Make time for movement

You’re rested and well fed. Now it’s time to work in some movement. Next to sleep, exercise is one of the most common areas to neglect, but it can have a dramatic impact on creativity and brain function. Humans are designed to move, but as developers spending our time at desks, we’re moving less. The good news is that it’s not as difficult to improve as you might think.

If there’s anything to understand about exercise, it’s that you don’t have to go all out and do an hour per day of high-intensity training to see benefits. Even a casual 15-minute walk makes a difference. Moreover, exercise provides the added bonus of mental downtime for your brain to process new information and let your subconscious take over. The benefits for your creativity, cognitive, and affective health are far-reaching. So you’ll be getting stronger, but you’ll also improve your mood and brain function.

A 2014 study found that going on a walk enhances creativity and problem-solving capabilities. A 2013 study found that exercise has immediate benefits for affect and cognition regardless of age. So instead of grabbing a cup of coffee in the afternoon, try taking a walk to wake yourself up a little. Taking 15 minutes to go on a short walk by yourself or with a co-worker can provide a good respite for your brain while simultaneously getting a little bit of exercise, and you can still talk work if you need to. Bonus points if you’re able to get out in nature for that walk as this has shown to help restore attention and our ability to focus.

Finding time to exercise can be intimidating at first, but the key is to realize that exercise has many forms, and much of it doesn’t require fancy equipment or trips to the gym. While high-intensity interval training has shown to have the most significant impact on cognitive health, there are plenty of benefits you can realize with lower-intensity workouts. Instead of thinking about making time to exercise, think about making or finding time to move. The best way to get habits to stick is to start simple, and movement is a lot less intimidating than exercise. Then, as your habit becomes more embedded in your weekly routine, the more you can push yourself a little more.

Assuming that your current routine doesn’t involve much movement, let’s talk about uncovering opportunities to do more with the time you have. For example, since everyone needs breaks at some point, commit to going on a walk instead of sitting at your desk. Alternatively, stand up and do some stretching. Or, if you have a desk that easily moves between sitting and standing, switch it to standing if you haven’t stood in a while. Park farther away. Take the stairs. Look for opportunities to maximize movement instead of minimizing it. Even if it’s just getting outside for a short walk, you’ll see benefits. If possible, try walking to work or getting out for a short walk in the morning or evening.

Alternatively, bodyweight exercises can also be great and extremely convenient. They don’t require equipment or much time, and you can often do them right at your desk. You don’t have to be dripping sweat to get your heart going. Even slightly raising your heart rate helps. Some bodyweight squats, push ups, planks, or a variety of other bodyweight exercise can be great. Even simple stretching can have benefits. We just need to find opportunities to move more than we would while sitting at our desk. Even a fitness tracker that reminds you to stand up and move around once an hour is a great way to get started. (Just don’t get in the habit of ignoring it or trying to trick it.)

Another key benefit of exercise is improved sleep. When you get sufficient exercise each day, your body is naturally more tired, and it becomes much easier to fall asleep and get the kind of deep sleep that helps your body and brain recover. Since sleep is so important for cognitive health, exercise provides the dual benefits of improving cognitive health as well as restful sleep. For this reason, a short walk or brief period of exercise an hour or so before bed can work wonders on helping you fall asleep faster and sleep deeper.

Moving is a key part of how we work. Humans were designed for movement, but for the most part, software development isn’t designed to encourage or support movement. However, with a little effort and some work building habits, it’s not difficult to work some movement into our day, and the benefits are significant.

Your next steps

1. Go on a 15-minute walk at least once a day.
2. Park farther away from the door when you drive places.
3. Take the stairs when you have the opportunity.
4. Switch between sitting and standing to avoid being in the same position all day long.
5. Exercise for 30 minutes two or three days a week (and build on that).
6. Raise your heart rate with some basic body weight exercises and stretches at your desk.
7. Make time to stretch regularly to balance out the issues of sitting in a chair all day.
8. Get a device that counts your steps and push yourself to move more.