It’s a known fact that doing regular exercises is essential for great physical health, however, knowing this alone is not enough motivation for desk jockeys (read: office workers) to get moving. Fortunately, a lot of research has shown that fitting in even a few minutes of walking or physical activity during working days can lead to a better, happier and more efficient work environment.
Exercise and Energy Boosters
Makers of energy drinks have gotten a lot of businesses from office workers who are always turning to their products for some late-afternoon pick-me-up. However, studies have shown, that short exercises—even a 5 minute walk around the office building can be a better way to combat that afternoon energy slump.
Exercise and Job Performance
A lot of office workers fear that doing a few exercises during a workday will hamper their capacity to finish their work for the day. However, a lot of research has established quite the opposite. A study conducted by researchers from the University of Bristol and from the Leeds Metropolitan University, both from England, said that people who exercise during workdays have reported improvements in their job performance, as well as in their mood for the day.
Exercise and Happiness in the Workplace
In a study conducted with Israeli workers as participants, researchers looked at the subjects’ physical activity levels, feelings of depression and job burnout rates for almost nine years. The study concluded that burnout and depression are most common to those workers who never found the time to workout during workdays. Conversely, those who were reported as the ones with the lowest incidences of the same, are the ones who get to have some form of exercise on a daily basis.
Exercise and Brain Power
Truth be told, staring into a computer screen for hours on end is not really the best way to achieve any critical mental breakthrough. It even seemed that the longer you stare, the farther you seem to be from the actual solution. Studies have shown that getting into some sort of physical activity is a great way to unleash one’s mental prowess.
In a study conducted back in 2013, researchers attempted to find out if exercise has immediate benefits on one’s cognitive ability. For this study, the research team recruited the participation of 144 people, between the ages of 19-93 years and separated them into two groups. One group is for those who did at least 15 minutes of moderately intense exercise and the other one served as the non-exercise control group who then spent roughly 15 minutes rating neutral images. The two groups were made to complete a set of memory and cognition tests prior to and after their respective assignment/tasks. When the results came in, the people in the exercise group have shown considerable improvements in mental ability versus those from the control group. This just goes to show that exercise can indeed improve one’s brain power.
Exercising expends energy and it keeps the heart pumping. Once the heart rate is increased, it delivers a fresh supply of oxygenated blood to the entire body, especially the brain. Proper oxygenation in the brain improves one’s cognition levels and performance.
