Stay Warm this Winter with Exercise

Winter weather patterns are not only a barrier to maintaining an exercise regime, but also may induce feelings of fatigue, lethargy and even depression among your staff.

In an effort to combat the cold temperatures, our bodies support the gain of extra “insulation”.  By a physiological survival mechanism, our brains become less responsive to the sensation of satiety which leads to prolonged feeling of hunger.

For these reasons, many people gain an average of 2 – 3kgs over the winter months and then tend to keep it on and add to these extra kilos over time.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is a mood disorder where decreased access to sunlight over winter triggers depressed mood, increased sleep requirements and lethargy. While this disorder is normally isolated to areas further from the equator, encouraging your staff to get out of the office at lunch time will help them get the sunlight they need for adequate Vitamin D production. Research has shown that spending time in the sun can improve mood, vitality and help to stave off those winter blues. Allow flexible starting or finishing times so that staff may take enough time out during the day to be physically active; encouraging a work/life balance.

Welsey Corporate health has provided some tips to helping your employees stay active during the winter. WCH can assist you with planning and organising any of these initiatives:

• Provide your staff with a Wesley Corporate Health check to assess their general wellbeing status and provide individual guidance and motivation towards making some healthier lifestyle changes.
• Display information and motivational material on the benefits of physical activity and tips on how to keep active. Provide incentives or promote competitions to create awareness and motivate staff to increase their activity levels.
• Encourage employees to increase incidental activity and reduce their overall sitting time. Ideas to promote include:

- Using the stairways instead of the elevators
- Walking to colleagues desks instead of using email or phone
- Standing or walking while talking on the phone
- Taking a break from the computer every 30mins
- Turning your staff meetings into a walking or standing meeting

• Start a social sporting team such as netball, volleyball, soccer, basketball or even jogging or cycling groups. Being part of a team is great for motivation as you have social support and most of all it's fun! It also has a plus of promoting team bonding within the corporate environment.
• Start a walking group and promote exercise events and support staff in training towards these goals. Examples include:

-  Gold Coast Biathlon Super Series (1.5km run - 750m swim - 2.5km run – 29th May, 26th
   June, 24th July, 21st August)
-  Bridge to Brisbane 5km or 10km walk/run charity event – Sunday September 11th, 2011
-  Brissie to the Bay bike ride – June 26th (10km, 25km, 50km & 100km courses)

• Provide facilities such as bicycle racks, showers and change rooms and encourage staff to cycle to work or exercise throughout the day
• Encourage staff to join Brisbane’s City Cycle initiative and ride to work, meetings or the post office, rather than catch cabs or drive.

If you’d like help to coordinate and promote or assist with training programs your staff please contact Louise Reeve on (07) 3234 2609 or visit www.weshealth.com.au.