When you care for your gut, your brain and body thrive.

Your gut has its own nervous system, which produces over 90% of your serotonin and more than 50% of your dopamine (known for making you feel good). We’re focusing on simple tactics that will allow you to optimize this mind-gut connection and achieve your health and wellness goals.

Healthy Is Coloring Your Microbiome

Our microbiome is a diverse ecosystem of micro-bugs in our gut, each affecting and influencing different aspects of our bodies. This complex ecosystem requires a diverse palette in order to function optimally and ensure positive changes throughout your body. Consuming whole foods in a variety of colors gives your microbiome a boost. Try to consume something from each color below every day.

Healthy Is Minding Your Gut

Did you know the mood you are in when you eat can influence everything from how your body digests the food to the hormones you release? Your gut has its own nervous system, and its lining is stacked with endocrine (hormone-producing) cells.

Avoid eating while stressed by practicing gratitude, taking deep breaths, and slowing down to enjoy your meal. Take your time and enjoy eating again. As amazing as your gut is at turning food into energy, it only does so efficiently if you eat in a calm, non-stressed state.

Healthy Is More Fiber

Fiber slows the rate at which food enters your bloodstream and increases the speed at which food is processed through your digestive tract, keeping your blood sugar and cholesterol in balance and helping you eliminate toxins. Try to incorporate high-fiber fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts into your diet each day.

Progress over perfection.

Every little change helps! Pick one of these challenges to get started on, and add in more as you form new habits. Not sure what will make the biggest impact for you? Sign up for your next coaching session and our team of coaches will help.

When asked to quantify health and chronic disease risk, most gravitate towards the usual metrics of weight, blood pressure, and body composition. However, movement may be one of the most important and overlooked factors we are able to measure. Movement ability has been shown to be predictive of functional decline, injury risk, and chronic disease, all of which reduce an individual’s quality of life and can wreak havoc on an organization’s healthcare expenses.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of incorporating a movement analysis program into your organization’s wellness offerings.

Reduce Injury-Related Costs

But it’s not only about reducing injury risk on the job; 80% of Americans will suffer a back injury at some point in their life, with most of these occurring outside of work. In the U.S., $80 billion is spent each year to treat back injuries. According to the CDC, this leading contributor to sick days costs employers $1,685 per employee per year. Injury prevention is crucial, and that comes through regular movement and risk assessment.

Increase Productivity

Wage and productivity losses due to injury in 2021 totaled $47.4 billion, and it is estimated that 99 million working days are lost due to injuries every year. Whether in an office, a manufacturing facility, or another setting entirely, increasing your employees’ ability to move has massive benefits of boosting energy, engagement, and efficiency.

Improve Mental Health

A great way to take care of your employees’ mental health is to keep them injury-free. Employees with a work-related injury are twice as likely to report serious psychological distress, and as many as 50% experience post-injury depression symptoms.

Workplace injuries aside, participating in regular movement has proven benefits when it comes to mental health. Movement produces endorphins which improve your mood and help you de-stress. Research shows that increased physical activity of any kind, even walking, can improve depression symptoms and reduce the risk of developing depression in the first place. Enabling employees to stay active is paramount.

How We Can Help

Our team of coaches will work one-on-one with your employees to empower them with customized injury prevention and performance improvement strategies that will simultaneously increase productivity and overall quality of life. Everyone is different, so we’ll cater our recommendations and coaching to each individual based on medical-grade data from our assessments.

Healthy Is Wellness utilizes Sparta Science Force Plate technology to analyze stability, force creation, and injury risk in less than 15 minutes. This data paired with our personalized coaching brings significant benefits to businesses by improving efficiency, reducing absenteeism, lowering healthcare costs, and cultivating a healthier workplace.

Ready to get started? Get in touch with our team!

