Wellness Challenges Increase Team Mental Health

We look at exercising as an opportunity to lose weight or grow a muscle. And that's absolutely right, it improves our physique, but it is actually much more than physical health. People, who stay active throughout years, have usually reached their goal body image, but still wake up early to do a workout before work. Why?

Mental Health Benefits of Exercise Challenges

People, who workout regularly for years and years, have realized the difference that one workout can cause to your mental health. The energy to rock around all day because of the happy hormones that the body releases. The high-quality sleep during the night and better mood during the day. But exercising also helps to deal with mental illnesses, like depression, stress, anxiety and ADHD.

Recent studies have shown that for mild to moderate depression regular exercising is as effective as taking antidepressant medication. One of Harvard studies discovered that running for 15 minutes a day or walking for an hour a day, can reduce the risk of major depression for 26%.

But How Exercise Challenges Improve Mental Health?

The magic behind that is science. Exercise is causing changes in our brains, for example neural growth, which leads to creating new activity patterns that releases serenity. But moving also lets endorphins free in our brain, known also as “happy hormones”, that will give all the energy, well-being and happiness.

Maybe even most importantly, an exercise helps to take time off – to enjoy the moment and go away from the negative thoughts. While walking or running around, focus on the moment. How you are breathing, how the wind feels on your skin, how the road is under your feet.

Other Exercise Benefits for the Mental Health

But if you are not dealing with some mental disorder, exercise still improves your mental well-being. Not only it helps to prevent some deeper problems, but also helps to increase the quality of everyday life.

More energy - As mentioned before, while we give energy to work out, we get it back doubled. Powerful chemicals called endorphins will be released in our brain that will keep our bodies energized during the whole day.
Better sleep - It is a well-known practice that if we burn energy to move, our body needs it back so it is easier to fall asleep and so also to wake up. Which means our sleeping schedule is in good shape. But also if our thoughts are more positive and we have taken time to ourselves, it is easier to turn thoughts off during the night before falling asleep, which helps to fasten the process.
Better memory - That same happy hormone also helps to keep memory sharp. Specifically, it helps to have longer concentration and quicker thinking. While taking time to yourself and clearing the mind, you make more room for the important thoughts. Regular exercising also helps to decrease the possibility of getting dementia about 30%. Empty the trash bin in your head more often than in your computer.
Higher self-worth - When challenging yourself on the running path and accomplishing the goals, you get that powerful feeling of being capable of everything. You also take bigger challenges at work, at home, for yourself and through that reaching your full potential.
Healthier lifestyle - when doing hard work at the gym, we automatically want to have better dietary habits. We are thinking before taking the next cigarette or another beer when ending the night on the sofa. It is much easier to keep a healthier lifestyle when there already is one strong component.
Motivating close ones - When doing things that are good to ourselves, we find people to surround ourselves with, who also are good to us. We find people, who are thinking like us, who are motivating us during the hard times and who will keep us on track. It is easier together than paddle alone all the time.
Less mood swings - Because our base needs and self-realization are covered, we feel better, we do better and we are better. Less reasons to feel bad emotions and again, happy hormones also help to keep the smile on the face!

Obstacles vs Solutions

We all feel sometimes (or most of the times) that today is not the day. The emotions are not the best, sleep was not good enough or weather is not our favorite. When you feel like that, it is a sign to definitely not miss the exercise. At that moment, you need it the most, but how to stand up and go?

Feeling tired - In the morning before work we mostly feel tired, because the pillow is still so warm and the mattress so soft. After work we feel tired because it is already evening and the whole day has been long. Marie Forleo would say to get up before you are ready and go do the workout. If you give yourself an extra 5 minutes, you will find 101 obstacles during that time why not to go and when is better time to start.
The weather is bad - Focus on the things that are under your control. You can not control the weather, but you can control what you are wearing. Or you can open YouTube and do the workout inside.
Feeling overwhelmed - Totally understandable, just take baby steps to make yourself feel better. Instead of running, go walking. Just take the time for yourself. Give yourself an opportunity to feel better and maybe after 10 minutes of walking you start feeling powerful again and even want to run the next 10 minutes.
Have no time - It is okay that some days we really do not have even these 15 minutes to do the exercise. But as it sounds already, it is not a sustainable lifestyle. If you are living a life with no time to take off, that is a red flag. You have to make that time.
Do not know what to do/where to go - You do not have to know! There are plenty of people who know exactly what you have to do or where is the best place to start. If you want to do it by yourself, even then there is an old friend Google, who knows everything.
I do not have the right equipment - To start, you do not need the best equipment. Filled water bottles as dumbbells or a towel as the yoga mat. You do not need a full new wardrobe full of brand new workout clothes just to look aesthetic while running. If you can be consistent and like the sports you are doing, then after that reward yourself with better equipment.

We have also written a blog post about what are active minutes and how to collect them, while doing your everyday responsibilities.

Supporting Your Employees With Mental Health Through Step Challenges

We have written a blog post with 52 wellness challenge ideas to do during 52 weeks in 2022, but it does not have to be the whole year. There are not only active challenges, but all health categories to take care of. A lot of fun!

If that is a bit too much organizing then also there is a post about some small steps to reduce the stress level of your employees at your workplace. Do some small changes at the office and you will see better results. But if you ask about our favorite tip, then the keyword is corporate fitness challenges.

Corporate Fitness Challenges

Game changers! Corporate fitness challenges are creating a support group for your employees to keep moving and get these workouts done. It is an easy way to help your employees keeping an eye on their mental health.

In YuMuuv we have made managing the challenges very simple for you. Starting with admin manuals for you to navigate easily in the app and user manuals to get your employees fast on board. In addition, communication templates with important information for you to send out and the full annual plan you can insert all at once, just in 10 minutes.

We have a customer support and help center so you don't have to deal with employee's problems or technical questions. We have an automatic ranking sheet about your employees, but also with all the companies that are moving with YuMuuv. And a lot more just to help you enjoy that journey with others as well with minimal managing effort!

So if you are as excited as we are to move together, then contact us and let's get these steps done!

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