Spring Forward: Fresh Ideas for a Healthier Workplace

Clocks have sprung forward, and the weather is changing its mind on a daily basis, but spring is in sight. Focusing on workplace wellness can enhance your personal and professional life, boosting productivity and fostering a positive, supportive environment.

In this edition of Wellness @ Work, we'll explore strategies to help you establish healthy routines, stay motivated and show up as your best self every day.

2025 Priorities: Unhooking from negative emotions and reactions

Work can be stressful – there's no way around it. But what if there was a way to train yourself in your reactions to the stressors experienced in the workplace? Becoming more self-aware can help you become more proactive and more fulfilled at work.

We have tips to help you get unstuck and unhook from reacting negatively in the workplace:

Show up: Label your thoughts, positive or negative, and take personal accountability for them so you can get to the root of what's bothering you.

Step back: Momentarily detach from the situations. Knowing what triggers you in the workplace will help you navigate to a level-headed response to any situation.

Move on: Give yourself permission to not react to every emotion or thought. This small shift to your mindset can help you unhook from negative patterns that hinder your success.

Preventive Health: Colorectal Cancer Screening

Cancer screening for colon cancer is recommended for everyone between the ages of 45 to 75. Several screening tests can be used to detect colorectal cancer, many are less invasive than you might think.

Talk with your primary care provider to determine which screening test is best for you and your health history:

• FIT (Fecal Immunochemical Test): This screening is done once a year, if normal, and checks for hidden blood in the lower intense. You collect a sample at home and return/mail the sample to the lab.
• Cologuard (FIT-DNA test): This screening looks for abnormal DNA and blood in the stool. You collect a sample at home and mail the sample back to the lab. The screening is done every three years, if normal.
• Colonoscopy: This screening uses a long, thin, flexible, lighted tube with a small video camera to check for polyps or cancer inside the entire length of the colon and rectum. Doctors are able to remove polyps and any abnormal sightings during this procedure. This exam is done every ten years, if normal.

Try it Out: Nutrition at the Workplace

As an adult, you likely spend most of your time working, sleeping and eating, so it's important that you find some enjoyment in those things – and why not improve your health and well-being while you're at it!

With a busy lifestyle, it can be challenging to find time to make healthy nutrition choices at work during the week. We have a few tips to help set you up for success, specifically at the workplace because the environment that surrounds you can account for up to 70% of the choices you make:

• Think about what you do, or don't, have access to at your workplace, such as vending machines, a cafeteria, refrigerators, microwaves or a place to eat away from your desk. Take an inventory of how your environment is either helping you toward your nutrition goals or creating a barrier. Use this information to adjust your environment to make the health choice into the easy choice.
• Plan ahead! You don't need to write out the details of every meal for every week, but having an idea of what you plan to bring for lunch and have on-hand for snacks over the next few days can eliminate that last minute fast-food run for lunch.
• Carbohydrates give you and your brain energy, while protein and fat help keep you fuller for longer. Try to incorporate a combination of all nutrients throughout the day to keep you energetic, productive and satisfied!

Promoting Healthy Sleep

Quality sleep is important for overall health. Consistently sleeping seven to nine hours helps the body repair and maintain processes that affect almost every part of the body.

The benefits of sleep are both mental and physical, including:

• Healthy heart: Promotes health of the cardiac system
• Improved mood: Can resolve symptoms of anxiety, irritability and depression
• Improved mental function: Better decision-making and problem-solving skills, better clarity, memory formation and optimal learning
• Regulated blood sugar: Fewer than seven nightly hours increases the risk of type 2 diabetes
• Stress relief: Waking up refreshed helps avoid stressors
• Restored immune system: Repairs tissues, cells and reduces susceptibility to common infections
• Maintaining healthy weight: Lack of sleep can disrupt appetite suppressors and stimulate hormones causing hunger sensations

Tips for better sleep include:

• Create sleep consistency
• Create a quality sleep environment
• Avoid alcohol, caffeine and nicotine before bed
• Exercise during the day
• Avoid screens 30 minutes prior to bedtime

Medicare Simplified: Why is it hard to retire?

Retirement is a major life transition, and it's not always easy. From breaking long-standing habits to adjusting to a new routine, this next chapter comes with both challenges and opportunities.

In a recent episode of Medicare Simplified, Dr. Jonathan Aligada, a psychologist at Sanford Health in Fargo, discusses why it's hard to retire, tips for overcoming habits and challenges, and preparing to begin the next chapter of life.

Listen to the full conversation here.

In case you missed it...

• In a recent article from McKnight's Long-Term Care News , Dr. Tommy Ibrahim, MD, MBA, MHA , president and CEO of Sanford Health Plan, shared insights on how Sanford Health Plan is well-positioned to drive affordability and improve member outcomes through its provider-led Medicare Advantage plan, which has earned 4.5 stars out of 5 from CMS for two consecutive years.