Get Up And Move
And yet another group of studies that indicate it is BAD to sit on our butts and stare at our monitors for long periods.
We have been preaching for years of the necessity to get up and move around at least every 35-45 minutes so that you body does not get too stressed from an ergonomic perspective. Turns out that you should be moving at least every 30 minutes to help your brain relax. According to this article from our friends at Forbes.com.
Here are a few excerpts – check out the whole article at:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2012/06/18/eight-ways-goofing-off-can-make-you-more-productive/
A growing body of research suggests that the longer you keep your rear end in your chair and your eyes glued to your screen, the less productive your may be. Getting up from your desk and moving not only heightens your powers of concentration, it enhances your health.
A story in the New York Times quoted two sources who have studied productivity. John P. Trougakos, an assistant management professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough and the Rotman School of Management describes how concentrating on one task is like using one muscle for an extended period. The mind needs a break, to rest and recover before it can exert again. Among other things, Trougakos recommends that workers take serious lunch breaks, to recharge with food and a change of scene.
James A. Levine, a professor at the Mayo Clinic, agrees that we don’t take enough breaks. Sedentary work habits are as dangerous as a sedentary lifestyle at home. Levine likes the idea of your standing or even walking while you’re working, including during meetings. If you feel sleepy during the day, you should be allowed to take a nap, he says.
Levine suggests that you work in concentrated 15-minute periods, divided up by breaks. “The thought process is not designed to be continuous,” he tells the Times. He points out that efficient, productive work is much more valuable than long hours of wasted or partially productive time.
Many of us feel we shouldn’t waste time chatting with co-workers during the work day. But my colleague Andy Greenburg has written about research showing that talking with colleagues can increase your productivity. Specifically, a team of MIT researchers led by Professor Alexander “Sandy” Pentland discovered that call center workers who took the time to converse with their co-workers, instead of just grinding away, got through calls faster, felt less tension and earned the same approval ratings as their peers who didn’t schmooze at the office.
Finally, there is the increasing evidence for the importance of physically moving around during the day, and how it enhances productivity. My colleague Alison Griswold just wrote about Jack Groppel, a co-founder of a division of Johnson & Johnson called the Human Performance Institute. Groppel, who holds a Ph.D. in exercise physiology from Florida State University, insists that stretching and walking around once every 30 minutes throughout the day stimulates blood flow and leads to a burst of hyper oxygenation in the brain, increasing energy and attentiveness.
8 Ideas to relieve brain stress
- Take a walk around the block.
- Take a nap.
- Chat with a colleague.
- 4. Run an errand
- Brush your teeth.
- Spend ten minutes checking Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites.
- Go to the gym
- Go out to lunch
My favorite would be the Take a Nap, I vow now to work this into my work days J
What is your favorite?
To Your Increased Productivity and Success
Matthew Brooks