12-Week Wearable-Monitored Workplace Exercise Program for Office Workers

This study aims to investigate the effects of a 12-week wearable-monitored workplace exercise program on physical performance, brain activity, and biological markers in office workers. Prolonged sitting is common among office workers and may negatively affect physical health and well-being. This study will examine whether incorporating regular, technology-assisted exercise breaks into the workday can improve physical performance and produce measurable changes in brain activity and proteins found in blood and sweat. A total of 78 Thai office workers aged 20-59 years will participate in this study. Participants will be classified according to their habitual physical activity levels into active and sedentary office workers. The 26 active office workers will continue their usual physical activity habits and serve as an active control group. The 52 sedentary office workers will be randomly allocated into two groups: a self-monitoring control group (26 participants) and an experimental group (26 participants). The self-monitoring control group will receive educational information about the health benefits of reducing prolonged sitting and will use a logbook to monitor their sitting behaviors while maintaining their usual daily routines. The experimental group will participate in a 12-week wearable-monitored workplace exercise program using an intelligent wearable device and a gamified smartphone application. The system provides exercise prompts, real-time feedback, and personalized guidance to encourage participants to perform short exercise sessions during their workday, with a target of at least 150 minutes of exercise per week. All participants will undergo assessments before and after the intervention. These assessments will evaluate physical performance, muscle strength, movement characteristics, cortical excitability and inhibition using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and biological markers obtained from blood and sweat samples. Additional assessments will include body composition, physical activity levels, musculoskeletal discomfort, and the usability and acceptability of the exercise system. The study will compare changes in these measurements among the three groups to determine the effects of the wearable-monitored workplace exercise program and explore its potential benefits for improving physical performance, neurological function, and exercise-related biological responses in office workers.

Inclusion Criteria: * Male or female Thai adults aged 20 to 59 years. * Employed full-time (\>35 hours/week or ≥4 days/week) in desk-based roles, defined as sitting for ≥50% of working hours. Exclusion Criteria: * Severe physical abnormalities, such as muscle weakness, limited joint mobility, or numbness, that may affect data collection. * History of vestibular system disorders, such as Meniere's disease or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). * History of neurological disorders, such as ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. * History of lower extremity surgery, such as hip replacement. * Inability to read and complete questionnaires or undergo the required testing, including inability to follow standard testing procedures and instructions. * Severe visual or hearing impairments that prevent participants from following standard testing procedures or instructions. * Anticipated extended absence (\>2 weeks) or relocation during the 12-week intervention period. * Contraindications to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), including: Metallic implants, stents, or pacemakers in any part of the body. History of epilepsy or seizure disorders. History of unexplained fainting. History of traumatic brain injury or previous brain trauma. \- Contraindications to sauna bathing, including: Cardiovascular conditions, such as myocardial ischemia, congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, uncontrolled hypertension (systolic blood pressure \>160 mmHg), or resting tachycardia (\>100 beats/minute). History of dermatological conditions, such as psoriasis. History of unexplained chest pain. Pregnancy.