Back in the day, when I was young and living from hand-to-mouth in Cambridge during the summers between my years at college, I would sometimes see flyers advertising research subject openings posted on Harvard bulletin boards or even on telephone poles.  A subject might receive $10 for an hour or two of time spent answering a questionnaire or some similar activity, but that $10 would buy a monthly T pass, so I said to myself, Why not try this, and I did.

Now years later, working at UMass, I often see flyers recruiting subjects for research studies posted on public bulletin boards in my building (I work near the Grad Research Tower).  Most of these I ignore, because they involve drug trials or other invasive procedures.  But one day last fall, I saw a study advertised which seemed quite innocuous, and I met the qualifications (which is often not the case), so I inquired and was quickly accepted as a subject.

Here’s a description of the study:

Researchers in the Physical Activity and Health Lab at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst are doing a study that seeks to understand how we spend our time each day.  We will test out a survey to measure where, why, and how we spend our time each day.  This survey will help researchers find ways to decrease sitting time, and help them to get a better idea of how sitting may affect health.

On Friday, Oct 14th, I began wearing a leg monitor and a hip monitor, both of which were programmed to collect data on physical activity and movement.  During the next seven days, I wore the leg monitor 24 hours a day except when I showered, and the hip monitor during the hours I was awake and except for when I showered.  I also had to speak with an interviewer on three randomly-chosen occasions, at which times I had to recall how I had spent the previous day.  Prior to starting the week and after the 7 days were over, I answered some questionnaires about my daily activities during the work week and on weekends.

Three months went by, and I was scheduled for Part Two, which has been basically a repeat of the seven day activity monitoring and recall procedures.  So last Wednesday, January 25th, I started wearing the two monitors and continued this through the seventh day, which is today.  Tomorrow I’ll return the equipment and again answer the activity questionnaires, at which point my participation is over.

I’d like to be able to report on the study conclusions, but the researchers I worked with told me that the study will continue for years.  You can read more about the study here on the Department of Kinesiology website; the department is part of the UMass School of Public Health and Health Sciences.

And by the way, I spend most of my time sitting.