WELLNESS
WELLNESS
Wellness refers to an overall balance of a person’s physical, social, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, environmental and occupational well-being. Wellness is achieved when someone strives for balance in their life by constantly making choices to further their health and fulfillment.
Wellness has a direct influence on overall health. Research shows that exercise significantly improves mental health and wellness by reducing stress, depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. The steps that one would take to improve either of those areas of health might start with many of the same things, such as aiming to lose weight, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol by limiting processed foods, eating more nutrient-dense foods, prioritizing sleep, managing stress, not smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, and much more.
Wellness encompasses the many areas of our lives that impact our health and well-being, and not just our nutrition and physical activity.
Wellness in the workplace improves employee health and improves an organization’s bottom line. Creating a worksite culture of health and wellness boosts and maintains employee morale, improves the lives of employees and helps drive an organization’s overall success. Research shows that wellness programs can encourage employees to smoke less, eat healthier food, exercise more and manage stress more effectively. Wellness programs also have been shown to help employees alleviate and better manage the symptoms of depression, improving their overall wellbeing.
A wellness activity is anything being done that helps achieve that goal. Whether it’s a physical activity to stay active, like exercise, or a 5-minute meditation at the end of the day to relieve stress, wellness activities are the stepping stones to achieving overall health.
