Working From Home? Increase Productivity & Decrease Stress by Running

In the past few weeks, King County has been over-run by the novel-coronavirus as more than 13,000 cases have been confirmed in the state. This has led to the closure of many local companies and schools. Notably, both Amazon and Microsoft have encouraged their employees to stay home until at least the end of the month. Due to these closures, many employees have been working from home without much social interaction or physical activity.

As commonly known, a sedentary lifestyle can be quite harmful for the human body. The Mayo Clinic cites that sitting in front of a computer for extended periods is linked to increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, body fat around the waist, abnormal cholesterol and obesity. Not only that but an analysis of 13 studies of sitting time and activity levels found that those who sat for more than eight hours a day with no physical activity had a higher risk of mortality, similar to the risks posed by obesity and smoking. The good news is that 15 to 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day counteract the effects of extensive sitting.

Although most gyms around the Seattle area are closed and have been deemed unsafe to use, running is an easily accessible and effective activity for many people. Running serves as a good backbone for positive physical and mental health. Many studies by prestigious institutions such as Boston Medical and Harvard have found that running not only beneficial physically but also mentally. Some professionals even regard running as “moving meditation”. In these times of high stress and pressure in society, running can be easily used by all people. Additionally, because of the inherent nature of running, it minimizes contact with other people and potential exposure to the novel-coronavirus.

This time out of the office presents the perfect opportunity for you to start building a healthy long term habit. When developing a habit, start with small goals and move on to bigger goals, while using a reward system for motivation. Many experts believe it takes at least 21 days to build or break a habit. This does not mean that you have to run 7 days a week. Start with what feels achievable and work from there.

If you have trouble finding a good starting spot, try running one mile. If that feels good work up from there in half-mile increments. If one mile is difficult, don’t be discouraged! Try running half a mile and keep working up from there! Remember, running is all about personal discovery and personal growth; so persevere through those tough hills, and reach your aspirations :)

Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, & StayRunning.

❤️ The StayRunning Team

If you have any questions or concerns about running, please shoot one of us an email at arnav@stayrunning.org or paul@stayrunning.org and we would love to help you out!