If you're looking for a practical solution to increase your physical activity, boost performance and improve general wellbeing in the workplace, working from a bike may be the answer.
A team of researchers at Laval University (Quebec, Canada) have found that work meetings conducted on bikes, referred to as ‘active meetings’, had significant health benefits for their study participants.
The method was simple: a group of participants were instructed to undertake a typical work meeting whilst pedaling at low to moderate intensity on stationary bikes. Following the meeting, the researchers measured not only the physical health of each participant but also various aspects of their mental wellbeing.
The study, now published in the journal Applied Ergonomics, found that participants’ heart rate was significantly increased during the meetings. Moreover, they had increased focus and attention.
The research offers a practical solution to the prolonged sitting associated with the majority of work environments, one that doesn’t take up extra work time or compromise work performance. Active meetings are also a great solution for employees who cannot cycle to work due to large commute distances.
Perhaps the biggest win is that active meetings may actually increase our work performance during the day. In additional to the positive results collected during the meeting, the researchers also found that participants had reduced fatigue and stress for several hours after the meeting.
Who’d have thought that a quick pedal could help keep our hearts and brains active during the 9-5?