The Wall Street Journal has also been covering the health benefits of walking, notably the walk-and-talk business meeting. According to their September 13th article, “the health benefits are real for people who take walking meetings; their work gets more creative, too.”
These walking meetings are typically held with two or three people over a set route and period. Given mounting research on the health benefits of being more mobile at work, the walking meeting provides a way to integrate movement with other work activities.
There is science behind the walk-and-talk. For example, one study found that the more people engaged in moderate physical activity at work, the less likely they were to phone in sick. While standing desks have received positive attention as an alternative to sitting all day at work, walking burns more calories than just standing.
More intriguingly, a 2014 study at Stanford University found that walking increased creative output. Study participants were given a standard creativity test – to think of alternate uses for a common object. When participants were walking, they produced more original responses that no one had thought of when the group was merely sitting.
So don’t just sit there, stand up. Better yet, take a five minute walk!
Good news has been scarce in this election year. But don’t despair, movement analysts, for the benefit of movement is gaining traction in the national press!