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8 Ways Exercise Boosts Work Productivity

Winter blues starting to catch up with you? Summer sun has gone away, but don’t let that stop you from daily exercise. If you’re one to work out or exercise on a regular basis, you already know just how amazing it is! I’m not just talking about physical health, but it also effects your mood, emotional and mental well-being. We have plenty of experience on this topic here at NEXTFLY Indianapolis Web Design, so we want to share!

Regular exercise has been proven to reduce levels of stress, reduce levels of anxiety (like the winter blues), boost your confidence, and add hours to your sleep schedule, thus giving you a good night’s sleep. This all translates into the workplace, you will feel happy, healthy, and full of motivation. Especially working in the web design industry, sitting and staring at a computer all day doesn’t really give me time away from my desk to stand and walk.

As a Certified Personal Trainer and in the Indianapolis Web Design industry, I have come up with 8 ways that exercise boosts your productivity in the workplace to convince you just how important it is to prune your body on a regular basis, just like you would a website.

1. Mood Booster

If you ask me, happiness directly correlates with productivity. Though experts are continually doing more research, a general consensus is that both dopamine and serotonin (low levels of each) play a role in depression. Any form of exercise release these chemicals in the brain and by doing so, it boosts and improves your mood. Happy people are a lot more fun to be around, especially in the work place and in  the Indianapolis Web Design industry, where we all look at computers and code!

2. Illness Prevention

Physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyles increase the risk of hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, and a list of other illnesses. More and more studies have been popping up over the last decade that illustrate the concern of the rise of obesity linking to early deaths. It’s important to be moving. You don’t have to spend hours at the gym in order to be healthy, you just have to eat whole, nutrient dense foods and just MOVE. Moving could mean, walking, jogging, swimming, dancing, along with a whole host movement. 

Overall, regular exercise enhances your immune system. Which means fewer sick days from work.

Here at NEXTFLY Indianapolis Web Design, we try to get away from our desks two times a day to take a brisk 20 minute walk to get up and moving because we recognize the culture of our business and don’t want to let that stop us from being our best.

3. Increased Energy Levels

Exercise increase muscle strength and boosts your endurance, giving you a plethora of energy needed to think clearly and stay motivated throughout your day!

Research has also shown that regular exercise has an effect on your body’s energy production at a molecular level, giving a boost to your cellular powerhouses in your brain helping it work at it’s best capacity.

4. Mental Sharpness

According to the US National Library of Medicine, exercise produces many benefits in the brain that actually enhance cognitive function. Regular exercise stimulates a whole generation of new neurons by boosting levels of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) that helps promote a sense of clarity. 

5. Alertness and Improved Focus

When you exercise you are increasing blood flow to the brain and boosting the oxygen levels at this site, resulting in a higher level of focus and alertness. For those who work in our industry, Indianapolis Web Design, or fields of analysis, staying focused can be a challenge at times. Therefore, regular exercise or breaks throughout the day to walk, are important to keep pumping new blood to the brain.

6. Stress Management

Exercise decreases overall levels of tension. It’s thought, that even just 5 minutes of movement can stimulate anti-anxiety within the body. Why not take some time throughout your day to power walk around your building or take the stairs versus the elevator. 

7. Confidence Boost

Who doesn’t smile when they look and feel their best? I just don’t think it’s possible to hunch over and frown when you’ve achieved new goals you’ve set for yourself personally. Exercise has shown to have a huge impact on your body image and mood, thanks to endorphins! When you feel good about your body, you talk more positively, you stand a little taller and are more apt to compliment someone else when you feel good about yourself. Try complimenting your boss every once in a while. You’d be surprised on how much you can have a great impact on your company’s culture by just smiling and being optimistic. Exercise gives you that boost.

8. More Discipline

You don’t have to be the one to wake up at 4:30am every single day to have discipline. You just have to go when it fits into your schedule. That may be after work or over your lunch break if time allows. They say it takes 21 days to make a habit. Start now. Start today. You don’t have to be perfect, but consistence is key. Discipline outside the workplace starts to bleed and translate within. It’s a lot easier to take on heavier projects when you have that discipline and work hard attitude. Get moving anytime you can to reap the benefits of exercise in your workplace!