Running, playing football, kayaking or cycling – Dentsply Sirona employees around the world are realizing the benefits and fun of physical exercise while spending time with teammates.

It’s often said that physical exercise contributes to overall wellbeing. With this in mind, Dentsply Sirona supports and encourages employees to be active and participate in the Company’s Global Wellness program. Fittingly, the program’s focus in the third quarter was “Physical Health and Wellbeing.”

The social side to sports in Austria

One example of the Company’s support for physical health is through the Austrian Moveeffect Platform. Accessible via app, PC or tablet, the platform works like an internal company social network about sports. Employees use the platform to arrange joint sporting activities in their leisure time from walking, jogging or gardening to tennis or football. The activities are documented on the Moveeffect Platform where colleagues can comment and post. The activities allow the collection of ‘sMiles.’ In June and July, the Moveeffect participants were able to complete a virtual "journey around Austria" with the collection of the sMiles. Thanks to their effort, the participants earned around 13,000 sMiles.

Running for a good cause in Sweden

Meanwhile in Sweden, Dentsply Sirona employees are working out for a good cause. The annual “Blodomloppet” run for a Swedish blood donation organization takes place at 17 locations nationwide. The events draw attention to the importance of blood donation and provide suggestions for a
healthy lifestyle. There were many Dentsply Sirona runners among the 12,000 participants this year in Gothenburg. For every participant on the Dentsply Sirona team who finished the race, the company made a donation to the Blood Cancer Foundation.

In addition, as part of the “Cykeltrampet” campaign, employees were invited to cycle to work for a month. Several teams, comprised of 96 employees in total, participated in the competition. The campaign convinced many to leave the car at home in the future and use the commute to work as a daily workout.

The Ukrainian team on land and on water

Running and kayaking were on the agenda at the Kiev (Ukraine) location for all athletes. The running team started with 10 employees while 25 colleagues were on the water with a kayak. These activities offered numerous sports enthusiasts in Kiev the opportunity to achieve sporting goals together with their colleagues. Through a Yammer group, participants motivated each other, shared their experiences and uploaded photos of their activities. To inspire beginners to participate, race courses of either two or five kilometers will be offered in future.

Crowning the “King of the Hill” in the U.S.

In the States, the Annual US Walking Challenge is a sporting highlight at Dentsply Sirona locations every year. This year, nearly 300 employees in the U.S. participated in the Third Annual Walking Challenge, which included local events such as charity runs and activities to keep walking paths clean. Individuals and teams competed for prizes given to the top 15 employees with the highest individual steps and the team, of up to four employees, with the highest average number of steps in each division. Experience shows that the Walking Challenge has motivated employees to continue on their path to a healthier lifestyle into the fall and winter months.

Courtside in Mexico

Dentsply Sirona Mexico’s employees organized a basketball tournament as part of the physical activities that are promoted through the Healthcare program. A total of eight basketball teams participated in this two-day tournament played in the Dentsply Sirona Mexico’s buildings. Each team consisted of six employees from different areas, whose objective was to promote a healthy camaraderie among the participants and the observers who strongly motivated the teams. Additionally, evening Zumba and Yoga classes are given three times a week to help employees maintain a healthy and active lifestyle without having to leave the office.

The benefits of aerobic exercise

Aerobic Exercise is an activity that makes your muscles use oxygen, which, in turn, makes the heart stronger. Examples include biking, jogging, walking, swimming, and basketball.

Benefits of aerobic exercise:

• Decreases blood pressure, which reduces the risk of having a heart attack or stroke
• Decreases the resting heart rate, putting less stress on the heart
• Increases levels of HDL (good cholesterol in the blood)
• Increases cardiac output, meaning the heart pumps more blood with each heartbeat
• Decreases your resting respiratory rate, meaning the lungs don’t need to work as hard when at rest
• Increases blood flow to the lungs, helping to get more oxygen
• Burns calories, which can help to lose weight

How often and how long should one exercise?

• Frequency: At least three times a week are recommended for aerobic exercise
• Duration: It is recommended to work up to 30 to 60 minutes per exercise session.
• Intensity: Aim to keep the heart rate up during aerobic exercise.

It’s recommended that you warm up before exercising and cool down afterwards. This can help improve flexibility and decrease the risk of injury.