March is a great time to get employees motivated about their wellness. The clocks change, days are getting longer, and many people find their mood lifts at this time of the year.
To help you capitalise on this seasonal optimism, we've written some top tips to help staff make the most of Springtime and get into some great wellness habits that will last all year.
1. Make the most of warmer Spring weather and also exercise for free:
- Skip in the back garden – free once you’ve bought your skipping rope
- Power Walking or Nordic Walking (with walking poles if you have them)
- Bike riding
- Walking or Hiking
- Gardening
- Is there a trampoline in your back garden? Go have some fun exercising on it
- Set up circuit training in your back garden – press-ups, squats, lunges, tricep dips, stepping up a down on the backdoor step, bicep curls (a tin of beans as your weight in each hand), sit-ups, planks.
Top Tip: Get yourself up half an hour earlier to go for a brisk stroll – the morning air is refreshing and invigorating and sets you up for a great day.
2. Renew, Re-energise and Boost Your Immune System
Spring is the time when nature renews itself and the world is fresh and vibrant. This year, follow nature’s example by cleansing, invigorating and recharging your body and mind.
Toxins & How To Detox Your Body – Toxins are poisons produced by your body’s own processes, processes occurring in nature, or they can be created by everyday objects and the technology and engineering that makes our lives easier.
Manmade sources come from pesticides in your food, gas given off by your new carpet, chemicals in your water, that new car smell, tobacco smoke, toxic minerals used by industry and tons of other sources including prescription drugs and chemotherapy.
Stress, alcohol, caffeine, salt and refined sugar are also toxic to the body. The body is designed to detoxify itself. However, when external sources of toxicity are added to the mix those normal detoxification processes become overwhelmed.
The liver is the body’s main organ of detoxification. A fully functional liver supports immune system function. The immune system is part of your body’s detoxification arsenal. Toxins cause free radicals that destroy cells in the body and bind to cytokines (immune system information pathways) damaging those immune system pathways resulting in reduced immune system function.
3. A simple way to invigorate your body
1: Detox Smoothie
1 ripe banana; 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen; 2 – 3 kale leaves with stalks; 1/2 cup cruciferous greens (leaves of broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage). Optional: a handful of goji berries. Water as needed to blend
2: Remember hydration on a daily basis
Water intake is important all year round. Keeping a bottle of water nearby to sip on throughout the day and having a glass before every meal is an easy way to achieve this. If you’re not the biggest fan of the taste of water, try adding a slice of lemon, lime or cucumber to freshen up the taste.
If it’s too cold to drink tap temperature water, try drinking cooled, boiled water. Either plain (you’ll be surprised how you soon you acquire a taste for plain boiled water) or with a slice of lemon and /or ginger afor a zingy, energizing, tasty drink.
Herbal and white teas are also a good way to increase your water intake.
3: Prepare for a good night’s sleep
If the longer, lighter evenings impact on your sleep, you'll find the following helpful:
- Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol, a large meal, watching TV or vigorous exercise 3 -4 hours before going to bed.
- Spend 20-30 minutes directly before you go to bed, doing something relaxing, but not stimulating!
- Make sure the bedroom is dark, cool and quiet. Use earplugs if you need to.
- Make sure your bedroom is the right temperature for you.
- Associate your bedroom with sleep. Make it a haven for tranquil relaxation. Remove all technology from your bedroom.
Jeff Archer is director of corporate wellbeing consultancy, The Tonic.
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