Inside this issue… Barriers to healthBook club selectionSocial well-beingExercise for brain healthHealthy sleepRemove your health barriersQuinoa salad

Dakota Wellness ProgramJune 2019

Book ClubThe 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage by Mel Robbins

Many of us are generally knowledgeable on what makes a healthy meal or how to find a job. But the last step—follow through, motivation or just doing it—seems to be the step that doesn’t quite get completed. After finding herself in a bad marriage, career, financial troubles and many habits to break, author Mel Robbins discovered a simple brain hack that removes hesitation to perform a task and instead helps you to reframe and take control of your actions.

Using the science of habits and stories of actual 5-second rule users, you can learn how to use courage to change your behaviors in health and productivity, reduce worry and anxiety and build confidence and relationships.

Discussion questions

1. Have you tried the 5-second rule? What happened and how did you feel when you tried it for the first time?

2. What areas of your behavior are you focusing on changing?

3. What stories from the book did you find most inspiring?

Barriers to healthMany people struggle to change their health. Most diet attempts fail, there are countless treadmills collecting dust in homes and now more than ever we are stressed, sleeping less and lonely. Breaking down your barriers is one step you can take to find improved health and well-being.

TimeWe all have the same amount of time in our day; it is all about how we utilize it.

• Separate pieces of your new health habit into 5 or 10 minute activities. Do small bouts of exercise throughout the day. Practice a stress relieving relaxation technique in your car when you arrive home.

• Make appointments with yourself. Try a 10-minute stress relief break in your calendar or a reminder to read a book after the kids go to bed.

EnvironmentYour views and surroundings during your day have a huge influence on the choices you make. Unhealthy foods shared by co-workers in the breakroom leads to poor food choices, but a serene and calm bedroom can lead to a good night’s rest.

• Write down what you plan to cook and eat for dinner each evening, and keep this plan on your refrigerator.

• Create clutter free spaces in your home and workspace, get rid of items you don’t use regularly.

• Place your smart phone out of sight and focus on time with friends, family and co-workers during meetings.

KnowledgeIf you feel like you are in a rut or don’t know where to start, learning something new can be a great inspiration.

• Try a healthy cooking, fitness, mindfulness or other class that interests you.

• Join a networking or support group to expand your knowledge and find others that have similar interests or health goals.

Give it a try… Interactions for a thriving workplace Having a best friend at work is essential to our career well-being, and integrating principles of great friendships into all working relationships can create an overall healthy workplace environment.

Compassionate sharing and learning is part of every communication. When conversations are approached with the intent to learn more about the person and communicate our unique perspective, working relationships can grow and deepen.

The platinum rule guides interactions. The golden rule states, “Treat others as you’d like to be treated.” Healthy workplaces operate on an upgraded principle, “Treat others as they’d like to be treated.”

A mistake is a mistake. In flourishing workplaces, errors are compassionately explored and corrected by both maker and manager. Blaming and excuses are absent, leaving all parties’ character enhanced.

Steps to healthy sleepWe often sacrifice sleep to get just one more thing done. Poor sleep is causing issues in our workplaces and on the roads, leading to more accidents than drunk driving. A healthy amount of rest is considered to be 7 to 9 hours each night. If you are not getting a healthy amount of rest, try to create the conditions for healthy rest using the tips below.

• Increase your exposure to natural light during the day, reduce your exposure to blue light from TV’s, phones and computers for two hours before rest time.

• Set-up a consistent bedtime and wake time that you follow every day.

• Avoid alcohol, caffeine and large meals in the evenings, as all of these will disrupt your sleep.

Physical activity and brain healthWe often associate exercise with a weight loss goal, strengthening muscles, and better sleep and energy. Researchers in recent years have claimed that if they could create a pill that executed all of the benefits of exercise on our health and wellness, it would be a million dollar invention. Regular physical activity improves our physical health, but research also supports strong evidence on the positive impact exercise has in various dimensions of our mental health.

• Activities such as brisk walking, yoga, and resistance training improve cognition including sharpness, executive function and memory.

• Physical activity is linked to creating a better quality of life or satisfaction with life (both physically and mentally).

• Strong evidence also indicates that acute bouts of exercise help relieve feelings of anxiety and depression, even with severe diagnosis.

How do these finding support your wellness goals?

It is important to realize how exercise effects our well-being daily. After just short bouts of physical activity, productivity, feelings of stress and anxiety are greatly improved. By realizing the strong impact exercise creates within our mental health, we can appreciate physical activity more deeply.

63%Employees experience isolation at work because of a hostile environment.Source: Mental Health America

Monthly ObservancesAlzheimers and Brain HealthMigraine and HeadachePost Traumatic Stress DisorderSafety

2—Cancer Survivors10-16—Men’s Health

Find a complete list of observances at healthfinder.gov/NHO

Activate!PRIORITIZE YOUR TIME FOR HEALTH

Try this fun activity to better understand how you spend your waking hours. The more thorough you are, the more likely you will be able to prioritize your health. First you will need a stack of post it notes and pen.

1. Start by writing down all of the activities, each on a separate post it note, that you do during your entire day. This includes everything that takes your time and attention like taking a shower or eating, work tasks and ideas, along with your free time spent in front of the TV and on your phone.

2. Next, list three health activities you want to be doing like exercising, cooking healthy meals or trying to meditate.

3. Place all of these post it notes together in a line or circle.

4. In reviewing all that you have to do and want to do is there anything that you can stop doing today or reduce? Crumple up the post it note and throw it on the floor for activities you can stop doing.

5. Choose the top five activities that are the most important to you or will bring you joy and health. Make it a goal to focus on one over the next week. Then, the next week move onto another activity.

Black bean and quinoa salad

Serves: 6

Total Time: 45 min | Prep: 30 min | Cook: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dry quinoa

1/3 cup red onion, chopped

1 orange, peeled then segmented

1 avocado, chopped

1 cup canned no added salt black beans,

rinsed and drained

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

For the vinaigrette:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

(about 2 lemons worth)

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 teaspoon honey

Salt and pepper to taste

5 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Cook quinoa according to package directions and place in refrigerator to cool. While quinoa

is cooking whisk together lemon juice, garlic, honey, salt, pepper and oil in a bowl. Next,

chop onion, orange and avocado into small pieces. Add to rinsed beans and thawed corn

in a bowl. Chop cilantro and add to other ingredients along with a pinch of salt and pepper.

After quinoa has cooled add to bowl and mix in lemon vinaigrette. Serve cold or hot.

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 297 Total Fat: 17g Sodium: 8mg Total Carbohydrates: 32g

Dietary Fiber: 7g Total Protein: 7g

Nutrition information compiled using nutritiondata.com

SVHP-3452 Rev. 5/19

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