USAG Stuttgart Safety Office
Making time for wellness won’t necessarily add more years to your life, but it could add more life to your years. Taking good care of yourself can help you avoid or at least delay chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and others. Good health practices can boost your energy so you get more enjoyment out of life. There is also the added benefit improving your ability to work safely. Wellness means having the health, strength, endurance, and flexibility to deal with the things we encounter in our lives each day. It involves keeping eating the right foods, avoiding bad habits such as smoking and excessive drinking, exercise our mind and body healthy. Maintaining fitness can help us to prevent injuries. Maintaining fitness increases energy and endurance to allow us to remain alert to possible dangers on the job.
These are some basics of a healthy lifestyle:
- Exercise briskly for at least 20 minutes three or more times a week.
- Walk or bicycle to or from work. You could also walk or bike to the place where you catch your bus, commuter train or carpool.
- Make a habit of taking the stairs as often as possible. Also get in the habit of walking instead of driving when you are running errands.
- Do stretching exercises and warm-up exercises right at your work station before your shift and during short breaks. Many workplaces have exercise programs which encourage this type of activity.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Eat lightly. Build your diet around a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
- Limit your consumption of fats, sugar, salt and chemical additives.
- Have your blood pressure checked regularly, and learn to manage any blood pressure problems.
- Choose to take responsibility for your own lifestyle and be willing to accept the consequences – both negative and positive.
- Get enough sleep.
- Practice keeping things in perspective. Try to look at the big picture when you get bogged down with small details.
- Learn to handle stress so it does not cause physical illnesses.
- Spend some time thinking about what makes life meaningful for you. Are you doing the things you want to be doing? If not, what is holding you back?
- Don’t smoke. Drink moderately if at all.
- Do not take drugs except those prescribed by your doctor, and ask your pharmacist about precautions with the drugs you do take.
Lack of humidity in the air can become unpleasant and even unhealthy:
- Low humidity levels lead to increased levels of static electricity, dry skin, cracked lips and even nose bleeds.
- Optimal humidity is between 45 to 55% relative humidity. During the winter months though, relative humidity in the average home can drop to below 20%.
- Low humidity can lead to a variety of conditions that lead to ill health. Dust particles, bacteria and viruses that are normally trapped by the moist nasal membrane lining in the nose can more easily get into the lungs when the air is dryer and thus reduce the body’s natural defense mechanism.
Make Time for Wellness!
