World Mental Health Day: October 10

Ahead of World Mental Health Day, ASICS has enlisted actor Brian Cox to deliver a warning to the world to get away from their desks and move for their mental health in a powerful Public Service Announcement (PSA).

ASICS’ global State of Mind study, involving 26,000 participants, including a nationally representative sample size from Australia, revealed a strong connection between sedentary behaviour and mental wellbeing with State of Mind scores declining the longer individuals remain inactive(1) (Australians who are sedentary for 10 to 12 hours a day reported a significantly lower State of Mind score of 45/100 versus those who were sedentary for only 4 to 6 hours a day 63/100). Further research into desk-based working found that after just two hours of continuous desk work State of Mind scores begin to drop and stress levels rise(2). After four hours of uninterrupted desk time, workers’ stress levels increased significantly by 18%. However, a new Desk Break experiment(3) shows that just 15 minutes of movement can help to reverse the effects.

The Desk Break experiment, overseen by Dr Brendon Stubbs from King’s College London, found that when office workers added just 15 minutes of movement into their working day, their mental state improved by 22.5% with participants’ overall State of Mind scores increasing from 62/100 to 76/100. The experiment showed that taking a daily Desk Break for just one week lowered stress levels by 14.7%, boosted productivity by 33.2% and improved focus by 28.6%. Participants reported feeling 33.3% more relaxed and 28.6% more calm and resilient. 79.2% of participants said they would be more loyal to their employers if offered regular movement breaks.

In the PSA, Brian Cox plays the role of the world’s scariest boss to highlight the silent threat to our mental health—the desk we work at every day. The PSA calls on office workers to reject so-called wellbeing perks, such as free fruit and “Wellness Wednesdays.“ Instead, the PSA calls on office workers to put their mental health first by taking a Desk Break, a short movement break, during work hours.

To find out more about the Desk Break, visit asics.com/deskbreak.

*Employees are advised to check with their employer first before taking a Desk Break.

1. The 2024 State of Mind Study was conducted between 17 November – 21 December 2023 and explored the relationship between exercise and State of Mind across the world. Over 26,000 people were surveyed across 22 markets including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, UAE, the UK and the US. Each market sample was nationally representative of age and gender.
2. Global research was conducted in September 2024 to further explore the impact of daily and continuous desk work on our State of Mind. Over 7,000 desk-based workers were surveyed across US, UK, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany and Brazil. Each market sample was nationally representative of age and gender.
3. The ASICS Desk Break Experiment ran from 15^th to 26^th July 2024, led by Dr Brendon Stubbs of King’s College London & University of Vienna. The experiment studied 80 desk-based office workers from Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, USA and the UAE. All passed health screening questionnaires and completed consent forms before taking part.