Why Start Walking For Mental Health?
In the games industry, due to the nature of our work, we naturally build up a lot of screen time. Some of us can go for significant periods of time without leaving our desks. If we’re not careful, many of us can go entire working days taking as little as 500 steps. This can be detrimental to our physical and mental well-being
While the physical health benefits of walking are obvious, setting aside some time each day for walking can be massively beneficial to our mental health, too.
Since starting our Walking Club, many of those taking part have reported feeling the benefits, from stress and anxiety management to clearing brain fog and boosting our ability to be creative and quickly solve problems.
Walking is also linked to better sleep, a reduction in the risk of depression, and improved levels of happiness and self-esteem.
Whilst other forms of exercise can have similar effects, getting outside seeing and being part of the world brings its own benefits. We are extremely lucky in that we have the amazing city of Liverpool on our doorstep, with all manner of sights and sounds to help capture our attention.
A big part of how walking helps is by increasing blood flow and blood circulation to the brain and body. This has a positive influence on your central nervous response system, notably the part that is responsible for your stress response.
A big part of what makes our walking club so impactful is walking and talking with others. Whilst we talk in the office, getting out and encountering new sights and sounds shifts the conversation that really helps people connect.
Even after the first few walks, our Liverpool team started to notice they were coming back into the office feeling refreshed.
After a few weeks of feeling the benefits of Walking Club, we felt confident enough to add it to the list of practices we have committed to in order to #LevelUpMentalHealth.
What is Ripstone Walking Club?
Every week, a group of our Rockwater Studio colleagues gather at lunchtime and set out to walk a route around Liverpool.
During the walks, we make sure not to talk about work. This has been massively helpful in ensuring that everyone gets out of that headspace for a little while.
It’s also been helpful in building closer relationships with colleagues that we might not work with closely in our normal day-to-day. Recently, we’ve started using our Walking Club to introduce new staff members – it’s a fun way to break the ice and introduce them to the incredible city we are part of.
Our remote staff even take part in the walking club by sharing pictures of their own walks from places all over the UK and the world.
Start your own walking club!
Starting your own walking club can be as simple as setting a time, choosing a route, and inviting your colleagues to join you.
Though it’s a very small aspect of our commitment to levelling up, We’ve been recommending starting a walking club to anyone and everyone who wants to do their bit for mental health.
It’s such a simple thing that almost any workplace can implement. It’s inclusive, it’s completely free, and can help bring a tonne of mental health benefits to you and your colleagues. For us, it’s become a really important tool in building a supportive workplace culture that we can all be proud of.
We’d love for other Level Up partners to start their own Walking Clubs and share their own experiences!
It’s time to #LevelUpMentalHealth.
Find Out More
Whether you’re seeking help, want to learn more about how to provide it, or want to offer your own support…