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Simple Steps To A Great Work Day

WORK LIFE

Do you feel like you can’t concentrate or keep your energy up at work? A few simple fixes can make a huge difference in your energy and concentration levels all day long.

Pack a lunch and snacks the night before.Stay up a few extra minutes to do this at night. Chances are, you’ll be too rushed in the morning.

Set a water alarm.Dehydration can make you feel sluggish. Set a computer alarm that reminds you to drink throughout the day.

Skip the screens at night.Light from phones and TVs can keep you from getting quality sleep. Turn off screens two hours before bed to help your body relax and fall asleep.

Sources: National Institutes of Health, National Sleep Foundation

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Weekly Family Meetings

FAMILY LIFE

A weekly family meeting is a time to be together, check in, and address any issues that arise.

* Make the meeting fun: Plan a special dessert to enjoy. Create a relaxed mood with special lighting or comfy pillows.

* Have an agenda: While you don’t want the meeting to be too formal, you should have a schedule to keep you on task.

* Get everyone involved: Let people take turns leading discussions. Encourage input and prioritize creative problem-solving.

* Set a respectful tone: This is a good time to practice resolving conflict with respect and consideration.

* End on a good note: If a tough topic needed to be addressed, be sure to end with something positive. Talk about fun upcoming events or brainstorm vacation ideas.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
What Self-Care Means

SELF-CARE CORNER

Self-care at its most basic means taking time to do activities that improve your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

The goal of self-care is to invest in your well-being. While this can feel self-indulgent, good self-care habits help you enjoy life and care better for those around you. It’s a win-win for everyone.

How self-care evolved

The idea of self-care is not new. Throughout human history, people have always spent time caring for their physical needs. Finding food and shelter and preventing illness are fundamental forms of self-care.

However, more recently, self-care has expanded to include more than just physical health. The pressures of modern society and our expanding scientific understanding of how humans work demonstrate the need for self-care that provides for every aspect of being.

Investing time in your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health is true self-care.

Physical self-care

Physical self-care includes habits that keep you healthy and strong throughout your whole life. These include:

* Eat healthy, regular meals.

* Stay hydrated by drinking lots of water.

* Get at least 30 minutes of movement each day.

* Make 7-9 hours of sleep a priority.

* Get regular physicals and health screenings.

Mental self-care

Mental self-care means caring for your mental health by managing stress and improving resiliency. Examples are:

* Engage in relaxing activities.

* Listen to calming music or sounds.

* Take mental health/vacation days to unplug from work.

* Schedule time for yourself to do something you enjoy.

* Seek professional help to manage chronic stress.

Emotional self-care

Emotional self-care goes hand-in-hand with mental self-care but is focused on acknowledging and expressing how you feel. It can include:

* Acknowledge and express your feelings in healthy ways.

* Connect with supportive friends and family.

* Take a break from the news or social media.

* Keep a gratitude journal.

* Do a creative activity.

Spiritual self-care

Spiritual self-care means recognizing you are not the center of the universe and investing in connection with the world around you:

* Spend time in nature.

* Connect with a faith community.

* Pray or meditate.

* Volunteer for a cause you care about.

* Read inspirational literature.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Benefits Of Walking

Fitness

Walking doesn’t make just your feet happy. It is good for your whole body!

* Great way to keep fit without risk of injury.

* Special equipment not needed.

* Burns calories. Builds stamina.

* Enhances muscle tone. Makes the heart stronger.

* Helps relieve stress and lifts your mood.

* Aids digestion and regularity.

* Enhances feelings of well-being.

* Lowers the risk of, and helps manage, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Choose An Exercise That Suits Your Body Type

Fitness

Exercise can do wonders to get rid of unwanted pounds and tone up flabby muscles. But it can’t turn a short, stocky person into a tall, willowy reed, or a slightly built person into a brawny bruiser. However, your body type may make you better suited to some activities than to others. Most people fall into one of three categories: endomorphs, mesomorphs, or ectomorphs, based on their overall build, distribution of body fat, muscle tone, and height. (Some people show characteristics of more than one type.)

Endomorphs may be described as:

* Chubby, round, or soft looking.

* Broader at the hips than at the shoulders.

* Small-boned.

* Not very muscular.

* Carrying a higher-than-average amount of body fat.

Endomorphs are poor candidates for jogging or any activity that calls for high impact with the ground. They’re good candidates for low-impact or nonimpact activities like biking, walking, or swimming, which minimize strain on the body frame.

Mesomorphs are usually described as:

* Big-boned, with a strong, muscular physique.

* Broad-shouldered, with a narrow waist.

* Rugged looking.

Mesomorphs are good candidates for walking, and short-distance running (like 5-kilometer races) but not marathons, martial arts, or sports requiring balance, power, and agility (like power lifting, tennis, or boardsailing).

