CHRISTUS Southeast Texas - LiveWell

Keeping CHRISTUS Well At CHRISTUS Health, the well-being of Associates is essential. That includes their well-being at work. To help CHRISTUS Health Associates stay well, the organization has a full-time wellness program coordinator, Jeanette Gray, and uses a wellness strategy consultant from Cooper Wellness strategies. With their help, they developed workplace fi tness activities, health screenings and exercise challenges. ThoseŠinclude: CHRISTUS Workplace Screenings. Each year, CHRISTUS Associates get a free lipid blood panel test. This year, results are available a few minutes after the test, and a nurse practitioner will be available virtually to discuss the results and other health questions. Walk for Good. More than 4,000 CHRISTUS Health Associates are signed up for this team walking challenge. Steps per day are calculated with electronic trackers then used to calculate points that can be used to earn incentives. Since the start of the program just a few short months ago, those CHRISTUS Associates who have registered for the challenge have logged almost a million steps total. Sherry is one of those Associates who decided to take part in the Walk for Good. She uses her Fitbit to remind her to get up from her desk and walk at least 250Šsteps every half hour. With the Fitbit counting her steps, she also uses part of her lunch break to take longer walks around the building. "The Walk for Good program has become a good way for me to increase my physical activity during the day," Sherry says. "This might be a small step, but it has made a big change in my life." Heritage Journey. CHRISTUS Health's Wellness Coordinators are always looking for fun ways to get CHRISTUS moving.ŠThey've calculated the number of steps Bishop Dubuis and CHRISTUS' fi rst Sisters took in their journey to begin CHRISTUS and have plans for Associates to take part in the same course over 60 days, while watching their progress on a map of Bishop Dubuis' route. Revamp sedentary work habits to feel healthier, sleep better and get more done in a day. Be Well stand a day. stand SET YOUR MIND TO MOVE Take breaks from sitting throughout the day. Set a reminder to stand up every 30 minutes or so, even if it's just for a few moments. If you can, take a few short fi ve- to 10-minute walks several times a day. Need an excuse? Ask colleagues questions in person instead of via email or put on a headset and walk around while you take calls. Or you can take a stand (literally) against sitting by setting up a standing or treadmill desk. Find a balance between standing and sitting during the day and make sure you have supportive shoes and a padded mat if you work on a hard surface. Over time, too much standing can be hard on your joints as well. Better Workday FOR A In today's modern o• ce environment, many workers are at their desks for long hours. All that time sitting and being inactive can be dangerous to workers' health. Inactivity is linked to obesity and obesity-related health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Some even call sitting "the new smoking." Harmful e' ects don't end there. Not feeling well can negatively a' ect your productivity levels, meaning you get less done at work in the same amount of time. So what's the solution? Making an e' ort to reform unhealthy habits at work and at home is a good start. sleep So what's the solution? Making an e' ort to reform unhealthy habits at work and at home is a good start. sleep SLEEP STRONG Getting enough sleep causes a cascade of positive side e' ects. That includes being in a better mood, making better decisions, having a better attention span, having a clearer memory and being more productive at work. Sleep is also important to staying well. Try to get seven to nine hours of sleep each night to help your body function properly and keep your immune system strong. Health issues cost companies more than $260ªbillion a year, so there are major benefi ts to feeling your best. 1 2 HEALTH AWARE 4 christusset x.org | Spring 2017 HEALTH AWARE 4

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