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Moving for Mental Health: Hospital edition!
- Melanin Medics
- May 17, 2024
- 2 min read
This year’s theme for Mental Health Awareness week is ‘Movement: Moving more for our mental health so this blog’s focus will be looking at movement at work, which particularly will be poignant to those of you who work in hospitals.
Have you ever looked at your step count when you’re at work? I went back to look at my step count when I was on my general surgery rotation - I was doing between 10 - 15,000 steps per day on my on-call block! In medicine, we often talk about this golden phrase “work-life balance” which, don't get me wrong, is incredibly important, but I found my experience, particularly when transitioning to F1, really difficult to balance exercise with work.
To be honest, I felt really guilty that I was not putting aside the time to go to the gym as frequently as I would have liked. Now, I try to go at least once a week and give myself bonus points if I feel like doing more or instead go for a short run when the weather is behaving. I was always inspired and jealous of gym influencers waking up at 5am to slip in a workout before work, but honestly I found myself to be too exhausted needing a longer sleep before work but then too tired to do anything else after work. So thinking back on this theme helped me reframe my thinking behind moving for mental health because automatically we can assume that means intense exercise but actually that is not the only way to move our bodies.
“We know that even the thought of starting “exercise” can be off-putting to many people and that’s why we’re focusing on movement to make you feel good. At a very basic level, physical activity means any movement of your body that uses your muscles and expends energy. One of the great things about moving more is that there are possibilities to suit almost everyone.” - Mental Health Foundation
There are many ways which we can move more at work - here are five simple tips:
1). Taking the stairs instead of the lift
I am very guilty of this even using the lift for 1 floor (*insert embarrassed emoji!) even when there are clear signs all around the hospital about the benefits of taking the stairs but not only does it have a great cardiovascular impact, it can be a stress-reliever - a quick time out when moving between wards or tasks. That may not always be feasible if needed to get to floor 1 to 5 but why not hop off halfway and take the stairs for the rest of the journey!
2) Go on a short walk in your break - whether that is the journey to the doctor’s mess or another area for lunch, but at least not at your desk!
It is very easy due to pressure to get those discharge letters done and other workload to stuff a sandwich down whilst sitting in a doctor's office and rushing to colour in your to-do list boxes so you can finish on time, but it is so important to take a true break away from your working area. This is again another opportunity to remove yourself from a stressful environment and fit in a few steps to keep your body moving. Why not go for a short walk with your colleagues to unwind?
3) Print your discharge/clinic letters at a printer not beside you so you have to get up!
I remember when I rotated being frustrated that the doctor’s office didn’t have a printer in it (or one that didn’t work!) and I love being efficient, but actually those extra steps to pick up your letters even if it’s a short length of a ward can make all the difference.
4) Walk to a different water fountain machine and stay hydrated throughout the day!
As a connoisseur of water, I ‘ve found that there are certain wards/units which have better water fountains than others! I make a point to go across to fetch water from downstairs or the adjacent ward (which is quicker water pressure than the one I am on at the moment!). Even just the patience to wait to fill your water bottle is a quick break in your day to stop and then refocus.
5) Start that step count competition!
At the moment, I’ve put my step count goal as 6000 daily which is usually doable as I walk to work and a fairly big hospital to move around. I appreciate not everyone is in the position to walk to work and have long commutes, but don’t forget that walk from the car park to your working area is … movement!
At present, I’ve found it quite motivating comparing my step count with my housemate to see who can do more! She has been able to one up me by going for a walk to the shop across the road to hospital or doing a lap around site. You can even do this with your colleagues at work - the nurses in the department I’m with now have a wellbeing group who do this and I find it amusing watching them put their Fitbits around their biceps to keep on tracking!
However, the point is any movement is great and as Mental Health Foundation have noted this is not an exercise campaign as this can be a triggering message for people with experience of disordered eating/ exercise addiction. If you are worried that you or someone you care about is exercising excessively or causing harm, please visit BEAT for further information and support.
You may find that you do this automatically anyway without realising and that’s great! I hope this blog helps you realise even the small steps in your day counts as movement.
Working in the NHS is no mean feat so these little snippets of energisers can make all the difference for your mood and energy. #MomentsForMovement
Written by,
Dr Ellen Nelson-Rowe,
Melanin Medics Blog Lead
Further resources:
Why not check out our previous wellbeing blogs?
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