We’re back with more wellness tips! Before you ask, yes — it’s that important we always blog about health and wellness! When you’re a business owner, there’s a fine line to balance between working hard and working too hard. Believe it or not, small business owners are just as vulnerable (in many cases even more) as anyone to stress, anxiety and self doubt. Don’t let the “grind movement” confuse you, we all have our days and moments.
Of course working hard is important, but it’s not as important as your health. Many business owners identify who they are with the business they own. We love that passion as much as anyone else, but we don’t want it leading you into a cycle of stress that hurts your health. So today we’ve come up with 5 ways you can improve your health and wellness as a small business owner!
So what’s the benefits of practicing good health & wellness?
Good question! It’s important to note that improving your health and wellness won’t be overnight, however, it’s worth taking out some time to do so. Below are some facts of the many super powers our bodies carry and release:
Dopamine
This plays a heavy role in how we feel pleasure. It’s a big part of our unique human ability to think and plan. Not only that, but dopamine also affects movement, memory, and focus.
Endorphins
Known to be a ‘feel-good’ chemical in the brain. We encourage you to try just fifteen minutes a day of exercise! You will feel this being released, as it makes our immune system more robust, and help us battle off those sick days.
Serotonin
This hormone impacts the entire body. This chemical steadies our mood, feelings of well-being, and happiness. At the same time, it helps with sleeping, eating, and digestion. This also results in improved sleep cycles, pain reduction, and improved overall well-being.
Your brain will function better, which in turn helps your employees’ productivity levels go up! So improving your health and wellness isn’t just for you, but also those around you!
Work it out!
I know I know, you’ve heard it all before… But it’s true! When you’re healthier, you feel better, stronger, wiser even! Moving is one of the best ways to get oxygen up and circulating! And that in itself is important as that increases both energy and attentiveness in the brain!
With most of us now working portably, we have less and less chances of getting up and moving. Getting up every hour or so to stretch is imperative! Now who would we be if we didn’t give you some practical stretches below? These are for our small business owners who are sitting all day! Of course, everyone can try them:
- Change your posture often: Remember to breathe and have your back straight. This helps with your breathing and decreases any soreness from the same position we often feel.
- Stretch your feet often while sitting down: Sticking with the importance of blood circulation, you want to reduce any arthritis as well as any leg stiffs! Keep in mind, bending your legs and feet often helps with your multitasking skills as well!
- Try the 20–20–20 rule: This is quite easy actually! The reason we suggest it, is many of us sit and look at a screen all day and though you may feel productive, sometimes your eyes will get heavy and if not regulated eye problems in the future wouldn’t be so far off..Basically, it’s better to use this rule now than later, so we recommend looking at a distance of 20 feet or more, for 20 seconds, every 20 minutes!
- Stay hydrated: Liquids do wonders for the body! And no, we don’t mean your coffee-water, please! Water is an essential part of all our lives. It’s one the 4 natural elements, and though your Starbucks may taste great, nothing is like a cold glass of water! Water does a couple of things for our bodies like, delivering oxygen through our bodies, lubricates our muscles, and of course boosts our skin & beauty!
What happens if I don’t have movement?
Moving is important as it should be a constant practice in your daily life. The more you move, the more prepared you’ll be for things like, getting up on a fly. Doing anything spontaneous on the go — this is where you’ll draw the strength from!
Remember why you started!
Improving your health and wellness takes some time, and sometimes it’s about what we tell ourselves. Burnout is not a joke and it can hit us all differently. Most times, it stems from stress and then the spiral comes.
Yet, in these times, think and re-spark your drive by reflecting on your past achievements and successes. Especially the small wins, the many different pieces that come into your successful business!
Congratulate yourself today-you’re a CEO, a business owner, a founder and creator of your very dream! And yes, it’s been hard, it’s been a long time coming surely, you have gotten tired. But we’d be remiss to not state the best diamonds come from pressure. And with that comes risks.
Since startup founders make the conscious decision to take risks it really comes down to them putting the pressure on themselves. We all experience fear of failure, but not the way that startup founders do with everything on the line.
