Workplace Wellness Whisperer – (June 17)
Hello Workplace Wellness Seeker,
Happy Saturday!
Have you considered wellness travel?
I’ve been travelling along the coast of Amalfi and I’m in total awe of its beauty. It’s been nice to take some much needed self-care and just literally soak in the natural beauty of this amazing coastline. Check out my stories for a real-time update on my travels on Instagram or Facebook.
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People that practice gratitude consistently report a host of psychological benefits
including: higher levels of positive emotions, more alert, alive, and awake, more joy
and pleasure, more optimism and happiness.
🙏Gratitude Practice🙏
I appreciate the following things about my job/work ______ because ________.
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How can you promote Health and Wellness Programs?
The first step is to identify unhealthy behaviors and potential health risks as a starting point to foster a healthy workforce. Wellness programs that highlight the ill effects of unstable diets, weight management, depression, stress, and emotional distress caused by work-related factors can target pressing pain points of employees. Include yoga and breathwork as a part of wellness programs. These are coping mechanisms for employees to better manage themselves and workplace stress if any.
My Workplace Wellness Calendar can guide you with some ideas for implementing your wellbeing strategy.
🔎To successfully incorporate these programs, companies must:
✨Invest in the right healthcare policies that encompass wider aspects of physical and mental health.
✨Get professionals on board to oversee and create nuanced wellness programs that require one-on-one sessions with employees.
✨Highlight the importance of regular biometric screenings or assessments that give employees a chance to address underlying concerns or risks related to physical and mental health.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel for amazing daily workplace wellness tips that can help in all factors of your wellness program.
Here’s a summary of this week’s 5 tips that can help you personally and professionally.
Read, Listen and Share!
Tip #1. SMILE 🙂 For Optimal Wellbeing
Try this test: Smile. Now try to think of something negative without losing the smile. Difficult? Isn’t it? Studies have shown that smiling releases endorphins, other natural painkillers, and serotonin. Together, these brain chemicals make us feel good from head to toe. Not only do they elevate your mood, but they also relax your body and mind. Smiling is a natural drug. When you smile, immune function improves because you are more relaxed and it releases certain neurotransmitters. Laugh out aloud or laughter therapy are popular meditation strategies. We are naturally drawn to people who smile. Smile and begin your day to unleash the universal power of positivity that sends the message “Life is good!” to your brain.
Listen to the Self-Care Goddess Podcast “How to Ignite Your Inner Awakening?” episode #77
Tip #2. Do you have plants in your home office?
We’ve talked before about the health benefits of houseplants in your home. And the same is true of your office! Whether you’re able to create a full-blown garden at your desk, or you just have one plant in a corner, there are a couple key reasons to add plants to your office space: – Sadly, indoor air is typically much more polluted than the air right outside your office building. But certain plants—like easy-to-care-for peace lilies, rubber plants and spider plants—are great natural air purifiers. Adding them to your workspace can help to remove toxins from the air you’re breathing in. Exposure to greenery from plants is shown to reduce fatigue, boost creativity and productivity, and may even make you happier! Woohoo!
A great gratitude practice you can do is my Mindful Heart-Focused Breathing video. I hope you find this video helpful and please share with family, friends and co-workers.
Tip #3. Why To Avoid Caffeine Before Bed If You Have Sleep Issues
Ok so this where I’m going to get some haters – and if you’re a coffee addict I don’t think you’re going to like me after this – but it’s for your own good especially if you’re having sleep issues! One of the primary factors of sleep drive is the molecule Adenosine, which works its way through your system, it goes to a very specific receptor. site area in your brain. As adenosine accumulates throughout the day, you get sleepier and sleepier and sleepier. But what you do during the day affects what happens at night, both to either help or prevent quality sleep. Caffeine, for example, chemically looks very similar to adenosine, only differing by a few molecules. And I’m not sure why God would be so cruel to us but it works by binding to the adenosine receptors which in turn blocks your sleep drive. This is independent of the time of day—meaning if you consume caffeine even late at night, the caffeine can still block your adenosine receptors and inhibit your sleep drive. Caffeine has about a 7hr half life. The half-life of a drug is an estimate of the time it takes for the concentration or amount in the body of that drug to be reduced by exactly one-half (50%). This means that it’s in your system for a really long time. There’s a ton of people that are drinking caffeine past 2 PM, even past 6 PM because it’s still in your system at 1am. Or having a night time coffee before bed. Well, if those individuals are still able to fall asleep, they might not be getting quality sleep. This is something you have to take into consideration. I recommend that people stop consuming caffeine by noon to 2 PM so that they can fall asleep at a normal time around 10 PM without the caffeine in their system and of course the limit the number of coffees – are we still friends?
Download my FREE Mental Health Shopping List of the top foods with the critical nutrients you need for improving your Mental Health here.
Tip #4. Sitting is New Smoking
Sitting is the new smoking! Sitting impacts your health in a variety of ways. With more of us working remotely, you may feel like all you do is sit all day long! Research shows sitting for five-plus hours daily is equivalent to smoking 1.25 packs of cigarettes. Another study showed a sedentary lifestyle may put you at risk for early death. When possible, get up, stretch, host a walking meeting, or do a mini-workout to get your heart rate up and circulation going.
Check out my amazing ‘Avocado Ice Cream‘ recipe.
Tip #5. Eye Exercises for Computer Eye Strain
We are using digital devices more than ever and my computer eye strain is REAL and can lead to dry eyes, blurry vision and even headaches. When working on a computer it’s a good idea to follow the 20/20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. You can also try rolling your eyes in a circular motion with your eyes open and then closed. To help lubricate the eye try slowly blinking every 5 seconds, I know it sounds easy but we often forget to blink as often as we should. And my favourite one is rubbing your palms to create some heat, then gently cover your eye without pressing hard, open your eyes in the darkness and hum on your exhales to relax your eyes and your mind. Try these exercises a few times throughout your workday.
If you’re ready to leverage your workplace wellness strategy and explore how to optimize individual, team and your company’s performance, book your complimentary Workplace Wellness call here.