Several small-scale studies were led by researchers from Stanford University to determine how walking boosts creativity. The test subjects had to take a creativity test, were made to walk around, and then take the test a second time. And the results were pretty significant.

The study found that for nearly every test subject, creativity increased when they took a walk. According to the study, most subjects could generate roughly 60 percent more uses for an object, and their ideas were “novel and appropriate.”

And the creative juices didn’t stop flowing, since they continued to generate creative ideas even after they sat down. The study concluded that the test subjects who walked had significantly better ideas than in the pre-exercise testing period.

The test subjects were then moved outdoors during a portion of the experiment. Most researchers’ guessed that walking outside would be significantly better than pacing in an office, but surprisingly that didn’t matter.

When the test subjects walked outside for about eight minutes, they generated more creative ideas than when they sat outside or inside for the same length of time. But there was no noticeable difference in creative ideas when the subjects walked outdoors or indoors on a treadmill facing a wall.

The researchers still were not clear exactly why walking boosts creativity, but they did suggest that it could be related to a mood booster, or because walking distracts the brain’s energy long enough for it to wander in thought.

With these results, it gives you even more of an excuse to get moving throughout your day! And now you can give the executives a reason for why you need to take a stroll around the block, or even better, why you should incorporate a Xdesk Fit into your daily work life.

Imagine the work flow and awesome ideas that will stream through your head as you pace on the Xdesk Fit. And it doesn’t hurt that our desk treadmill is equipped with all the features, like a digital LED display and Bluetooth connectivity. You can even charge your electronic device while you pace and listen to music, since it includes a USB port.

To learn more about the Xdesk Fit, go HERE.

We found this study through Lifehacker, to see the entire story, go HERE.

Do you take a daily walk outside of the office? If so, have you felt more creative afterwards? Share in the comments below!

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The Xdesk Fit really can help you reach the goal of achieving a healthy mind and body. Walking is an excellent way to keep up productivity, creativity, and shed a few pounds along the way. If you’re not convinced, read through a few of these walking quotes, and check out this post about how to walk your way to better health, HERE.

“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

“If you seek creative ideas go walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.” – Raymond I. Myers

“Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very fast.” – Thomas Jefferson
Note: Jefferson was also noted as using a standing desk to draw up building blueprints, read more HERE.

“Walking is a man’s best medicine.” – Hippocrates

“If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.” – Barack Obama

“Walking is the only form of transportation in which a man proceeds erect – like a man- on his own legs, under his own power. There is immense satisfaction in that.” – Edward Abbey

“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” – Henry David Thoreau

“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” – John F. Kennedy

“The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results.” – Anthony Robbins

“Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness.” – Earl of Derby

After reading through these walking quotes, we hope they inspired you to stay active! Good health is the foundation of a successful life, and it starts by putting one foot in front of the other. So get up, start walking, and keep moving!

The post Keep Walking and Moving: Inspirational Quotes appeared first on Xdesk Blog.

Columnist Danny Sullivan recently tried a treadmill desk and measured just how much more productive he was. He reported his findings on CNET and gave some great advice on how to use a walking desk. Sullivan provided insight to standing versus walking, what to consider when buying a treadmill desk, and how to prepare yourself to walk the majority of your day.

As a recent standing desk user, he noted that using the desk for basic tasks like emailing, and reading worked perfectly. Then he took it to the next level with a treadmill desk.

The results were unsurprising – Sullivan felt great! Not to say he wasn’t tired, but he felt successful that he put in exercise and was able to multitask on a treadmill desk throughout his day. If you’re thinking about investing in a treadmill desk, know that it’s important to start slow and work your way up to walking most of the day.

Unlike jogging or cycling, walking isn’t a high-intensity work out, so your joints won’t ache or be exposed to injury. But you will feel the effects of walking all day on a treadmill desk – in a good way!

Treadmill desk users should also be aware of how to dress while using the desk, the most important being proper footwear. No one wants to walk all day in uncomfortable shoes, or worse, barefoot, so Sullivan noted that running shoes paired with comfortable, loose-fitting clothing was the best option.

Sullivan reported that toward the end of his work day he found himself leaning on the treadmill desk for added support. After realizing his poor posture, he stopped. And once he started to get used to being on his feet all day, it prevented him from leaning.

One result from his experiment (again, unsurprisingly) was weight loss. He lost about four pounds during the trial period, so that’s one small step toward long-term health benefits!

Another interesting outcome of using a treadmill desk was when he compared standing to walking. Obviously treadmill desk users don’t have to walk wall the time, but he said that he started to crave walking during the day, and felt odd if he wasn’t moving. So be careful if you’re thinking about a treadmill desk, you may find yourself itching to walk more and more every day!

Sullivan couldn’t give an accurate answer to which treadmill desk is the best to buy since he only used one, but he did offer sound advice on what to consider before investing.

He emphasized height control as a factor, and said some treadmill desks only offered adjustments within 1-inch increments. Luckily our adjustable height desks solve that problem, with programmable memory presets to set the perfect height to match a treadmill desk. The convex and convex buttons also help you focus on walking and working, since you won’t even have to look at which button adjusts up or down.

The display on the treadmill desk was another factor to consider. The Xdesk Fit has a small, modern console that won’t get in the way of your work. The digital LED display shows steps taken, walking time and belt speed, distance travelled and calories burned. The Intelli-Step feature counts the number of steps taken, and it’s more accurate than a pedometer. The console also has a safety key that shuts down the treadmill once it’s removed, which leads to another factor: safety.

