Wellness Wednesday provides a perfect reminder to work toward a healthy lifestyle. Business owners often need an excuse to take breaks and focus on wellness. And sharing wellness tips with employees can make your entire workplace healthier. Here are some Wellness Wednesday ideas to pass along.
1. Practice Meditation
Meditation offers many proven benefits. It can relieve stress, improve focus, and even increase creativity. Encourage spending time on breath work or guided rest each day; even a few minutes can be beneficial.
2. Plan a Workout Routine
Fitness isn’t just a way to lose weight. A solid exercise program can also lead to more energy, higher self-esteem, and improved moods. Encourage team members to find a method that they enjoy and work it into their daily routine.
3. Reduce Your Caffeine Intake
Excessive caffeine can increase anxiety. And enjoying a caffeine boost in the afternoon can potentially disrupt sleep. Switching to decaf, herbal tea, or water may support mental health and sleep function.
4. Exercise on Your Lunch Break
Physical activity doesn’t need to be time consuming. Build healthy habits into the small pockets of time through your day. For example, take a walk or do a quick yoga session on your lunch break.
5. Eat Fresh Fruit and Veg
Small steps can improve your diet dramatically over time. Instead of cutting anything out, simply add more fresh produce to each meal. These foods include tons of nutrients and make you feel more full, so there’s less room for junk later.
6. Practice Sleep Hygiene
Working to improve sleep can lower stress levels and improve brain function. Create a nightly routine, shut off screens, and keep your room dark and quiet at night.
7. Try Yoga
Yoga is a low impact option that can build strength and improve mental health. Try a class or find a video workout online.
8. Cut Your Sugar Intake
Sugar is a huge part of most people’s diets. Cut back on sweets and sugary drinks to improve energy levels naturally instead.
9. Perfect Your Work-Life Balance
Spending time with family, friends, and community is important for mental health. No matter how focused you are on work, create times where you shut off devices and enjoy yourself or slow down and rest.
10. Unplug from Your Devices
Being constantly connected to social media and email can lead to extra stress and stimulation. Take breaks on the weekend or during dinner or family time by leaving your phone in another room or turning it completely off.
11. Count Your Steps
A dedicated workout isn’t the only way to maintain a healthy weight and improve cardiovascular fitness. Movement in your daily life, like the short walk into your office, can also contribute to your wellness goals. Use a fitness tracker to count how many steps you take each day, so you’re motivated to work in more movement.
12. Improve Dental Hygiene
Dental health contributes to heart health and can lower the chances for various conditions like diabetes. Brush and floss daily, and visit your dentist twice a year to reduce the chance of tooth decay and gum disease.
13. Practice Gratitude
Feeling grateful for what you have can improve your mood and lead to a happier world. Write down three things you’re grateful for each morning or evening to build this into your routine.
14. Track Your Water Intake
Do you drink enough water each day? Most people aren’t sure, so keep track on a note by your desk or in your smartphone. Then increase hydration as needed.
15. Enjoy a Green Smoothie
Green smoothies can include tons of nutrition. Add fruits, veggies, seeds, nut butters, and protein for a well-balanced snack each day.
16. Stretch Throughout the Day
Sitting at a desk all day is bad for your spine and joints. Send employees reminders to get up and stretch or walk about once every hour.
17. Learn a New Skill
Just like with physical fitness, your brain needs exercise to improve strength and resilience. There are tons of ways to do this — learn an instrument, practice a new language, or complete challenging puzzles.
18. Build Breaks into Your Schedule
Don’t wait until the weekend or a long vacation to rest. Block off parts of your calendar to sit and eat quietly, enjoy nature, or just lounge around the house.
19. Start a New Hobby
Do something fun to increase enjoyment in your life and lower stress. Try painting, join a club, or search secondhand stores for collectibles.
20. Try Therapy
Talking through stresses can improve your mood, relationships, and lifestyle. Some people are resistant to therapy. But there are plenty of options, including in-person, phone, video, and text sessions.
21. Meal Prep for the Week
It can be tough to eat healthy food when you’re always in a rush. Instead of always heading to the nearest fast food restaurant or vending machine, plan food in advance and prep them each Sunday so you’re ready for the week.
22. Spend Time in Nature
Spending time outdoors can improve your mood and increase your vitamin D. Try working outside for an afternoon, reading on your patio, or switching out the treadmill for an actual walk.
23. Take Deep Breaths
Breathing helps more oxygen travel to all your organs and tissues. Your body obviously does this naturally. But sometimes you need a moment to really slow down and just rejuvenate your body and mind.
How to Use These Wellness Tips to Promote Healthy Habits to Employees
The Wellness Wednesday tips above can help both you and your employees make healthier choices. To share them, think about how you normally communicate with your team and create a habit of sharing health related content there regularly.
Wellness Wednesday Tip of the Week
Sometimes, it helps to have a weekly habit of sharing tips. Turn it into a tradition that employees look forward to each Wednesday.
Share Tips at the End of Meetings
One option is to have bring wellness tips into your weekly staff meetings. Just share a thought at the beginning or end, or let team members share their own thoughts and experiences so you can all learn from each other.
Create a Thread in Your Team’s Communication App
If you have a remote team or usually communicate virtually, start a thread for tips and other articles related to well being so everyone can share together.
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