The Top 5 Benefits of Exercise for Employees Working From Home
Regular exercise is key to exceptional health and wellness. Employees currently working from home are especially at risk for poor health due to significantly more sedentary behavior. So, if you spend the majority of your day seated, it’s imperative that you include regular exercise in your daily routine.
In today’s article, we will look at 5 reasons you might want to prioritize exercise, especially if you’re currently working from home.
5 Benefits of Exercise
1) Fewer work-related injuries
Back when we used to enter offices workers spend on average 6-12 hours sitting down behind their desks, every single day. Now with the rise of WFH those hours have exponentially increased. This is extremely worrying as prolonged sitting is directly associated with various injuries, poor circulation, and cardiovascular - and respiratory problems.
Common injuries arising among office workers include:
Carpal tunnel syndrome,
Shoulder pain,
Tendonitis
Various back disorders (neck pain, sciatica, non-specific low back pain, herniated discs, disc degenerative changes, facet arthritis, and stenosis)
These injuries typically occur as a result of repetitive movements like typing or using the computer mouse, or sustained postures when sitting behind your desk in a slouched posture. The static load and repetitive movements place unnecessary additional stress on your surrounding muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints.
Fortunately, this is where exercise comes in!
Not only does exercise improve joint and bone health, but it also strengthens your muscles to support your joints and bones even more.
Have you ever heard someone say they struggle with back problems due to a weak core? Well, that’s because a strong core supports your spine and provide stability during sustained postures and movement. To add to that, stronger legs will support your hips and knees more effectively, and the same goes for your upper extremities. Strength training, like bodyweight exercises and resistance training with weights, can be very useful here.
Exercise also improves your flexibility, which is another important aspect when it comes to preventing injuries, as it encourages good posture and ergonomics. Pilates and Yoga are both excellent to improve your flexibility, core strength, and balance.
Regular exercise is, therefore, one of the most effective ways to lower your risk of injuries.
2) Improve productivity and alertness
Exercise has also shown to improve productivity, alertness, and concentration by enhancing blood flow to your brain to boost cognitive abilities. This will ultimately increase your performance at work which your team would appreciate.
Other than daily exercise, you can also introduce short micro-breaks into your working day to prevent mental exhaustion and reduce fatigue.
3) Reduce stress levels
Exercise is one of the best coping mechanisms when it comes to handling stress.
The sudden flush of endorphins can explain the famous ‘high’ after your workouts through your body. Aerobics exercise like running, spinning, or swimming can be very helpful if you’re looking for that endorphin-rush.
The release of endorphins will reduce stress and pain, while also improving your sleeping habits. No one will deny that we can all use a good nights rest!
4) Boost energy, endurance, and mood
Recent studies report employees working from home often lack energy after a long day at work and sometimes feel ‘low’ but may not always know why.
Luckily, exercise comes with an endorphin rush which not only relieves stress and pain but also boosts your mood and energy. Besides that, the release of other neurotransmitters further enhances brain activity and connections to reduce symptoms of depression.
5) Better sleep and immunity
As we’ve mentioned before, exercise encourages better sleep quality. It also temporarily increases your core temperature which then drops after 30-90 minutes which promotes sleepiness.
Further, with better sleep quality comes better functioning of biological systems like your immune system, digestion, heart function, and so on. Additionally, exercise also enhances circulation and lymphatic drainage to flush out toxins and bacteria to further lower your risk for developing colds and flu.
So there you have folks!
Now that you are aware of the numerous benefits of exercise right here at your home office and would like to learn more about getting started or finding the best sustainable exercises for you and your team inquire about our wellness program. We can help you become more productive while still looking after you mental and physical health.