Winter Wellness in The Workplace By Brodie Lee Tsiknaris

If the past two years have taught us one thing, it’s how important our wellness is. Wellness in the workplace should be a priority, it’s one that gets pushed aside but if we don’t make time for our health, it will force us to make time generally at the most inconvenient time!

What better way to influence our team and help navigate a healthier work place this winter than starting at the top, at ROKSTAR we are all about ‘health is wealth and making health cool’. Wellness to me is made up of much more than just healthy eating however these are my 3 key factors:

• fuelling our bodies with healthy and nutritious foods

• making sure we get enough sleep and

• maintaining a healthy routine and mindset.

Whilst we love taking care of our guests hair time and the business side of things, are we sound in making sure that we lead by example by practising good wellness and encouraging wellness hygiene in the workplace.

Let’s start with looking at sleep hygiene - as business owners it’s so easy to push this baby aside, especially with the weight and stress of business on you. I suggest including sleep hygiene in your team meetings. You would be surprised how many of your team members aren’t sleeping great, with so many daily distractions including the good old social media, Netflix in bed and caffeine stimulates. Start by looking at sleep cycles and get into a healthy circadian rhythm. Try and go to sleep and wake at the same time every day. A good night’s sleep is sometimes the best thing you can do to boost your immune system. A lack of sleep can not only make you feel fatigued, but it can have a serious effect on your immune system making us more susceptible to catching colds. There have been studies done that show a lack of sleep decreases the amount of white blood cells produced. White blood cells are essential in helping to fight away infection in the body. Another important thing to remember to do is shutting down appliances and screens an hour before you go to bed helps to boost the release of melatonin in the brain which helps us fall asleep and get a deeper sleep too.

Eat the rainbow, yep that’s right - fill your plate with as many colourful veggies as possible all healthy and nutritious foods. Eat produce that is in season. Making sure that you are eating foods that are high in vitamins such as vitamin C will help boost your immune system during the months where the weather is cooler. Fruit and vegetables such as oranges, lemons, kiwifruit, sweet potato, and broccoli are great sources of Vitamin C and are super easy to add into your diet. If you struggle with eating fruit and veggies, a great way to ensure you are getting your 2 serves of fruits and 5 serves of veggies is to introduce smoothies and juices into your diet! A carrot, beetroot, spinach, and lemon combination are a great mix for boosting your immune system! Lean meats, fish, poultry, low fat dairy, legumes, wholegrains, nuts, and seeds are also important in a balanced diet.

Make sure that you support your body with the vitamins and minerals that it needs to nourish, thrive, and protect itself. A great way to encourage your team to look after themselves is by bringing in a nutritionist to educate them on how to eat and sustain energy. Make lunch platters! I often engage a nutritionist when I feel I, or my team need some inspiration!

Include some natural vitamin D, the average person does not get enough vitamin D from their diet. In summer a few minutes mid-morning or mid-afternoon (outside UV Index 3 or above) is generally adequate for vitamin D and in winter longer exposure times are needed. There are also some great apps out there to help with monitoring sun exposure and maintaining a healthy mindset, don’t be afraid to do some research and share with your teams – sharing is caring!