Encouraging employees to incorporate walking into their day may be one of the greatest things you can do for them—and your company.
According to the American Heart Association, walking decreases the risk of heart attacks and strokes, lowers blood pressure, and reduces cholesterol. Healthy employees take fewer sick days and require less time off for doctor visits. They may even help lower group insurance rates. There are many reasons that walking is good for your employees!
Walking improves happiness
In a study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, researchers observed the difference in mood, energy, fatigue, appetite, stress and cognitive function between workers who were sedentary for six hours at a time and those who took walking breaks.
While stress levels and cognitive function didn’t change significantly between groups, the study found that when the workers walked during the workday, either in frequent short breaks or a longer walk before work, they reported increased happiness than they felt during their sedentary sessions.
Movement throughout the day decreases fatigue
In the same study, the volunteers reported more energy and less food cravings with daily activity rather than six hours of sedentary work.
In the same vein, walking increases body circulation, which is naturally energizing and can lead to more improvements in health and wellness. Making the beneficial choice to take part in physical activity leads to making other positive choices and forming new habits. That means when you choose to be healthier by being more active, you’re more likely to choose not to overindulge at meals or with snacks and to work on healthier sleep routines.
Getting outside helps the mind rest and recover
Connecting with nature has many amazing benefits for the body, but the simplest is that it helps the mind to disconnect from its standard process during the workday and become reinvigorated by the experience of just being outdoors.
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