Stress Awareness Month Challenge

Introducing The Buzz Challenge

April marks Stress Awareness Month, and The Buzz family, including employees, clients and friends, have been set challenge to walk 1 million steps to raise money for Mind, the mental health charity.

The last two years have been the hardest many of us have faced in our lifetime. The Stress Management Society found that 65% people in the UK have felt more stressed since Covid-19 restrictions began in March 2020, and research from the Mental Health Foundation found that in the last year 74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point they’ve felt overwhelmed or unable to cope.

Mind provides a number of tips and tactics for managing stress, with looking after your physical health and spending time in nature listed as key ways to help reduce stress and improve wellbeing.

Did you know 70% of our daily average of 9 hours of sitting time is while we’re at work? A survey carried out by the British Heart Foundation reported that 45% of women and 37% of men spend less than 30 minutes a day up on their feet during work hours.

This month, we plan to change that, and we’d encourage you to do the same. Making the time to include these habits in your daily routine can help make all the difference.

If you’d like to support us in our efforts and raise money for this fantastic charity, please make a donation to Mind on our JustGiving page.

Buzz Marketer, Christina said: “I’m booking out 30-45 minutes in my diary every day and getting outside. It’s always something I intend to do, but making the commitment in my diary means it doesn’t keep getting dropped for other priorities.

“Even after just a few days I feel so much better for it! I come back feeling so refreshed and actually find it easier to focus after.”

So far, seven members of the Buzz team have committed to upping their steps this April and we’ve already walked over 50,000 steps. We’ll be sharing our progress on our social channels (LinkedIn) (Instagram).

Stress can affect each of us in different ways, displaying as increased irritability, feeling anxious, depressed, worried or tense, but it can also manifest physically, causing fatigue, aching muscles and headaches or indigestion. It can cause you to find it hard to make decisions or unable to concentrate.

Taking the time to look after yourself, can help you manage stress when you face it. To help manage stress at work, Mind recommends taking regular short breaks and spending time outside if you can as well as developing end-of-day habits to help you switch off.

For advice for recognising and managing stress at work, visit the Mind website where there are a host of resources, tips, advice and strategies.