Work Smarter, Feel Stronger: Physical Wellness Tips for Busy Professionals

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Research has shown that almost 60% of employees report neglecting their physical health due to work life.  It is understandable that employees are more stressed than ever: they want to perform well at work and keep up with responsibilities at home.  Adding to this stress is the increasing popularity of working remotely.  This can lead some employers to push the boundaries of the typical nine to five workday and increase pressure on employees.  Thus, our physical wellness gets put on the back burner in order to make time for other responsibilities.  While this is perfectly understandable, we are here to help provide some suggestions for small ways in which we can improve our physical wellness without sacrificing our work place productivity.

Why Is Physical Wellness At Work Important? 

Obviously, no one wants to be ill.  From an employee standpoint, we are happiest and do our best work when we make healthy lifestyle choices (e.g., not smoking and being physically active).  From an employer standpoint, promoting physical wellness reduces the loss of productivity associated with sick leave.  Annually, US businesses spend approximately $530 billion on unhealthy workers as a result of being ill (and unproductive) at work as well as sick days.  Employers who provide physical activity incentives, corporate gym discounts, and health savings plans have significantly healthier workforces. 

What Can We Do To Incorporate Physical Wellness Into Our Work Day? 

Physical wellness is a broad category that incorporates elements of cardiovascular exercise, muscular strength, nutrition, and sleep.  By maintaining each of these four aspects of physical wellness, we can reduce the likelihood of anxiety, depression, metabolic conditions, and chronic disease, as well as improve our mood, quality of life, and productivity.

Improving our cardiovascular system does not necessarily mean logging hours on a treadmill or grueling exercise.  Making small choices that turn into habits can go a long way towards this goal.  When possible, take the stairs instead of the elevator, grab a buddy and go for a walk at your lunch break, or use a standing desk for an hour a day.  The same strategy can be used for improving muscular strength. Most of us do not have the time to spend hours in a gym each day, and getting started on a strength training regime can be a daunting task, so they never attempt to improve their strength.  However, muscular strength is significantly correlated with longevity and quality of life.  Those of us with low muscular strength are 50 percent more likely to die earlier than our stronger peers.  If we start with small changes, we can work towards the goal of improving our strength, being more productive, and living longer.  Take mini breaks every hour to sit and stand out of your chair.  Opt for an exercise ball instead of a traditional office chair: it helps to increase core activation and strengthen the muscles responsible for improving posture.  Store some resistance bands in for some quick clamshells (for glute strength), rows (for arm strength), and rotations (for core strength). 

Choosing healthy foods that are low in refined sugars and high in protein is the first step towards a healthy diet.  A diet high in refined sugars can increase inflammation, be harmful for our metabolic health, contribute to brain fog at work, and increase our risk of chronic disease.  Stashing some healthy snacks in our desks can be a great way to ensure we are reaching for something good for us when hunger strikes, as opposed to whatever is conveniently located in a vending machine. Placing a few GOOD IDEAs in the common fridge can also help, but be sure to put your name on them before a coworker steals these lightly sparking functional beverages.  Drink 1/3 of a can before your meal and finish the GOOD IDEA with your food to help reduce the blood sugar spike after a meal.  By keeping our blood sugar under control we help to reduce excessive inflammation, improve our metabolic health, and reduce the post-lunch brain fog that is tied to our blood glucose. 

Lastly, by maintaining a regular sleep schedule of seven to nine hours per night we can help to prevent illness, improve our mood, and optimize our health.  We understand that creating a balance between work, physical health, family, and responsibilities can be daunting.  By making a few small adjustments to our workplace routine we can efficiently and effectively improve our physical wellness while at work. 

Key Takeaways For Boosting Your Workplace Wellness

• Annually, US businesses spend approximately $530 billion on unhealthy workers as a result of being ill (and unproductive) at work as well as sick days.
• Physical wellness is a broad category that incorporates elements of cardiovascular exercise, muscular strength, nutrition, and sleep. 
• By maintaining physical wellness, we can reduce the likelihood of anxiety, depression, metabolic conditions, and chronic disease, as well as improve our mood, quality of life, and productivity.
• Cardiovascular exercise can start with taking the stairs instead of the elevator, grabbing a buddy and go for a walk at your lunch break, or using a standing desk for an hour a day. 
• Muscular strength should be a priority for longevity.
• A diet high in refined sugars can increase inflammation, be harmful for our metabolic health, contribute to brain fog at work, and increase our risk of chronic disease. 
• Grab a GOOD IDEA, a functional beverage that has been scientifically shown to help reduce post-meal blood sugar spikes by an average of 25%.

Ready to take your wellness journey to the next level? 

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Author: Dr. Colleen Gulick