Over a lifetime, people spend more than 3,500 days at work on average. Most individuals do not equate exercise with employment, unless they work in the fitness sector, have access to an in-house gym, or do manual labor as a substantial part of their day.
Many people nowadays lead sedentary lifestyles, taking public transportation or driving to work and then spending the most of their working day sitting, with the exception of the occasional toilet or coffee break.
However, there are numerous reasons why more activity should be included into the working day, as it can improve both work performance and personal wellness. Even if you can’t think of any exercises to do while sitting, look for ways to stand and move out of your chair more frequently.
Let’s have a look at the top ten advantages of working out:
It helps to manage chronic stress
Work can be stressful and is likely to contribute significantly to personal stress. It doesn’t matter what kind of employment you perform; you’re bound to be stressed out about something at some point. Acute stress is often regarded as beneficial; it aids in the improvement of attention and concentration.
Chronic stress, on the other hand, is harmful, and when based on severe, protracted stress and environmental demands, it can be difficult to control. Workplace stress can have both emotional and physical consequences. You may be stressed as a result of severe workloads, unpleasant working conditions, or conflicts with coworkers.
You may not even be stressed about work; you may be stressed about something going on at home or on your commute to and from work, but you bring that into work with you. So, how does exercise assist you deal with stress?
Exercise reduces stress by controlling cortisol production. Following exercise, stress hormones decrease and stress and anxiety disappear, leaving you in a more calm state for the rest of the day. However, it is more than simply a brief distraction from our issues; there are long-term benefits as well, such as increasing our physiological resistance to stress and making us more robust. It is one of the reasons why doctors and health professionals urge increasing physical activity to reduce stress and stress-related symptoms.
Better performance and productivity
Exercise leads to increased performance and productivity throughout the day. Many individuals tell themselves that they will go for a run or go to the gym after work, but when it comes time to go home, they are so exhausted by all that has transpired that day that all they want to do is curl up and watch TV. Even if they haven’t had a particularly stressful day, the fact that they have spent most of the day sitting can leave them feeling unmotivated to go to the gym.
Exercising before work and moving around during the day might help with things like attention and concentration, alertness and energy, decision-making, and multitasking. Aerobic and resistance exercise are both good. The primary reason for this is that exercise promotes cerebral blood flow, or blood flow to the brain, which improves performance.
Increased and sustained energy throughout the day is one of the advantages of working out during the day.
Less sedentary time
Exercising at work will reduce inactive time. Have you ever heard the phrase “sitting is the new smoking”?
It is sufficient to take regular breaks from sitting. Setting a timer and getting up and walking for a few minutes every 20–30 minutes can be an excellent approach to begin reaping the advantages. Of course, completing sitting exercises might help you stay active when sitting.
Less abstention
Stress, acute medical illnesses, mental illness, musculoskeletal injuries, and back pain are the most common reasons for long-term absences. Unsurprisingly, absence rates for workers grow dramatically during the peak and flu seasons each year. Workplace exercise may result in healthier, increased immunity, which may result in fewer sick days.
Get better sleep
The majority of people complain about not obtaining enough good nights’ sleep. Of course, this could be due to a variety of factors, including excessive coffee consumption and viewing television too close to bedtime. Physical activity throughout the day, on the other hand, improves sleep quality at night.
Better mental health and mood
Exercise is extremely beneficial to one’s physical health; decades of research has proven it as one of the best methods to reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other disorders such as dementia – but that’s not all. Workplace exercise can boost your mental health and mood, which can benefit everything from your productivity to your personal life. It aids in the production of feel-good hormones like as serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins.
Workplace exercise may be difficult to incorporate, but it will undoubtedly improve the working day tenfold. Employees will feel more prepared to confront whatever comes their way, with more creativity, more problem-solving options, and enhanced productivity. They will also likely be in a better mood during the day, safeguard their immune systems and mental health, and get a better night’s sleep, all of which will have an impact on their professional lives in some way.