2018 is the year workplaces take the wellbeing of their staff seriously. No longer just a nice-to-have, workplace wellbeing initiatives have become a boardroom priority.

This year, Fetcham Park’s in-house wellbeing experts, Peter Haling and Holly Myers from The Health Quest, will share some easy to adopt habits and practical tips as part of Fetcham Park’s Workplace Wellbeing Initiative.

To begin with, here’s 3 Easy Things You Can Do to Change Your Life…

The following 3 principles are simple but hugely effective. They highlight some of the bad habits we develop and find hard to break.

1.Drink More Water

Water has 2 very important functions: hydrating and cleansing the body.

The Aim

To drink your own bodyweight in kg x 0,033 in litre clean water per day (e.g. if you weigh 75kg, this would mean drinking 2.4 litres of water per day).

Tips for Drinking Water

• After drinking water, wait at least 20 minutes before you start to eat
• Try not to drink too much while eating. Too much water might weaken your digestion
• Drink as much as possible between meals, evenly spread throughout the day
• Drink as much as possible during exercise
• Keep a large bottle of water at your desk and set yourself the target of drinking it all by the end of the day
• Limit fluid intake 1 hour before bed to avoid disturbed sleep.

The Result

If your body is sufficiently hydrated, you will notice that you’re more alert, have more energy and better skin just by drinking enough water.

2. Sit Up Straight and Move More

Back and posture-related pain caused by long periods sitting at a desk contribute to the loss of 10 million working days, costing UK businesses up to £1billion in lost earnings per year.

The Aim

Make standing up at work a habit. The aim for week 1 is to stand up at least once per hour. From week 2 onwards aim to get up twice per hour. Set a timer on your phone to help.

The Result

Your back, neck and shoulders will feel looser as you allow more blood to circulate. You will feel energised from moving around and getting some fresh air whenever you have the chance.

3. Get Some Rest & Switch Off

Getting enough sleep during the night is vital for your health. When we don’t get enough sleep, we are unable to repair the body and the nervous system becomes fragile.

Your Aim

To go to bed by 10pm a few times a week and digitally detox.

Going to sleep by 10pm ensures you the full benefit of the body’s recovery through the night. Physical repair takes place between 10pm and 2am (repair of muscles, bones, joints and organs) while psychological repair takes place between 2am and 6am (repair of the nervous system and hormonal system).

The Result

After a few nights of 8 hours of good quality sleep, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how you feel. You’ll feel more awake and less stressed. Sugar and caffeine cravings will also reduce.

Tips for getting to sleep at night

• Get up with the sun – around 6am so you’ll be naturally fatigued by 10pm. Waking up earlier to do work is far better than staying up late
• Eat a diet high in vegetables, good quality fats and protein to aid sleep
• Dim the lights in the house about two hours before bedtime
• Avoid caffeine and try chamomile tea an hour before bed
• Ideally unplug alarm clocks, radios or any other electrical devices in your room before bed.
• Covered windows or use blackout blinds
• Leave your window partially open at night
• Choosing relaxing music over TV before bed
• Shower or bathe – adding lavender oil is a great aid for natural sleep

Follow Your Progress

Try keeping a note in your diary or monitor changes by using a wellness app. We like the “Productive” app, Fitbit or apple watch that keeps us on track with our daily habits.

For more info about Fetcham Park’s Workplace Wellbeing Initiative, contact Peter on peter@thehealthquest.co.uk

Good luck and remember, small habits can make a big difference!