How Walking Increases Creativity by 60%

We know that exercise is such an important part of life, but did you know that walking should be an important part of your job as well?

Walking regularly can increase your brain capacity and function. In this article, we’ll go through why you should add walking into your work schedule and just how important it is for creativity. 

The study.

A study from Stanford University was conducted that demonstrated how walking boosts creative thinking in real time and shortly after. The study found that most of the people who participanted benefited from walking compared to stationary sitting. 

Walking or rolling in a wheelchair increased creative abilities for 81 of the participants. The degree of creative input was very impressive as well. The average participant increased their creative output by 60%. 

Why does walking help?

When you move, it allows ideas to flow freely. Participants in the study were found to be more talkative compared to when sitting at their desk. When they were more chatty, their talk included creative conversations. 

This happens because walking triggers thoughts of moving from one idea to the next. Physical exercise is also directly correlated to mood enhancement through endorphin release. 

Different ways to promote walking in the office.

Now that you know the benefits, it’s time to put everything into action! You’re probably wondering how you can promote walking while remaining productive in the office. Here are some practical tips you can start putting into place today.

Walking meetings.

The first way to help promote walking is by… you guessed it! Walking! Have you ever considered adding walking meetings into the mix? This is a fun way to get active while being productive. 

Walking meetings are great for one-on-ones, yearly reviews or meetings to prep and plan for presentations, events, etc. Go grab a drink and take a walk around the block together. You’ll be surprised just how much creativity flows. 

Running/walking club.

A running or walking club is another great way to promote moving the body. You can encourage a group of coworkers to do a run or walk before work, at lunch time, or even to end the day with. 

Creating a running/walking club at your office will bond employees together, encourage people to be active while boosting creativity. Especially if the run happens before or during the working day!

Active workstations.

People are really into active workstations nowadays and they’ve been going viral on social media. These can be treadmill desks or even desks that have bicycle pedals to pedal while working. If this is a bit of an investment, start with a standing desk. This will encourage your team to get up, stretch their legs and eventually it will help them get moving more too! 

Step challenge. 

A step challenge is a great way to motivate your team to be happier, healthier versions of themselves. We’ve talked about monthly workplace challenges before and a great place to start is always a step challenge! 

Encourage the team to get 10,000 steps a day, track it and see how far everyone gets after a month. You may be surprised how enjoyable it becomes for everyone. 

Workout devices. 

On that note, a really great idea for a yearly gift or bonus for employees is a workout device. They are a great option because they can track employees walking, steps, movements and workouts. It also can remind them to get up and move if they have been sitting for too long and pokes them to take some deep breaths if their heart rates rise. 

Employers could also purchase devices in bulk, offer a subsidy to make them more affordable for employees, or feature wearables as part of a wellness program reward structure.

Workout perks. 

Finally, the last way to promote walking and exercise within your office is to offer workout perks. Many employers have a health spending account within their benefits that employees can use on wellness. This could be gym memberships, gym gear or even buying their own workout device. 

If you want to go above and beyond, you could also offer perks to employees who spend time working out or going for a walk on their lunch. There are so many workout perk options and each one really shows employees that the company cares about them and their wellbeing. 

Get Motivated with Navy & Sage Benefits

If you’re ready to get yourself and your team motivated, reach out to Navy & Sage Benefits. We can go through your current benefits package and see if there are things we can add or change to help encourage more physical movement. 

We hope this article inspired you to add more movement and walking into the workplace. And we hope that your team’s creativity sees a big boost with this new workplace addition!