Ortiz 1

Vanessa Ortiz

Dr. Sharity Nelson

ENGL 1302-101

05 December 2022

Running Stimulating Productivity

Introduction

The discourse of running and exercising helping with productivity has been going on for

ages. It is a common question that goes through everyone’s head: does running for a certain

amount of time every day increase the productivity levels and mental health of an individual?

Many articles contribute to this study. For example, an article mentioned, “Moreover, evidence

reported by research literature reviews suggest a dose-response relationship and that any level of

physical activity seems to decrease the risk of developing depressive symptoms” (Stea et al. 2).

By studying the effects that running and exercise has on an individual, mental health and

productivity was investigated. If running stimulates a person’s brain and motivates them to do

work, decreasing depression, then it increases the production levels a person endures. The

research for this experiment emphasizes the importance that physical activity, in this case

running, has on the levels of work efficiency in school, work, or at home.

Methods

It is relatively easy for someone to conduct research for this study. For this experiment,

the subject tested it in four days: Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The materials

utilized were running shoes and a nearby park. Everyone is different and can choose any time of

day they want to run; however, 6:30 pm was the time that was measured for the experiment

conducted. The experiment consisted of a 15 minutes increment each day to the amount of time
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the person was running. For instance, the subject ran for 30 minutes on the first day, then

increased it to 45 minutes on the second day and 1 hour on the third day. On the last day, there

was no running or physical activity. This demonstrated the effects that running for long periods

of time had on a person's mindset and physical nature. After running, the participant wrote notes

down in a journal keeping track of the work they accomplished and their overall productivity for

each day that the experiment was conducted. The investigation at the end shows the growth in

production after running, or jogging, over different periods of time.

Results

The results of this research were stable for the three days it was being experimented,

where running was involved. However, there was a decrease on the day without running. The

person seemed to procrastinate on all their assignments, whereas on the days they would run,

every task was done, even leaving them with extra leisure time to read or watch tv. The results

below demonstrate the running time, the breaks the subject took when they stopped to drink

water or stretch, and the work they completed.

Running time Breaks Productivity Mental Health

Saturday 30 minutes 2 ● All ● Energetic

homewor and good.
k due that
weekend
was done
● Finished
the
required
reading
for class

Sunday 45 minutes 1 ● Chores: ● Happy

washed and
dishes, social
folded
clothes
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and put
them
away
● Babysat
and
played
outside
and
videogam
es with
nephew

Monday 1 hour 1 ● Finished ● Ecstatic

homewor ● Felt good
k due that with their
day and physical
the next nature
● Started ● Studious
reading a
new book
and got
halfway.

Tuesday No running - ● One ● Tired and

homewor Sore
k
assignme
nt was
done
● Napped
for an
hour

Productivity

Over the past three days, based on the data written down in the table, the productivity

levels were constant when running. Even though running was an excellent factor in a person

being more active, it did not show significant outbreaks each day the person ran. For example,

the subject on the first day completed homework assignments that were due that weekend. The

subject also finished a required book for their class. On the second day, they did chores like wash
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dishes. They also played outside and video games while they babysat their nephew. On the third

day, the participant did homework assignments that were due that day and advanced on some

that were due the next day. They started a new novel and were able to get halfway through.

However, on the last day, the production levels dropped. This was the day no running or physical

exercise was done. The subject only completed one homework assignment and took a nap for the

majority of the day. Nevertheless, productivity does fall if a person stops running and doing any

type of exercise.

Mental Health

The mentality of the individual was also studied in this experiment. The participant

experienced a boost of energy every time they finished running. They also realized that it would

somehow put them in a better mood. For example, after running on the first day, they noted that

they felt very energetic and good about themselves. On the second day, they wrote down their

mood as happy and social. They felt more energy to socialize with people which brought their

self-esteem up. On the third day, the subject felt a mood of ecstatics. They also felt very studious

and good seeing their changed physical nature. On the last day, however, they felt very tired and

sore. The running got to them which led them to take the nap. Signs of good mental health also

are critical factors in productivity. If the subject had a lousy mentality, the motivation will also

be affected which led to little work being accomplished on the last day.

Discussion

Overall, running has a positive effect on people's day-to-day routines. In the article,

“Physical exercise at the workplace prevents deterioration of work ability among healthcare

workers: cluster randomized controlled trial,” researchers found that exercising for nine months

helped prevent a decrease in work ability (Jakobsen et al. 2). This demonstrated that work
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efficiency improved when the workers in the field exercised for a certain amount of time.

Furthermore, the same article discussed that “Accordingly, performing physical exercise at least

twice a week may prevent the age-related deterioration of work ability, health and physical

capacity among workers with physically demanding work” (Jakobsen et al. 7). Not only does

working out help with productivity, it is also beneficial towards other factors like mental health.

The data gathered in the experiment demonstrated how productivity increases if a person is

physically active by exercising or running. Productivity might be a key factor, but so are many

others. For example, mental health is greatly affected and helps a person have a better view of

life. An article stated, “Physical activity can also improve mental health and cognitive

performance” (Manning et al. 1). This supports the idea that being physically active is favorable

towards mental stability and decreases any symptoms of depression. Moreover, another article

studied how different running speeds can affect a person’s mindset (Takehiro et al. 687). The

research suggested that by the change in speed, a person will be left feeling different and

energetic by the end of their running session. This information is beneficial to the experiment

that was conducted because instead of speed changing, the time did, allowing the participant to

run a greater distance each day.

Conclusion

There is great importance as to why people need to have physical activity in their

schedules. So many people use running, or physical activity, as a distraction from complex life

issues, which ties in with how their mental health improves. Even though everyone's body and

mindset are different, people should include running, or physical activity, in their daily routine to

have a big productive day.

Works Cited
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Iwatsuki, Takehiro, et al. “Autonomy enhances running efficiency” Journal of Sports Sciences,

vol. 37, no. 6, 2019, pp. 685-691. Academic Search Ultimate

https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1522939.

Jakobsen, Markus, et al. “Physical exercise at the workplace prevents deterioration of work

ability among healthcare workers: cluster randomized controlled trial” BMC Public

Health, vol. 15, no. 1, 2015, pp. 01-09. Academic Search Ultimate

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-2448-0.

Manning, Jeremy, et al. “Fitness tracking reveals task-specific associations between memory,

mental health, and physical activity” Scietific Reports, vol. 12, no. 1, 2022, pp. 01-12.

Academic Search Ultimate https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17781-0.

Stea, Tonje, et al. “Association between physical activity, sedentary time, participation in

organized activities, social support, sleep problems and mental distress among adults in

Southern Norway: a class-sectional study among 28,047 adults from the general

population” BMC Public Health, vol. 22, no. 1, 2022, pp. 01-11. Academic Search

Ultimate https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12769-x.