Psychologists from Simon Fraser University have discovered that physical activity before or during the workday helps you focus better at work. Research results published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.
They also found that the benefits of physical activity were affected by the employee’s motivation to exercise and the intensity of the exercise.
“Those who were more motivated by external factors were more focused on their work after moderate physical activity such as walking. Those who were more motivated by intrinsic factors (for example, people who enjoyed exercising) benefited from intense physical activity, the scientists said.
This suggests that people with higher intrinsic motivation need more challenging exercises to improve their performance.
The study’s authors selected 74 people working in four different businesses. They worked more than 32 hours a week, interacted with their coworkers for over 20 hours, and did two or three half-hour workouts a week. All employees wore trackers to track their physical activity and also filled out questionnaires about their motivation to exercise, self-efficacy, and fatigue (reduction in self-discipline). In addition, participants’ peers rated their work focus.