Why keeping fit & healthy is so important
Keeping fit is an incredibly important aspect of our lives. Whether you walk, run, play sports or head to the gym, humans need this physical activity to get their heart rate up and keep us sane.
We live in a time where 81% of us are sitting at our desks between the hours of 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday. This amount of sitting time might not seem like a big deal, however, it’s proven to have significant negative health effects, so we’ve put this blog post together to help inspire you and your team to get up and get out! Increase your heart rate and keep fit, having a positive effect of both mental and physical activity.
Running
To kick things off, we wanted to start with the most commonly used activity, running. Running is a fantastic, realistic way to get out of the office, most of us can do it and it’s practically free!
For example, a study of 55,000 people by Iowa State University found that running for just 17 minutes three times a week, dramatically reduced your chances of a fatal heart attack or stroke by 55%!
Running is also proven to help stimulate the brain, if you have a difficult task approaching or even a meeting, get out there and go for a quick 30 minute run! Just 30 minutes of running is proven to optimise cognitive performance immediately afterwards. Just in time for that task or meeting! 
As a business owner, you can encourage your team to take part in local running events, incentivise running and even setup a company running team that takes part in frequent running events! Consider going that extra mile and order some branded running jerseys for you and your team, that way, you get the best of both worlds, advertising and physical activity.
Gym
Ah, the gym. You knew that was going to be in this list, it had to be, after all, 2.4% of the world’s population goes to the gym, which equates to about 184.59 million!
Going to the gym for 30 minutes, five times a week is enough to help manage your weight, which is very important when you sit at a desk for over 40 hours a week.
Similar to running, going to the gym also has impressive cognitive benefits that’ll improve your memory, reduce anxiety and depression and massively reduce your risk of cognitive decline, including dementia.
Encourage the people in your team to attend the gym is a fantastic idea. Consider creating a WhatsApp group chat with everyone and start sharing your daily sessions and weekly progress.
Here at ZENTA Digital we even placed a team bet on those that are wanting to attend the gym. £50 and you must go 5 days a week without fail, if you miss a session, your money gets shared between all the existing participants, this is a guaranteed method to get people motivated to get down to the gym (Even in the winter!).
Healthy eating
Healthy eating is important for us all, no matter what type of job you’re working or industry. Healthy eating has an incredible amount of benefits, both internally and externally. Encouraging yourself and your team to take part in healthy eating can improve areas inside and outside of the office.
Did you know that eating a healthy died rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy can help reduce your risk of heart disease by maintaining blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Alongside this huge benefit, similar to all the other healthy routines, healthy eating massively contributes towards a more productive cognitive ability, this is because fruit and vegetables contain what’s known as a Flavonoids, which have a positive effect on brain cells associated with memory and neuronal function.
Water, as we know it is incredibly important for us. Overall, 60% of our body is made up from water and studies have shown that even mild dehydration can impair many aspects of the brains regular function.
Scientists recommend that men should be drinking around 3.7 litres of water a day and around 2.7 litres of water for women. Alongside this, scientists advice humans to have a variety of 5 fruit & vegetable every single day.
Overall, introducing healthy office snacks like a fruit bowl and drinkable, fresh water is a great way to encourage your team to live a more healthy lifestyle when it comes to food and drink.
Organised medical visit
Our favourite from the list is organising frequent medical visits for your team. Inviting a doctor or nurse (medical professional) into the office once every three to six months is a great way for your team to privately discuss any issues they might be experiencing with a professional that can provide previsional guidance/support.
Did you know that 26% of people are unable to get a doctors appointment around work hours and in 2022 a study found that 55% of men said they don’t get regular health screenings.
These are scary statistics, which is why inviting a doctor or nurse into the office would likely encourage your team to take action on any issues they have. Minimising sick days and potentially saving lives!
Flexible working environments
Flexible working is something we feel so strongly about. Since the world went into lockdown back in 2019-20, we saw a surprising increase in productivity. This gave us all the reasons to encourage our team to work from home as much as they’d like, coming into the office just 3 days a week.
Not only can this improve your teams productivity, but it will also mean your employees are pocketing more of their earnings due to minimised travel expenses.
Not everyone likes working from home though, which is why we offer flexible working rather than “working from home” as the decision is put in the employees hands.
If possible, try introducing a one month remote working opportunity for every employee. This is where one team member, every month, can purchase a plane ticket and work anywhere in the world!
This works like a treat, and we’ve already started implementing it here at ZENTA Digital. It’s surprising how much the sun effects our daily attitude!
Conclusion
Here at ZENTA Digital, we’re all about improving the success of the businesses we deal with. So, If you are interested in learning more about marketing, web design, or improving your business’s culture – Enter your contact details into the form below and we’ll be in touch with how we can help you and your business TODAY!
