7 Healthy Habits @ Work

1. Take the stairs or go for a walk. Just 10 minutes of physical activity is important for mind, body and soul. It helps to rejuvenate you with energy and clears your mind. Studies show that employees that incorporate physical activity in their day are more satisfied with their work environment.  Taking the stairs can burn almost five times more calories than riding an elevator. In one-minute a 150-pound person can burn 10 calories by walking up the stairs as compared to 1.5 calories riding the elevator. Another thing to remember is climbing stairs actually brings down blood pressure.

2. Hydration. Have your water container filled with filtered water at your desk. Make sure to drink water throughout the day and if it is on your desk, it will remind you “to think to drink”.

3. Keep fruit and cut up vegetables near by, so when you get hungry you can reach for a healthy snack. Keep hummus, guacamole, bean dips in the refrigerator.

4. Leave your desk at lunch time and find a stress free environment to relax and enjoy your lunch. When you are feeling stressed you are in your sympathetic nervous system and digestion is in your parasympathetic where relaxation is. Therefore, in order to properly digest you need to be relaxed.

5. Think about your posture. If you have been suffering from back or neck aches, then focus on sitting up straight by adjusting your chair so you are sitting straight up with full back support instead of hunched forward over your desk. If your feet are not resting flat on the ground, lower the seat. Be mindful of your posture.

6. Take a break every hour or so, even if it is only to stand up and stretch and go for a walk.  Practice some deep breathing exercises to help relax your muscles and your mind.

7. Remember work is about the relationships we make. Focus on the positive in situations and in others. “Everything in life and every one of us have both good and bad. The mission of a spiritual person is to take the good and connect to the good part of everything in life”. kabbalah