Insights

Can Taking Time Out To Exercise Increase Productivity At Work?

12.05.2025

Article

If your role is in any way cognitively demanding, the definitive answer is yes.

In this research we hypothesized that physical exercise which materially elevates the heart rate is associated with improved cognitive function in the subsequent 0-8 hours.

STUDY METHODS & ANALYSIS

Male and female adults (18-60 years) from various knowledge-worker industries (Financial Services / Information & Technology / Media / Data & Analytics / Healthcare) tracked their performance via the 'OwnLife' app.

Data were collected 4 times daily at 4-hour intervals for 2 consecutive weeks. At each collection point relative scores of mental clarity (MC), focus (MF), stability (MS) and energy (ME) were captured using a visual analogue scale. Individuals wore Fitbit smartwatches to capture medium and high intensity Physical Exercise (PE).

FINDINGS

Results suggest that undertaking just 30 minutes of physical exercise is associated with a decreased Relative Risk (RR) of Low Cognitive Function (LCF) across all 4 measures (MC, MF, MS & ME).

Interestingly, Mental Clarity (c.f. Working Memory: our ability to hold multiple chains of thought simultaneously) and Mental Focus (c.f. Attention: our ability to concentrate without getting distracted) were the most affected.

Participants who had exercised for more than 30 minutes had a 40% lower Relative Risk of recording low Mental Clarity or Mental Focus in the subsequent 0-4 hours (RR = 0.6 and 0.59 respectively; P<0.001 for both).

The results also suggest that more than 60 minutes of physical exercise significantly reduces the Relative Risk of Low Cognitive Function in the subsequent 4-8 hours for all 4 measures. This effect is most significant on Mental Clarity – the Relative Risk of low Mental Clarity = 0.37 (P<0.001).

IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGING PRODUCTIVITY

Implications are that actively managing physical exercise is a valuable consideration in helping knowledge workers optimize their cognitive function, and hence productivity, at work.

Our scientific advisor, Richard De La Garza, II presented our research on the effects of physical exercise on cognitive function in the workplace at the International Neurology and Brain Conference in Baltimore.

This was the third in a series of abstracts presented at various international neuroscience conferences to bring data from 5 years working with senior leaders across industries into the scientific community.

Richard (Rich) De La Garza completed his Ph.D in neuroscience at the University of Texas Medical Branch followed by postdocs at Harvard Medical School and Yale University School of Medicine. Currently, Dr. De La Garza is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. De La Garza has published more than 130 peer-reviewed scientific articles that have been cited more than 6,000 times. He has received numerous honours including being named a Distinguished Alumnus of his alma mater.