"The Time for a break?" campaign encourages university students and teachers to reduce sitting
This year, the Finnish Student Sports Federation OLL’s annual #BeActive weeks 22.9–3.10 aim to get people to pay attention to taking breaks from sitting while studying. Moving your body while studying improves the ability to study, but students still sit 10.5 hours per day.
Studies show that physical activity has increased among students, but there is no reduction in their amount of daily sitting (THL 2024). Most of the sitting happens while studying, and it impairs learning and makes studying feel less meaningful. This is the problem that the Time for a break? campaign aims to address.
“Taking breaks from sitting during lectures is simple in principle, but in practice there are a surprising number of norms, habits and emotions at play. That’s why breaks don’t happen automatically – the topic needs to be brought up and shared methods and tools need to be found,” explains OLL President Akseli Haanpää as background to the campaign.
“Refreshed brains and supple limbs are needed during both in-person and remote lectures. Methods aren’t hard to find when students and teachers together decide to improve the ability to study and the meaningfulness of studying through movement,” says Haanpää.
During its theme weeks, OLL will publish tips and tools for taking breaks from sitting and for active studying and teaching. Students and teachers can also share their own tips and wishes through the campaign.
On Tuesday 30.9 at 2 pm–4 pm OLL is also organising a discussion on reducing sitting in students’ daily lives. The event will be streamed live.
“Apart from reduced sitting, there are many ways to improve the ability to study. But we do believe that highlighting sitting will also accelerate the general debate on movement and the ability to study in the university world,” says President Haanpää.
The second annual #BeActive theme weeks are OLL’s contribution to both the European Week of Sport, launched by the European Commission, and the For better working ability campaign, organised by Studies on the Move and its partners. The events organised during the European Week of Sport are partly funded through the Erasmus+ programme.
For more information: Head of Communications Niko Peltokangas, 046 9211 215, niko.peltokangas@oll.fi
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Page last updated 23.9.2025