Step Masters: Marketing Director Peter Scallion and Senior Architect Esin Pektas go head to head in RAND's UP Band Challenge.
We at RAND are an active bunch. Whether we're visiting job sites, walking back and forth and up and down around the office, or engaging in our many energetic off-hour pursuits, the RAND staff is always on the move. Now, thanks to a nifty little device, we've discovered just how much we've been moving.
Last fall RAND's President Stephen Varone introduced the staff to the UP Band by Jawbone. Worn on the wrist, the UP Band tracks movement and sleep, and users can also input food intake, workouts and activities, and even their moods. The wristband integrates with a smartphone app that enables users to set goals for steps per day and hours of sleep per night. In addition, users can connect with other UP Banders to share their activities and encourage each other to reach their goals.
Once the RAND UP Band teammates began to monitor their own and each other's progress, we soon noticed interesting behavioral changes in the office: Employees walking to their colleagues' cubicles instead of emailing or calling them. People taking lunchtime strolls instead of eating at their desks. Stephen holding a meeting in RAND's exercise room so he could walk on the treadmill to get in his daily steps!
Recently the friendly competition became a little more competitive (though not necessarily more friendly!) when we threw down the gauntlet with the RAND UP Band Challenge. For the month of April, we kept track of team members' total number of steps, total hours of sleep, how many times people reached their daily goals, and which department moved the most per day. And wow, did we rack up some impressive numbers!
When the final counts came in, the RAND UP Band team had taken a grand total of 5,944,531 steps and slept for a cumulative 2,341 hours and 17 minutes in April. Leading the pack was Senior Architect Esin Pektas with an astonishing 612,053 total steps. That averages out to more than 20,000 steps a day—or approximately 10 miles! Nipping at her high-stepping heels was Marketing Director Peter Scallion, who tallied the most weekend steps with a total of 180,678 steps.
Project Associate Sara Tsiropinas had a perfect step record, hitting her daily goal of 10,000 steps every single day of the month, while Project Associate Albelisa Kemp snoozed her way to her nightly sleep goal of six and a half hours 18 times during the month. RAND's Administrative department had the highest average step count (12,136 per day), and Financial Associate Tony Demattei was the most well-rested of us all, with a total of 236 hours and 23 minutes of sleep. (None at his desk, he's quick to point out).
RAND's UP Band Challenge was a fun way to spur each other on to healthy habits, and it has set us on the path to keeping active as well as getting our much-needed rest. With the warm weather finally here, we're happy to report that spring is most definitely in our steps!
