Improving Your Workplace Wellness

By Donna Stark

The phone is ringing incessantly, the emails won’t stop, and your boss is currently breathing down your neck. Ugh! Staying busy at work is usually a good thing, but when your work life gets too hectic, it is easy to overlook your health and well-being. A bad habit one day can turn into a lifelong behavior the next if you aren’t too careful. And if you have enough of those kinds of days and behaviors, that can add up to a lot of time sitting in poor health. Completing your work on time is important, but remember, so is your overall wellness.

Creating a Healthy Work Environment

Forgetting to pay attention to your well-being while at work can have significant consequences on your health. After all, it is the one place where you spend the majority of your time each day, so it should be considered your home away from home. Here are some tips on how to improve your workplace wellness.

• Take a break - Stress can wreak havoc on your body without you even realizing it, so take some mini-breaks throughout the day or after an especially tense conference call to decompress and recharge the natural way. Have a quick chat with a friend or just stand up and stretch. It will do you wonders.
• Take a walk - Sitting in your chair all day can cause major restlessness and added stress to your spine, so get up and move! By incorporating more steps into your day, your body is able to release tension and stress a lot easier, plus it helps to get the creative juices flowing as well. Add the steps by skipping the elevator and taking the stairs, parking a little farther from the office, or turning your meetings into walking ones.
• Take a sip - Water is essential for optimal health and will leave you energized and glowing. Keep a bottle next to you throughout your day and sip from it constantly. It’s a great pick-me-up too for that afternoon slump.
• Take a packed lunch - Lunches and snacks are important factors to your workplace wellness, so skip the takeout and your coworker’s homemade treats and pack whole, natural, power food! Increasing your energy and productivity in the workplace starts with what you put into your body.

Home Away from Home

There’s a good chance that you spend the majority of your waking hours at work, so try to mimic the same healthy behaviors that you have at home while at your job. And no, I wouldn’t suggest bringing in your sofa and toiletries to do so, but you definitely can bring all of your healthy habits and behaviors. Now … get back to work. I think I hear your phone ringing.

To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Gilbert, Ariz.