New research published in the journal Healthcare has shown that a program encouraging just 15 minutes of physical activity per day at work was effective for improving health and wellness among employees.
The retrospective cohort analysis evaluated real-world data from over 11,000 employees from 73 companies who participated in the program. The program, called the 15 Minute Challenge, encouraged participants to complete 15 minutes of physical activity every day for six weeks. The program used gamification to promote engagement and tracked cumulative exercise and rankings. Participants self-reported their fitness, energy, overall health, sleep quality, and mood before and after the program. Additionally, their adherence, engagement rates, and satisfaction with the program were tracked. The study sought to determine how effective the gamified exercise program was in a work environment for promoting health and other aspects of wellbeing.
The results showed that the program substantially increased participants’ daily physical activity, with an increase of an average of 12 minutes per day from the start of the program to the end. Participants also reported that they had better fitness, energy levels, overall health, sleep quality, and mood at the end of the study comparted to the beginning.
The authors of the study noted that regular daily exercise can lead to substantial improvements in physical and mental health. It can also help prevent chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and more. However, most people in the U.S. do not meet the recommended levels of physical activity per week, leading to higher rates of chronic diseases and poorer overall health. Most adults spend a large portion of their day at work, and many people are too tired after work to participate in physical activity. Promoting physical activity during work is a promising avenue for increasing daily exercise to increase health and wellbeing.
Sources: Healthcare, Science Daily