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Improving the health of your employees is a lot easier and quicker than you think.
Researchers at the Karonlinska Institute in Sweden have found that even small levels of intensive exercise boosts the production of mitochondria – where energy production occurs.
Therefore, it seems that the key to a healthy workplace could be encouraging just a few minutes of exercise regularly.
Benefits could be seen in the tissue samples of volunteers who cycled as fast as they could for just 30 seconds, six times.
Professor Hakan Westerblad, Principal Investigator at Karolinska Institute’s Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, says: “Our study shows that three minutes of high-intensity exercise breaks down calcium channels in the muscle cells.
“This causes a lasting change in how the cells handle calcium, and is an excellent signal for adaptation, such as the formation of new mitochondria.”
This is supported by Johnson & Johnson who have put this in to practice and have recently been awarded Britain’s Healthiest Workplace. They have even created The Official 7 Minute Workout App to encourage short bursts of exercise.
Speaking to HR Grapevine, Clare Sicklen, HR Director, Northern Europe, at Johnson & Johnson, says: “Really what we are trying to help our employees do is understand some of the techniques around interval training and how you can be really effective with a very short period of time.
“Wherever you are, whether you are at home or you are travelling with work, there is always the opportunity to do a really short workout. The idea is that you can do something short and sharp just to get your metabolism booming.”
To read more about why Johnson & Johnson is Britain's Healthiest Workplace click here.
