Less stress, more creativity? Take a walk during your workday

Movement and nature help release tension

Walking during your workday has many benefits for you and your employees. It's good for your body, it lowers stress and it makes you more creative. Get started on Walking During Your Workday 2023.

"We tend to solve stress, burnout and other mental complaints with our heads," says Reinoud Prins, co-founder of Liberi Coaching. "But it is precisely our bodies that can play an important role in reducing stress."

Prins is a walking coach and helps people get rid of mental problems with a combination of therapy and exercise in nature. "Walking has many benefits," he says. "Movement makes it easier to release tension. In addition, nature has a calming effect. Your senses are stimulated, so you have more physical experiences and thoughts are less present."

Walk During Your Workday

Even if you have no mental complaints, it is good to walk outside regularly. Yet about half of the Dutch people sit still for far too long during their normal working day. To change this, Wandelnet and the province of Utrecht are organizing the Wandel Tijdens Je Werkdag 2023 for the seventh time this year. On April 6, they are calling on employers and employees to get moving.

Walking is good for body and mind. Regular exercise during your workday helps you stay healthy and fit. In addition, walking activates your brain, writes Wandelnet: after 20 minutes of walking, most people are more concentrated, energetic and creative.

Lunch, calls or meetings

"You gain peace and space in your mind, which helps you focus and make decisions more easily," says Prins. "Walking during your workday is often easier than you think. Sometimes you can do a meeting, call appointment or lunch just as well walking. Speaking freely and thinking creatively are also easier when you're walking in nature."

He notices the many benefits during walking coaching. "Conversations in a natural setting help people better remember and apply insights," he says. "Moreover, I find that for many people, walking coaching is more accessible and enjoyable than therapy in a room, because people do not have to look straight at the coach or psychologist. That makes them dare to talk more and gives space to go into depth together."

Nature provides a "relaxation reflex," he says. "You don't necessarily have to go to the forest for that; you can find nature in the city, too. During your walk, look and listen to the birds, be aware of the green of the grass or the rustling leaves of trees. Feel the ground beneath your feet and fill your lungs with fresh air. You don't have to exhaust yourself, it's all about connecting with your body and the environment."

Encourage vitality

Walking during your workday encourages mental and physical resilience, Prins emphasizes. "It's good for your body and your head," he stresses. "It's a low-threshold way to make vitality part of your organization."

More and more business owners know how important it is to take care of the mental and physical health of their employees. After all, in a healthy organization, employees are engaged, productive and committed. They are also less likely to have physical complaints or stress. "So just start walking during work, for example on April 6," says Prins. "As an employer, organize a joint walk. See who goes along."