Surrounding yourself with a strong support group and reminding yourself of the potential reward of each risk are a couple of ways to cope within this pressure and improve in all aspects of your health and wellness.
Socialization is key
As we’re coming out of the many restrictions from the Pandemic, socializing is imperative. As we recommend this, it is very important that we do it safely though. Losing daily contact with those around you who support and care for you can be detrimental.
It’s essential even for those introverted small business owners. As a small business owner, you know how it feels when the world seems to be on your shoulders, and yours alone. Remember there are so many other founders out there who are also standing and have stood in the face of adversity.
Believe it or not, there are many who are willing to help because they remember what it was like to be in your shoes. A critical factor for improved health & wellness is spending time with others. Going for walks with colleagues during your lunch break, starting the day with a podcast that inspires you, or finishing the day off with a jogging session with a friend or family.
Don’t be afraid to take a break
Never underestimate the power of breaks! This allows you to reset in smaller amounts! Taking a short-break of 1–5 minutes, once or twice an hour is proven to increase creativity and productivity. To reiterate, this is where the 20–20–20 rule can come into play!
Some benefits have been shown to come from various activities even including watching a funny video, eating a healthy snack, reading an E-Book that’s non-related to your work, just to name a few.
Don’t get me wrong, I know some of you are very busy all day, every day. But I’m sure there is at least 10 minutes in the morning where you can stop and stretch, or listen to a quick podcast on the way to work and refresh your day, take back your joy in small moments like this.
It’s important as well that we have a routine that correlates with our sleep schedule. Because, let’s be real without a good night’s rest, the day ahead of us will always feel long. Stress comes from both mental and physical exhaustion, and sleeping is a remedy for both of these.
We’ve been in this vicious cycle of being sleep deprived these days. Small business owners are not exempt from this either. It’s been proven it takes roughly 31 days to form a steady schedule, so brace yourselves!
Watch your consumption
Now, I know what you’re thinking. How could we say to socialize and take breaks and then say watch your consumption? But it’s true. As much as you socialize and take breaks, it’s important to do it all with temperance! Improving your health and wellness also is about what we eat in our bodies!
Ever eat a meal and feel absolutely done? Like you can’t get up afterwards? Many say this would state you’re full, but ever think it may be that you’ve eaten too much? Or eaten something that isn’t boosting your natural energy? Yeah, same…
For the small business owners still on “the grind” every day, know that eating at least 3 meals-3 healthy meals is still important. Breakfast is still the most important meal of the day. Of course, with COVID, we’ve been eating whatever we can grab but, now we’re all unable to move around or fit in our clothes. It’s time we get this together, right.
Many professionals have found that eating a quick but healthy breakfast while meal prepping lunch is the perfect solution. Not sure how you feel about meal prepping? That’s okay, let’s talk about the perks of a good prep:
- Saves you time
- Helps save you money you money
- Saves your natural energy & super powers to work better and faster
Never underestimate the power of efficiency! This can enhance & improve your health and wellness in just a few months in your home and workplace!
Business owners , for your employees, you can fill your kitchens and vending machines with healthier snacks! You can even have incentives to healthier restaurants, outside events that’ll result in healthier moments!
So what’s the end result?
So, now that we’ve completely explained some great ways health and wellness can positively affect you and your small business, don’t forget that it’s what you can handle! Never push yourself too far, do it all with strides!
But as you are striving towards improving your health and wellness, moving often is imperative! Try the 20–20–20 rule and stay hydrated! Don’t be afraid to get out of the chair and stretch!
Stay connected to your fellow friend and work circles-we’re all human and often need other people to lean on.
Socializing not only helps us lean on one another but also keeps us in reality-that we’re just people and sometimes need to take a break. That breaks are not wrong but needed. Gaining a routine in these moments as well as having a schedule for sleep is encouraged!
Let us not forget the importance of what we ate, food plays a large role in our daily energy levels and if we could take anything from the past couple years of slowing down it’s meal prepping to get us back into that fast-paced life that’s around the corner.
Originally published at https://www.bookmark.com on November 9, 2021.
