You may want to
increase your movement at work as a recent study has found a positive link
between mood, motivation and physical activity during work and study.
Researcher June J.
Pilcher studied the cognitive effects of physical activity workstations and
traditional desks on Clemson student volunteers. The results of the study
suggest the inclusion of light physical activity during work or study has
positive effects without detracting from work or study effectiveness.
According to Pilcher,
working in sedentary environments might not be harmful in the short term, but
this type of behavior is related to long-term chronic disease and physical
frailty.
"We hurt
ourselves by working in conditions that encourage sedentary activity,"
Pilcher said, "but incorporating physical activity in a practical way in
the workplace may actually improve physical and mental health without
detracting from our ability to work or study effectively."
Pilcher first looked
into treadmill workstations, but their cost, size and physical demands on the
user detracted from their practical use in research or use in an office, school
setting or home. She instead settled on the FitDesk Bike, an ergonomic,
stationary bike and laptop workstation used in business and higher education.
The study compared
the performance of 38 students working at traditional desks and the FitDesks.
Participants completed a logical reasoning task and a pattern recognition task
and then completed surveys at each desk condition.
Pilcher was happy to
find that complex cognitive performance was similar and stable when using the
FitDesk and the traditional desk. This suggests no drawback to the use of light
physical movement while at work or study. In addition, the study found that
positive effect, motivation and morale increased when using the FitDesk, but
not the traditional desk.
"Those findings
were particularly striking to me," Pilcher said. "Improving positive
effect could mean improved problem-solving, decision-making, responsibility and
creativity, all important implications for the workplace."
The study is
published in Frontiers in Psychology.
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Source:
ANI
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