Xdesk Fits have AutoSense, so the belt senses the exact moment your feet stop walking on the treadmill desk. After 20 seconds, the treadmill automatically pauses, so you won’t have to worry about the safety hazard of stepping on and off the treadmill.

Needless to say, after Sullivan’s trial run with a treadmill desk, he was a quick convert. He’s looking forward to a future of walking, and all the long-term health benefits associated with that. See his full story HERE.

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A recent study found that brisk walking lessens the risk of heart disease more than running, when both physical activities were compared and the same amount of energy was used. That means, you really can walk your way to better heart health!

The researchers studied 33,060 runners and 15,045 walkers aged 18 to 80 over a period of six years. The results showed several benefits of walking. A point to pay attention to is that the benefits of walking outweighed the benefits of running when the same amount of energy was used.

For every calorie burned, the walking participants experienced a stronger impact on heart disease risk factors, and walking ultimately reduced the total risk of heart disease by 9.3 percent. Running reduced the risk of heart disease by only 4.5 percent.

The benefits of walking found in the study seemed to be endless! The risk of high blood pressure was reduced by 7.2 percent in the walking participants, while the runners experienced only a 4.2 percent reduced risk of high blood pressure.

Additionally, the risk of high cholesterol was reduced by 7 percent in the walking participants, while runners experienced a 4.3 percent reduction.

The study also found that the risk of diabetes was lowered by 12 percent for both walkers and runners.

At its most basic level, the study shows that it’s important to stay active to lower your risk of harmful diseases. Remaining sedentary isn’t doing your body any favors, so stand up, start walking, or hit the gym!

“People are always looking for an excuse not to exercise but now they have a straightforward choice to run or to walk and invest in their future health,” study leader Dr. Paul Williams, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, said.

We’ve relayed our love of adjustable height desks, and showed the benefits of standing countless times, but if you want to greatly improve your health, and shed pounds along the way, you may want to think about a treadmill desk.

You can experience the same benefits as the walking participants by using a treadmill to accompany your adjustable height desk. Think about it: reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol – all symptoms the body is exposed to the longer it remains sedentary.

Whether you choose to add a treadmill to your standing desk and walk to better health, or decide to hit the gym after work, just make sure to stay active on a daily basis!

The study was reported in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. See the story from The Guardian.

The post Walking Reduces Risk of Heart Disease Compared to Running appeared first on Xdesk Blog.

Walking can reduce the risk of diabetes, prevent cancer and boost your brain function.

If you want to know how good for you walking is, read on. But to feel it for yourself, here is a simple experiment: One day at work, try just sitting down all day in front of your desk. Get everything done. Then go home.

The next day, try using a treadmill desk—if you don’t have one yet, try just taking walking breaks as often as you can. Walk down the hall rather than send a co-worker an email, walk up the stairs, or take walking meetings. Just keep moving!

Compare the days and I know you will find that on day two you were more productive, felt healthier, more energetic, looser, lighter, and probably happier overall (Unless you turned your ankle or something the second you stepped out the door. In which case, sorry about that!).

Why does walking feel so good? In today’s post we’ll go over 7 reasons why walking is good for your health.

1) Walking can help you lose weight.
The average resident of a walkable neighborhood weighs 6-10 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood.

Neighborhoods with poor walkability are barriers to physical activity. Research shows that people walk more if living in a walkable neighborhood. If you can’t help but live in a sprawling area, do what more and more people are doing these days and invest in a treadmill desk.

2) Walking can help prevent cancer.
Yes, really. Just one quick example: Women who walked 1 to 3 hours per week had reduced the risk of death from breast and uterine cancer by 19 percent. When they walked 3 to 5 hours per week, their risks of the same cancers were reduced by 54 percent, according to a study by Harvard University.

3) Walking can reduce your risk of diabetes.
A recent study of more than 3,000 overweight adults found that walking 2.5 hours per week (along with a healthy diet) reduced their risk of developing diabetes by 58 percent. For overweight adults 60 years and older, the risk was reduced to 71 percent.

4. Walking can keep your arteries unclogged.
In the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, a study found that exercise before a meal may help stem the effects of high-fat foods on blood vessel function. Unclogged vessels and arteries keep blood circulating throughout the body.

5) Walking can help prevent heart disease.
Studies show that as walking increases, heart disease decreases. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, retired men who walked more than 1.5 miles per day had a significantly lower risk for heart disease (compared to men who walk less).

6) Walking can reduce blood pressure.
Getting the recommended 10,000 steps a day, or even a minimal 30 minutes of walking each day can significantly reduce blood pressure.

7) Walking can boost your brain.
Many studies prove that exercise can improve mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. It is also shown that physical activity (like walking) can help boost self-esteem and brain function. So, want to get out of a rut? Try going for a walk.

Of course, as mentioned above, in the best possible scenario you will be able to walk around your city, to work, to the store… But we can’t all live in New York (though with the population density, it seems people are trying!).

So what is the next best thing? Walk while you work. Take breaks, get outside and enjoy the fresh air, try working remotely from the park, and when you’re in the office, try using a treadmill desk like the new Xdesk Fit.

No matter how you do it, just keep walking. Your body will thank you for it!

Do you use a treadmill desk? Have you noticed a difference in the way you feel at work and after?

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