It’s pretty evident that obesity is a major issue in this country. Few Americans get enough daily exercise, and those bad habits are being passed on to our children. There’s a wealth of research that shows an inactive, unhealthy lifestyle is “affecting our health, causing heart disease, diabetes, and other untold health consequences”. New information from OnlineCollegeCourses.com, however, raises another question–what if the effects aren’t just physical?
It’s clear that exercise has great benefits for how our body works, but it also has a positive impact on how our brains work, too. “It’s clearly important for the kids, who need all the brain power they can get for school, but it’s equally important for adults: A fit worker is a fast, efficient worker.”
Here are the facts, “only one in four children get 30 minutes of daily exercise, and by the time they’re teenagers, only 12% are getting their daily recommended amount of physical activity.” Exercise gives us a brain boost, and “in studies of students, vigorous exercise was shown to improve IQ and test scores by 3.8 points.”
This applies to adults too. Exercise improves memory and spacial recognition, and “an employee who exercises regularly is 15% more efficient”. For instance, if one of your employees wants to take a longer lunch break to go to the gym, it’d be in your best interest to let them. You’re likely to get more productivity out of them in the afternoon to make up for the lost time.
(HT: FC)