Ectomorphs are usually described as:

* Tall, with a long, slender neck.

* Having narrow shoulders, chests, and hips.

* Relatively long limbed.

* Having small wrists and ankles.

* Having little body fat.

* Having difficulty developing powerful muscles.

Ectomorphs are poor candidates for swimming (since they have so little body fat for buoyancy) and sprinting. They’re good candidates for jogging, skipping rope, basketball, tennis and other racquet sports, and cross-country skiing.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Commit To Be Fit 2

Fitness

You don’t have to join a gym to get fit. There are lots of ways you can break a sweat, shed pounds and improve your health. Small steps can make a big difference.

* Do leg lifts before you get out of bed.

* Walk the dog. Instead of slowing Fido down, pick up your pace.

* Use exercise equipment as intended, not as a clothes rack.

* Clean the house. That’s right, dust, mop, scrub and vacuum.

* Brainstorm ideas with co-workers while walking.

* Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

* If you must take the elevator, do squats during the ride.

* Do sit ups, pushups, and jumping jacks during TV commercials.

* Take your bike for a spin around the block.

* March while talking on the phone. (Stop if you start panting.)

* Work in your garden, garage, and basement.

* Drink plenty of water.

Action Step:Challenge family to a contest of sit ups or pushups during TV commercials. Try to improve your count each time.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Move Your Way

Fitness

The key to moving more is finding and doing activities you really enjoy. Dancing, walking, gardening…if it moves you and makes you happy, it works! When you do move, work toward 20 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous levels of movement. Regular physical activity helps with weight management and improving cardiovascular health. Add some weighted hand gloves for increased resistance and to build muscle while you move.

Be More Earth-Friendly

Want to help the earth while exercising? Plogging – or picking up trash while you jog or walk – is one way you can do your part to keep your community, and the environment, clean.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
The Keys To Physical Well-Being Are Healthy Habits

Personal Safety

* Eat nutritious foods.

* Get to and maintain a healthy weight.

* Be physically active.

* Get enough sleep and rest.

* See that you and all family members age 6 months and older get an annual flu vaccine. It is the single best way to prevent getting seasonal flu.

Dos

* Balance work and play.

* Wash your hands often with soap and water or hand sanitizer containing 60% alcohol.

* Avoid secondhand smoke.

Don’ts

* Don’t be a workaholic.

* Don’t be around people who have the flu.

* Don’t use tobacco in any form.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Get Enough Sleep 2

Healthylife® QuitWell™

Part 5

Not getting enough sleep can affect nearly every aspect of your day:

* Less energy and desire to work on your goals

* Feeling down, anxious, or other negative feelings

* Decreased creativity, making it harder to solve problems or imagine doing things differently

* Increased cravings for tobacco/nicotine to stay alert

* More unstable blood sugar levels, leading to less healthy eating and stronger cravings for nicotine

Tips for Improving Sleep

* Get to bed a little earlier than normal when quitting. This may help cut out an evening cigarette and can help your body recover.

* Create a comfortable place to sleep. Make sure your bed, pillows, and bedding are comfortable.

* Maintain a slightly cooler temperature in the bedroom.

* Avoid looking at a screen (TV, laptop, smartphone, tablet, etc.) 30 minutes before bed.

* Create a bedtime and waketime routine.

* Reserve the bed for sleep and sex. Avoid doing other activities in bed, like work or having a tough discussion.

* Have a small snack before bed if you are hungry.

* Avoid foods high in sugar or refined carbohydrates just before bed. The rise in blood sugar can provide a burst of energy that keeps you alert and makes it difficult to fall asleep.

* Avoid foods that are likely to cause acid reflux (heartburn), gas, cramping, or indigestion if you are prone to these problems. Fatty or spicy foods, beans, garlic, peanuts, and dairy cause discomfort for some people.

What action can you take tonight to improve your sleep?

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Burn Calories Without Trying

BE FIT

When you’re not exercising, you can still burn extra calories! Use little ways to get more fit every day.

Don’t make things convenient.

Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park farther away from your destination and walk. Use your bike instead of a car for quick grocery store runs. Put your favorite snack foods in the basement, rather than on the main floor near the TV.

Get up.

Take a short break every hour if you sit at a desk. Get up, move your arms and legs or even do a few jumping jacks. Use a hands-free headset so you can get up and walk or lift weights while you’re on the phone. Have a meeting? See if you can stand during part of it or even have a walking meeting.

Sneaky exercises.

Do some isometric exercises if you sit a lot. Try squeezing your glute muscles and knees together for eight counts, holding for five seconds then release. Do this every couple of hours.

Move whenever you can. Walk in place instead of standing still.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026

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