Sources

https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/work/costs/work-injury-costs/

https://www.colorado.edu/health/blog/moving-your-body

https://health.gov/news/202112/physical-activity-good-mind-and-body

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisongriswold/2012/06/12/to-work-better-just-get-up-from-your-desk/?sh=33d2c15b1c15

19 Back Injury Statistics: How Many Back Injuries Occur Each Year? (thegoodbody.com)

The Back Breaking Cost of Back Pain in the US – IRIS FMP (fmpglobal.com)

Do You Know Your Movement Vital Signs? – Rehab2Perform

Movement has the power to benefit you physically, mentally, and emotionally.

You were designed to move! In fact, there may be no quicker way to reduce stress, improve your mood, spark creativity, rejuvenate your cells, and extend your life than adding more movement to your life.

We’re here to help you with some simple strategies for adding more movement into your life.

HEALTHY IS MOVING MORE, SITTING LESS

Our bodies were designed to move and not sit still all day. By moving more throughout the day we strengthen our bodies and minds, which helps prevent depression, Alzheimer’s, inflammation, hormonal issues, and more.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. At home this could mean stretching for a few minutes every morning, or doing 30 seconds of lunges before watching a show. At work, try walking when taking calls, and stand and move around for at least one minute every hour.

HEALTHY IS RUCKING

Rucking is going for a walk with something heavy on your back, and yes, it’s as simple as it sounds! When we lose our ability to move, we lose our ability to live life to its fullest. Rucking has been scientifically proven to strengthen the hips, pelvis, and spinal erectors while also improving posture, which are all essential to an active, injury-free life. Find a backpack, grab something heavy, and go for a walk!

HEALTHY IS “I NEED TO MOVE FIRST”

Slowly replacing phrases like “I’m stressed, I need a break” with “I’m stressed, I need to move first” can transform your life in more ways than you can imagine. You get major short-term and long-term rewards every time you move. When you feel the stress and anxiety mounting, try one of these strategies to make movement your default plan:

Play a game

Take control of your health.

All of these are simple changes that will lead to big impacts over time for your health. Sign up for your coaching session today to explore these challenges with our team of coaches, and we’ll find the easiest ways to fit these into your lifestyle.

Many sporting events are won or lost before the game is even played in the preparation, or lack thereof, for the event.

We can apply that same mindset to our lives, aiming to Win the Morning to start our days off strong! It doesn’t have to be complicated. The following challenges will help you find ways to prime your body, mind, and nervous system that you can stick with long-term.

HEALTHY IS WINNING THE MORNING

As we said above, the first step to winning the morning is priming your body by firing your core and stabilizing muscles. This could be through a plank, squats, or stretching tight muscles. Next, prime your mind to spark creativity and align your thoughts and emotions; read something that inspires you or makes you laugh, or write down three things you’re grateful for. Finally, prime your nervous system. You can do this through a 1-minute cold shower, singing while dancing, or doing anything that activates your whole body.

NERVOUS SYSTEM

HEALTHY IS A MORNING ROUTINE

The first 30 minutes after waking up paves the way for the rest of your day. You can see a major impact on your physical and mental health, and even combat cancer, by keeping this part of your day stress-free. Practicing a morning routine (even a simple one) releases positive hormones that balance out your morning cortisol spike and keep your stress levels low throughout the day.

HEALTHY IS NO SUGAR OR FLOUR FOR BREAKFAST

When you “break your fast” in the morning, your first calories of the day are setting up your body for steady energy and proper hormone regulation. However, spiking your blood sugar can set you up for a day of moodiness, cravings, and hormone disruption. Aim for healthy fats and proteins instead.

Take control of your health.

All of these are simple changes that will lead to big impacts over time for your health. Sign up for your coaching session today to explore these challenges with our team of coaches, and we’ll find the easiest ways to fit these into your lifestyle.

Body composition refers to what your body is made up of.

Typically, people are referring to fat and muscle when they refer to body composition. If you focus exclusively on losing weight, it can be a frustrating process if the number on the scale doesn’t change the way you thought it would. However, what is much more important is improving what your body is made up of; for example, having less fat and more muscle.

