helps. This meta-analysis combined 19 randomized trials of approaches in adults that used self-monitoring to reduce sitting. These approaches significantly reduced total sitting time in the short term, and time spent sitting at work as well. The effect held when people tracked with a device rather than by hand, and the authors note it isn't yet clear how much came from the tracking itself.
Starting small
Noticing comes before changing. A watch or phone that logs sitting time, or a reminder to stand once an hour, can make long stretches of sitting easier to spot and break up.