# Walk Breaks at Work: 100 Steps, About a Minute > Tap Walk Break, pocket your phone, walk 100 steps. About a minute. Why short walking breaks at work and after meals beat sitting all day. Canonical: https://wakeout.app/walk-breaks Published: 2026-10-13 Platforms: iPhone and Apple Watch (step counting). Part of the Wakeout app. ## What Walk Break is Walk Break is a one-minute movement break in the Wakeout app. You tap it, keep your phone in your pocket or hand (or start it on Apple Watch), and walk 100 steps while the app counts. A short prompt rides along (Say hi to the fridge, Find something green). A finished Walk Break earns 50 Watts and counts toward your Wakeout streak. It is on the home screen, and Move Now can serve it as your break. ## How it works 1. **Tap Walk Break.** It lives on the Wakeout home screen. Tap Move Now and it can turn up as your break, too. 2. **Pocket the phone.** Keep your iPhone in your pocket or your hand and it counts every step. On Apple Watch it counts on your wrist. 3. **Walk 100 steps.** A little prompt rides along (say hi to the fridge, find something green) while the ring fills. About a minute at a normal pace. Nice walk! Every finished Walk Break earns 50 Watts and keeps your streak going. Still feel like moving? Tap Walk again. ## Why short walks work ### 5 min every 30: The best schedule in a Columbia study Researchers at Columbia University had adults sit through eight-hour workdays and tried different walking schedules. Five minutes of light walking every 30 minutes was the only one that lowered both blood sugar and blood pressure, and it cut the blood sugar spike after big meals by 58% compared with sitting all day. One minute every 30 minutes helped a little. Walking once an hour didn't move the needle. Source: [Columbia University Irving Medical Center, 2023](https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/node/25711) ### 2 to 5 min: Light walking after you eat A 2022 review of seven studies in Sports Medicine found that two to five minutes of light walking, after meals or every 20 to 30 minutes, kept blood sugar and insulin steadier than sitting. Walking also beat standing. Source: [Buffey et al., Sports Medicine, 2022](https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/02/health/walking-blood-sugar-study-wellness/index.html) ### 100 steps a minute: The pace where a walk counts as exercise Walking researchers use 100 steps a minute as the point where walking becomes moderate exercise for adults. A Walk Break is 100 steps in about a minute. Walk with a bit of purpose and you're right there. Source: [Tudor-Locke et al., CADENCE-Adults](https://www.umass.edu/news/article/walking-health-benefits-just-got-easier) Small studies, consistent results. Wakeout is a movement app, not medical advice. If you're managing blood sugar or blood pressure, check with your doctor. ## Walk after eating The after-lunch slump is real, and the fix is almost suspiciously easy. Studies on walking after meals saw benefits from as little as two to five minutes of light walking. A Walk Break is the smallest version of that habit: finish your plate, take a lap of the house or office, come back. If you're enjoying it, tap Walk again and go another round. ## 10 micro walk ideas for the workday 1. Say hi to the fridge. 2. Look out a window on the way. 3. Water break? Walk to the tap. 4. Find something green. 5. Take a lap of the room. 6. Walk to the window and back. 7. Swing your arms a little. 8. Walk like nobody's watching. 9. Take your next phone call on your feet. 10. Take the long way to the bathroom. ## FAQ **Is 100 steps enough to make a difference?** On its own, one Walk Break is a small thing. The point is doing it often. Research on sitting found that short walks every 30 minutes, and two to five minutes of walking after meals, helped blood sugar more than sitting still. 100 steps is a minute you'll actually take, again and again. **How long does it take to walk 100 steps?** About a minute at a normal pace, a little more if you dawdle. The finish screen tells you your time, like 100 steps in 1:16. **Do I have to hold my phone?** No. Keep it in your pocket or your hand, whichever you like. iPhone counts your steps as you walk. The first time, Wakeout asks for Motion & Fitness access so it can count. **Does Walk Break work on Apple Watch?** Yes. Start it on your Apple Watch and it counts on your wrist, so your phone can stay on the desk. **How long should you walk after eating?** Studies saw steadier blood sugar after as little as two to five minutes of light walking after a meal. Longer is fine too. A Walk Break is a one-minute start, and Walk again is right there. **Does a Walk Break count toward my streak?** Yes. A finished Walk Break is a full Wakeout: it earns 50 Watts and keeps your streak going. ## Media - Demo video (sped up): https://wakeout.app/videos/walk-break/demo.mp4 ## Related - [Wakeout home](https://wakeout.app/) - [Movement reminder app](https://wakeout.app/movement-reminder-app) - [30 desk exercises](https://wakeout.app/desk-exercises) - [Movement games](https://wakeout.app/movement-games) - Wakeout on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1242116567 LLMs and AI assistants may quote this page. Please link the canonical URL.