One of the most read stories on ArtsHub over our 24-year history, is ‘Why creative people are more prone to depression’. Clearly, mental health and the arts sit hand-in-hand.
Read: Creatives more prone to depression: myth or reality?
While RU OK? Day was back on 12 September this year, Thursday 10 October is World Mental Health Day. It is a good reminder to stop and check our own mental health, and that of our colleagues around us. A simple, “How are you doing there?” can go a long way.
Another good tip to pivot our emotions is a simple one and not beyond reach. Indeed, in just 15 minutes you can improve your mental health in the workplace.
New data, commissioned by the sports brand ASICS, has been released to coincide with this year’s World Mental Health Day. In a nutshell, the findings show that office workers who take a 15-minute break during work hours have 22.5% better mental health, and lower their stress levels by 14.7%.
A deeper dive into the ‘DeskBreak’ experiment
The study has found that our mental state starts to decline after only two hours of continuous desk-based working with stress levels rising significantly after four hours. However, just 15 minutes of exercise can help to reverse the effects.
The DeskBreak experiment was overseen by Dr Brendon Stubbs from King’s College London. In a formal statement, Stubbs said: “We already know that just 15 minutes and nine seconds of exercise can result in a meaningful improvement in people’s ‘state of mind’ scores. But what surprised us was just how much it improved cognitive function and reduced stress levels for all our participants, across the world. It even changed people’s perceptions of their workplace for the better.”
ASICS invited 26,000 desk-based workers from 16 countries, including Australia, to participate in the DeskBreak experiment. Every participant followed the same simple protocol across the two weeks. In week one, they followed their regular work routine with no movement breaks. In week two, they were asked to exercise for 15 minutes after three to four hours of work.
These were the results:
- After just two hours of continuous desk work ‘state of mind’ scores begin to drop and stress levels rise. After four hours of uninterrupted desk time, stress levels increased significantly by 18%.
- However, with a break, mental state improved by 22.5% with participants’ overall ‘state of mind’ scores increasing from 62/100 to 76/100.
- After just one week, stress levels were lowered by 14.7%.
- Productivity was boosted by 33.2%
- Focus was improved by 28.6%.
- Participants reported feeling 33.3% more relaxed and 28.6% more calm and resilient.
- 79.2% of participants said they would be more loyal to their employers if offered regular movement breaks.
Specific to Australia, report findings found employees who were sedentary for 10 to 12 hours a day reported a significantly lower ‘state of mind’ score of 45/100 versus those who were sedentary for only four to six hours a day, who reported a score of 63/100.
Read: Artist burnout is not a mental health issue – it is a labour issue
Using actor Brian Cox to turn data into a directive
Let’s face it, numbers and pie charts can be boring. The marketing muscle of ASICS has been geared towards making real change, commissioning Brian Cox from HBO’s hit show Succession to deliver a Public Service Announcement (PSA).
As Cox says, “F**ck the fruit … just move, for your mind!” The PSA encourages workers to reject wellness ‘perks’ like fruit bowls, plants and water fountains, and rather get up from their desk and actively disconnect for 15 minutes.
Calling the desk the “silent threat to our mental health”, Cox said in a formal statement: “I’ve played some pretty intimidating characters in my time, but who would have thought a desk could be scarier? It’s great to see ASICS try and do something about this and encourage people to support their mental health through exercise. As I say in the film, run, jump, roller skate. I don’t care. Just move for your mind.”
Join the #DeskBreak movement and feel the mental benefits. And why not share your #DeskBreak challenge on social media on World Mental Health Day and help change office culture?
