Ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10, Asics enlisted actor Brian Cox to participate in a public service announcement (PSA) warning the world to leave their desks and move for their mental health.

Asics’ Global State of Mind Study, involving 26,000 participants, found a strong connection between sedentary behavior and mental well-being, with State of Mind scores declining the longer individuals remain inactive.* Further research into desk-based work found that State of Mind scores drop after two hours of continuous desk work and stress levels rise.** After four hours of uninterrupted desk work, stress levels increased by 18 percent. However, a new Desk Break experiment*** showed that 15 minutes of movement can help reverse the effects.

The Desk Break experiment, overseen by Dr. Brendon Stubbs from King’s College London, found that when office workers added 15 minutes of movement into their working day, their mental state improved by 22.5 percent, with participants’ overall State of Mind scores increasing from 62/100 to 76/100. The experiment showed that taking a daily desk break for one week lowered stress levels by 14.7 percent, boosted productivity by 33.2 percent and improved focus by 28.6 percent. Participants reported feeling 33.3 percent more relaxed and 28.6 percent more calm and resilient, with 79.2 percent responding “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 put their mental health first by taking a Desk Break, a short movement break, during work hours.

Watch the Asics Desk Break PSA here.

Actor Brian Cox said, “I’ve played some pretty intimidating characters in my time, but who would have thought a desk could be scarier? It’s great to see Asics try and do something about this and encourage people to support their mental health through exercise. As I say in the film, run, jump, roller skate. I don’t care. Just move for your mind.”

Across the world, ASICS is encouraging its office-based employees to move for their mental health by taking regular movement breaks.

Dr Stubbs said: “We have shown previously that just 15 minutes of exercise in leisure time can result in a meaningful improvement in people’s State of Mind scores. But what surprised us with the Desk Break experiment was how powerful the 15-minute movement breaks were in improving wellbeing and reducing stress. It even changed people’s perceptions of their workplace for the better.”

Tomoko Koda, managing executive officer for Asics, commented: “At Asics, we champion the power of movement, not just on the body, but also on the mind. It’s why we’re called Asics—an acronym for the Latin’ Anima Sana in Corpore Sano’ or ‘Sound Mind in a Sound Body.’ Our global study revealed that the hours spent at your desk for hours on end are having a real and scary impact on our minds. That’s why we wanted to deliver a powerful message from the world’s scariest boss to inspire people to move their minds. We hope to encourage office workers around the world to move and feel the mental benefits.”

*The 2024 State of Mind Study was conducted between November 17 and December 21, 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.

Global research was conducted in September 2024 to further explore the impact of daily and continuous desk work on Asics State of Mind report. Over 7,000 desk-based workers were surveyed across the U.S., UK, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany and Brazil. Each market sample was nationally representative of age and gender.

The ASICS Desk Break Experiment ran from July 15-26 2024, led by Dr Brendon Stubbs of King’s College London and the 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, the UK, the U.S., and the UAE. All passed health screening questionnaires and completed consent forms before taking part.

Images and video courtesy Asics