Burn Calories, Banish Burnout

Adding to the numerous health benefits of regular physical activity, researchers from Tel Aviv University (Israel) report that employees who find the time for routine physical activity are less likely to experience work-related burnout and depression. Sharon Toker and colleagues studied 1632 healthy private and public sector workers, monitoring for their personal, occupational, and psychological states, via questionnaires and checkups, for a period of nine years. The team found that an increase in depression predicted an increase in job burnout over time, and vice versa. Importantly, the researchers determined that workers who exercised for four hours or more per week were half as likely to experience deterioration in their mental state, as compared to those who did no physical activity. The study authors suggest that physical activity in leisure time may be an effective stress management tool.