Employee health and wellness - what do we already know?
Every part of your body, including your immune system, functions better when its well-rested and is well taken care of. Eating clean nutritious food to make sure your body is getting the vitamins and minerals it needs. Staying active, listening to your body, rest when needed, taking care of your mental health by doing things that make you happy.
This is all basic knowledge, right? Then why don’t we do it?
The most common reason, there are not enough hours in the day. We spend all out time at work, in the office behind a desk. Meeting deadlines, heading into conference calls, handing in deliverable's. Our health and well being is forced to take a back seat.
A workplace wellness program can fix this. A workplace wellness program will support employees to embrace their health by activating a sort of group think mentality, encouraging employees to choose healthier behaviour and nutritious food choices. This is one of the reasons why workplace wellness is so important. For more information on the importance of workplace wellness click here
Every. Single. Person gets sick. It’s an inevitable part of life. How well you recover from sickness depends on how strong is your body. Build resilience and strengthening your body to fight disease and to do it well is the key.
Ways to build a strong immune system
Get good quality sleep
A good night’s sleep actually does more than giving your body a break, it also protects your immune system function. Sleep affects our physical and mental health immensely. The National Sleep Foundation has shown that sleep keeps your immune system resilient. Sleep increases the production of cytokines which fights disease. More sleep won’t necessarily prevent you from getting sick, skimping on the quality and quantity of hours needed may seriously affect your immune system leaving you more susceptible to illness. Again, emphasizing the importance of a resilient body to improve your recovery from illness. Most adults need between 7-9 hours each night also don’t under estimate the effects of a power nap. 20 mins during your lunch break is all you need.
Eat Nourishing Foods
Hippocrates the Greek founder of western Medicine said, “let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,” Heal your body and keep it strong by eating clean nourishing foods rich in all the essential nutrients including plenty of fresh colourful and unprocessed food. Eat a rainbow and keep it fresh! You can’t go wrong. We should be aiming to eat 5 serves of vegetables per day and around 2 serves of fruit. Combining this with lean protein, legumes, wholegrains, nuts and seeds makes an excellent choice.
Store up on Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that supports epithelial barrier function against harmful pathogens at a cellular level. This is a key nutrient to improve immunity. Many fruits and vegetables will not contain the required daily amounts. Impaired immunity and susceptibility to infections is a common symptom of Vitamin deficiency, so whatever you’re protecting your body from, consider taking up to 1000 mg daily.
Zinc, Zinc, Zinc
Our bodies require zinc but it cannot be synthesized within our body so its important we get a daily dose as it aids the immune system in fighting off invasive bacteria and viruses. If your prone to getting cuts and scratches Zinc repairs your body and heals your wounds faster. Sources of Zinc include sustainably-caught seafood and legumes like chickpeas, lentils, and beans.
Keep active
Just 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day will offer you massive benefits for both your body and mind supporting you to be physically sharp and mentally strong. Daily physical activity can boost many defenses of the immune system. Exercise gets antibodies and white blood cells moving through the body faster, so they may detect illnesses sooner; plus, an increase in circulation may also trigger the release of hormones that “warn” immune cells of intruding pathogens. Keep your workouts moderate overdoing it can exhaust your body. Do activities that you enjoy to keep you motivated and make it a regular work out to maintain the benefits. Read more on Livevexia's ideas to keep active at work.
Stay Hydrated
Drinking clean purified water makes your body stronger. It helps you build muscle by carrying more oxygen to your cells. It also helps flush toxins out of vital organs. Women should be aiming to drink over 2 litres and men over 2.5 litres each day to support thriving health.
Meditate to Reduce Stress and Anxiety
Meditation and mindfulness are useful tools for avoiding stress and anxiety. When we are stressed our body produces cortisol which causes inflammation in the body impairing our immunity and making us susceptible to recurrent infections. Our body loses its efficacy to fight off antigens like viral infections. Creating your own calm during an intense and stressful situation is a critical strategy. Livevexia creates programs designed to help your employees manage the daily stressors of work. Click here for more information.
One of the easiest and most powerful ways to reduce stress is to regularly practice deep diaphragmatic breathing. Breathing engages our relaxation response which turns off our reaction to stress.
Box breathing is a simple and effective technique;
To do box breathing, simply:
- Inhale through the nose for 4 seconds
- Hold the breath for 4 seconds
- Exhale through the mouth for 4 seconds
- Extend the exhaled breath for 4 seconds
- Repeat this sequence 5 – 10 times and notice how much calmer and present you feel.
Partner with LivEvexia
Reach out to LivEvexia for more information on our series of Nutrition, Movement and Mindfulness workplace workshops. Wellness is nurtured at the workplace and heals from within. Contact us