Here are three challenges that can help you improve composition, regardless of where you’re at in your health journey.

HEALTHY IS HORMESIS

You have a superhuman power inside each cell of your body called hormesis, where short bouts of stress such as exercise make your body come back stronger than it was before. Pick a timeframe that you can commit to, an exercise you enjoy, and then enjoy the benefits of hormesis.

HEALTHY IS HIGH INTENSITY

Inside every cell are mitochondria – the “energy producers” of our cells. Healthy mitochondria are important not only for physical composition and performance, they are also directly tied to our mental wellbeing. Adding high intensity movements to your day to day life and to your workouts triggers your body to produce new, healthy mitochondria.

There are ways to incorporate this practice into your workouts by picking up heavy things or doing things at a higher speed, but this challenge doesn’t require you to complete a high intensity workout on a daily basis. Simply start using your muscles more often by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or avoid using your hands to sit down or stand up out of a chair. The smallest changes can make big impacts down the road!

HEALTHY IS EATING REAL FOOD

Not feeling up for those? No problem. A simple way to improve composition is through what you eat. Real food is found in nature and is food that you can pick, hunt, or gather. This challenge will show you how to identify and prioritize real food in your meals, helping you feel better and aiding in preventing chronic diseases.

Take control of your health.

All of these are simple changes that will lead to big impacts over time for your health. Sign up for your coaching session today to explore these challenges with our team of coaches. We can’t wait to see you there!

Wellness programs provide an opportunity for companies to invest in not only the health and wellbeing of each employee, but of the organization as a whole. 52% of all U.S. companies are now offering corporate wellness programs (1), with that number climbing to 80% for those with 50 or more employees (2).

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the reasons why wellness has taken over the conversation when it comes to employee benefits and how a workplace wellness program can make an impact at your organization.

Strengthen Recruitment & Improve Employee Retention

Increase Productivity & Reduce Absenteeism

When employees are enabled to take control of their physical and mental health, they take fewer sick days and are more productive when they are at work. Over 90% of companies implementing a wellness program saw improvements in productivity when they started promoting wellness company-wide (3). Healthy Is Wellness clients have experienced up to a 30% decrease in sick leave and 20% increase in productivity with the help of our program.

We saved over six figures in savings last year from employees coming to work more often, major reductions in health care claims, and an increase in employee productivity. And best of all, our employees and their family members love the Healthy Is Wellness monthly events, and we talk about intentionally improving our health while at work.

– CEO of Tech Industry Client

Reduce Health Care Costs & Health Risks

6 out of 10 Americans are affected by chronic diseases, which are the most significant contributors to health care costs. The CDC estimates that changing behaviors such as poor diet, inactivity, and smoking can reduce the occurrence of heart disease, stroke, and Type II diabetes by 80% and all cancers by 40%.

A wellness program allows companies to support employees in making small and impactful changes to their own health behaviors with the guidance of professionals, greatly reducing their immediate and long-term health risk. According to a report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 60% of organizations saw health care costs drop after implementing a workplace wellness program (3).

How We Can Help

With Healthy Is Wellness you can achieve real results, organization-wide. Our comprehensive program utilizes fast, medical-grade assessments and personalized coaching to increase productivity, reduce absenteeism, and create happier and healthier employees.

Healthy Is Wellness integrates our program into your business seamlessly, providing materials to help drive employee participation as well as consistent reporting so you can track your organization’s progress over time.

Ready to get started? Get in touch with our team!

Sources

1. https://blog.gitnux.com/workplace-wellness-statistics/#:~:text=improved%20employee%20morale.-,Companies%20with%20workplace%20wellness%20programs%20in%20place%20report%20a%2066,can%20have%20on%20a%20company
2. https://www.workhuman.com/blog/workplace-wellness-statistics/
3. https://www.betteryou.ai/statistics-on-the-benefits-of-corporate-wellness-programs/