Most of us try to focus on our health and wellness. It does present some challenges. Cooking healthy meals takes time, exercise takes time and sometimes we forget to put ourselves first. There’s always time to devote to work and family but there is a tendency to put ourselves on the back burner. Ironically, focusing on your wellness can actually save you time at work. It can make you more productive and efficient.

Rest and Sleep

We hear it all the time. It is important to get seven to eight hours of restful sleep a night. Sleep deprivation can take a serious toll on your health and wellbeing. Your body does not have the necessary time to recharge for a day full of work and family responsibilities. It leaves you feeling tired, affects your focus and mood.

Brain Health

Exercise plays a significant role in brain health. It does a number of things that actually makes you more productive at work. So, if you catch yourself saying I have no time to exercise, think again. Exercise can actually save you time at work with a higher level of concentration and focus. There are so many ways exercise affects brain health. Long term studies suggest it can actually slow the aging of your brain, specifically it may enlarge the size of certain areas of the brain susceptible to dementia. One can say exercising your body actually exercises your brain as well.

Exercise reduces stress and anxiety which plays a major role in work performance. It makes you more alert and increases your reaction time. This does not necessarily mean you have to go to the gym. Bike riding, fast walking, dancing are all great exercises. Do not forget those chores at home. If those feel like a workout, sometimes they are. Vacuuming, bending to get underneath the bed, going up the stairs those can be part of your workout as well.

Healthy Cooking

Healthy cooking is an essential part of health and wellness. Typically, you hear about having a colorful diet. Incorporating fruits and vegetables to your diet, low fat and low sugar. There are a broad range of recommendations in terms of maintaining a healthy diet. Certain foods and herbs are believed to contribute to the health of different vital organs. There are also foods identified as a source of brain health. Nuts and seeds, fish like salmon and healthy fats such as avocado have been suggested as food that supports healthier brain function. Kale is termed a superfood.

Continuous learning is certainly a part of career growth and elevating work performance. However, let’s not take for granted what we can do from a health and wellness perspective that will boost our work performance. There are always reasons not to do something. The benefits of focusing on one’s health is a no brainer. So, commit to focusing on boosting your brain power through healthy eating, a good night’s sleep and exercise.