Can comfortable clothing make your healthier? We know from our own day-to-day experiences, that casual wear FEELS better. Flip-flops are more comfortable than wingtip or high-heel shoes. T-shirts feel more comfortable than button-up dress shirts. And yes, pajamas feel more comfortable than chicken suits. Yet the question remains: can comfy attire actually improve our health? You might be surprised.



More and more employers are moving away from the traditional workplace attire--shirts and ties, and blouses and skirts. Studies and logic tell us that when employees are more comfortable, the quality of their work improves. In fact, many employers are allowing their workers to wear casual clothing during the entire workweek-and not just on "Casual Fridays."

In one recent study, researchers wanted to learn if casual work clothes influenced workers' level of physical activity. The results from the study demonstrated that this indeed is true. The American Council on Exercise (ACE), a not-for-profit advocate for fitness, conducted the study. They discovered that wearing comfortable clothing to work results in higher levels of physical activity in day-to-day tasks, than wearing "standard" business clothing, does.

What was the nitty-gritty of the study? Researchers from a university of Wisconsin (La Crosse) used 53 healthy people with an average age of 42-years-old, in their study. The participants in the study would wear a pedometer during two days in a week. One day they would wear casual clothing, such as jeans. Then during the other day, they would wear "standard" work clothing. The participants would follow this procedure for two weeks.

Interestingly, casual clothes resulted in more activity. When the study's participants wore casual clothes, they took an average of almost 500 more steps on Casual Day. In fact, they walked an average of 2.85 miles on Casual Day, and 2.64 miles on Dress-Up Day! Interestingly, this translated into the participants burning 25 extra calories on Casual Day, due to the longer distance they walked. Thus, not only did the casual clothing make the participants more prone to walk-it also made them healthier!

What would be the long-term effects of wearing casual clothing to work? Workers could burn 125 extra calories each week and 6,260 calories each year! This is particularly good news, as the calories burned could counter the average amount of weight that adult Americans gain annually.

What did the researchers conclude? During the last quarter of a century, our hectic lifestyles and technological breakthroughs have caused many of us to live sedimentary lifestyles. However, wearing casual clothing in our workplaces proves the power of suggestion, encouraging us to be more active. For instance, medical personnel who wear comfortable scrubs, such as cheap urbane scrubs, are more prone to perform their duties faster and better.

Turning "standard" work attire into casual work attire creates several results. Besides being more comfy, such as in the case of scrubs, it makes workers more active. That consequently makes them healthier. And ultimately, healthy workers are better workers. If you feel more comfortable at work, then you will feel more like working!