Gym in the office: what psychological and healthy advantages does it have?

Physical activity not only helps to bring a greater flow of blood and oxygen to the brain, which is crucial for its optimal functioning.

But, in addition, there is research that shows that sport is associated with a greater number of NK cells; lymphocytes that are part of the immune system and that defend the body not only from virus invasion and bacteria, but also attack and prevent the proliferation of cancer cells before the appearance of a tumor.

Also, there is increasing evidence showing that go for a run notably helps fight depression.

The advantages of having a gym in the office

Sustained aerobic effort for a time greater than 15 or 20 minutes a day blocks the appearance of negative thoughts, and allows us to increase the capacity to enjoy the little things.

The opposite is a condition known as anhedonia, whose patients have a pathological difficulty to experience pleasure. This symptom, along with hopelessness and sadness, are the most frequent signs of depression.

Having reached this point, it is necessary to dismantle an old myth that is widespread among people who

says we only use 10% of our brain potential. That is false, we use 100%. What is true is that we do not use everything at the same time.

Most of the tasks that the average clerical clerk performs in the office have to do with with organizing, planning, negotiating with other people, solving problems and taking decisions. For this we use the prefrontal areas of the brain, which are located above the eyes and behind the forehead. These areas are the ones that have the highest energy consumption of the entire brain, that is why, when we work a lot, It is normal to arrive exhausted at the end of the day, and I am not talking about a physical fatigue, but a mental burden: the feeling of having the head "burned".

Long-term focus on cognitively demanding tasks consumes most of our resources in terms of fuel or energy.

Activating our neurons

It is important to note that while we use the prefrontal cortex, neurons in the rest of the brain remain comparatively inactive. Let's remember what we said before: we never use our entire brain at the same time.

On the other hand, when we do physical activity we need to move large groups of muscles, which implies the recruitment of thousands of neurons of the premotor and motor areas of the brain, and the inhibition of the prefrontal areas, in what could be defined as a true dynamic of mental economy.

Research shows that a break during work hours to do some work Physical activity, such as walking on the treadmill, helps the thinking part of the brain to revitalize.

It is a phenomenon similar to the one that occurs during sleep, where the brain restarts and makes a set-up so that we can continue with our life the next day. Of course, not all companies have or can incorporate a gym in their facilities, but fortunately it is not necessary either. It is enough to introduce towards the middle of the day a period of aerobic exercise such as brisk walking for 30 minutes.

As the brain is busy moving muscles, it allows the prefrontal areas to recover; the batteries are "charged", which then results in greater mental efficiency for the rest of the day.

Benefits also for productivity

There are still people in the organizational world who see this as a real waste of time, but it is the opposite: It is estimated that the benefit translates into around 30% more productive and quality time per working day.

There are also experiments that have shown that the aerobic activity carried out several hours after the activity Mentally improves memory and cognitive function in general, up to 48 hours after the end of the exercise.

Aerobic activity helps us not only to improve mood and balance moodBut it also seems to have the potential to improve cognitive function: It literally makes us smarter. All compelling reasons to seriously consider taking a scoop of cardio in the morning during business hours.

It serves as a prophylaxis and makes it easier for us to cope with the problems and complications that arise during the day.