6 Behaviors That Contribute to Wellness

Changing or modifying lifestyle behaviors provide a variety of health and wellness benefits that can reduce your risk of diseases and conditions, improve your productivity and reduce your health care costs. In addition to changes you can make at home, take advantage of any wellness programs your employer offers.

Lack of sleep can lead to fatigue, jitters, stress because your body does not get adequate time to repair itself each night. To improve your sleep, stop “brain work” at least an hour before bedtime, and eat no later than three hours before you go to bed to let your food digest. Decreased room temperatures help you sleep better, working with your body’s natural process of lowering its temperature as you sleep. Take a nap during the day to help maintain your alertness if you can’t get a full night’s sleep.

Tobacco use leads to a number of health problems, including emphysema and lung cancer. An employee who smokes can cost an employer up to $1,300 more annually than a non-smoking worker, according to the Centers for Disease Control as reported by the Wellness Council of America. For this reason, many businesses offer smoking cessation programs to employees at no charge.

The right diet provides your body with the macronutrients, vitamins and minerals it needs for peak performance. Diet can directly reduce your risk for heart attack, stroke, hypertension, poor cholesterol, osteoporosis and diabetes. Work with a dietitian to learn your nutrition needs, which change as you get older. For example, teen girls and women need more iron, vitamin D and calcium as they age.

Keeping your weight at a healthy level can help reduce joint pain, back pain and help prevent heart attack, stroke and diabetes. The American Wellness Council estimates that businesses lose 100 million employee workdays annually from lower back pain.

If you have a stressful job, difficult personal situation or other factors in your life that cause you worry and anxiety, stress-reduction activities can help reduce related health problems, which can include high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack. Stress can make you snap at coworkers or release your negativity to family members. De-stress with exercise, music, counseling, yoga or other activities that take your mind off your problems.

Exercise provides a host of wellness benefits for your mind and body. Regular exercise can improve your “good” cholesterol levels, help you lose weight, improve heart health, increase muscular endurance and build muscle. During exercise, your body produces more endorphins, neurotransmitters that help you feel relaxed and positive.