Sweat is not only your body’s way of cooling down, is the consequence of the one of the best strategies to improve performance in the job: Exercise!
The relationship between physical fitness and cognitive functions such as focus and creativity at work has been a subject of increasing interest. Various studies have explored how different forms of physical and mental exercises can enhance these cognitive abilities, thereby improving work productivity and creative output. These studies suggest that physical exercise can enhance workplace creativity, though the effects may vary based on exercise intensity, individual differences, and other environmental factors.
Exercise improves cognition by inducing long-term changes in the hippocampus: (increasing volume and rate of neural formation), is associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety because of the release of endorphins and endocannabinoids which can last for some time after exercising and promotes the oxygenation of the brain. Ey another thing: when you make pause and exercise you will return to the work with more awareness and focus, yes?
Here some pieces of the puzzle:
- Meditation significantly improves creative performance and emotional regulation compared to relaxation training; 1
- Physical Exercise enhances creativity thinking independently of mood improvements; 2
- Aerobic fitness improves cognitive functions, including attention and information processing, which can enhance task performance and creativity; 3
- Attention-broadening training programs, particularly in team sports, significantly improve creative performance, especially in complex tasks; 4
- Exercise self-control can increase creativity by improving promotion focus, which mediates the relationship between self-control and creative performance; 5
- There is a significant relationship between concentration levels, physical fitness, and work productivity, indication that better concentration and fitness lead to higher productivity; 6
- Designing workdays to alternate between cognitively challenging tasks and “mindless” work can help overworked professionals enhance their creativity. 7
So, now you just need to make the puzzle and its easy:
- Choose a variety of physical activities: strength training, cardio, flexibility, mobility, mind and body, speed, team sports, individual sports, water sports, etc;
- Start doing first the one’s that you love and make you smile more;
- If you need help search a professional for the best prescription;
- Consult your doctor to know if you can start good!
Meditation, physical exercise, and attention-broadening activities improve creative and focus performance and others cognitive functions. Additionally, a supportive work environment and strategic workday design can further enhance creativity and reduce job stress, leading to improved job performance and productivity.
We are designed to move so, move to a happy world!
By: Marco Moutinho, Sports Director at Jerónimo Martins
1 https://behavioralandbrainfunctions.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1744-9081-10-9
2 https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/31/3/240
3 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cphy.c110063
4 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10400410701397420
5 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1871187114000340?via%3Dihub
