Staff Active

We are passionate about encouraging the Oxford Brookes community to use Active Routes to get to and from the Oxford Brookes campuses. We now have showers and lockers at the Headington campus to make the transition from commute to work more comfortable.

Time spent working is time often spent not moving and the more time spent sedentary the less energy we have overall and the greater our risk of cardiovascular disease and other common illnesses.

Being able to get your head down and work is important but breaking it up with activity has been shown to improve concentration, reduce stress and increase productivity. Here are some top tips:

• Stand up at least every 90 minutes, but ideally every 30 minutes. It will help you refocus and encourages circulation and our metabolism
• Take every opportunity to stand up, for example when checking emails or answering the phone
• Get away from your desk and go for a walk at lunchtime, even if it's just to eat your lunch somewhere different
• Make active choices such as taking the stairs, cycling to work or getting off the bus a stop earlier and walking

Any increase in activity is better than none, however, the greatest benefits are seen by doing 150 minutes of moderately intense physical activity every week. Ideally that should be made up of daily activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more and "moderately intense" means that your breathing and heart rate will be increased and you feel warmer.