Category: Physical Wellness

Physical Wellness is the ability to maintain a healthy quality of life that allows us to get through our daily activities without undue fatigue or physical stress. The ability to recognize that our behaviors have a significant impact on our wellness and adopting healthful habits (routine checkups, balance diet, exercise, etc.) while avoiding destructive habits (tobacco, drugs, alcohol, etc.) will lead to optimal Physical Wellness.

Eat Spinach for a Better Night Sleep

If you toss and turn at night or struggle with a sleep disorder like insomnia, you could have a magnesium deficiency. But even if you sleep like a baby, it’s a smart idea to eat foods high in this mineral. Every organ in the body needs magnesium. It contributes to energy production, helps regulate levels of nutrients in your body, and affects sensors in the brain that promote sleep.

Spinach

Luckily, you can find magnesium in lots of foods, but many Americans don’t get enough. For maximum magnesium, look to spinach, other leafy greens, almonds, pinto beans, nuts, and legumes. It’s simple to incorporate them into your diet, too. Try cooking up some spinach with olive oil and pine nuts as a savory side dish, or make a spinach salad that includes chickpeas and almond slivers. Research a new recipe today to try out! You knew that spinach makes you strong—now you know it may also help you sleep.

 

Article from the StayWell Company, LLC

UWGB Bellin Run Team

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Good Luck at the Bellin Run this Saturday, June 8th!  Eighteen UW-Green Bay employees will be participating: Thomas Caldie, Laxmi Chataut, Kate Burns, Jana Fogaca, Jamel Heim, Desiree Kittle, Sarah Locke, James Marker, Ryan Martin, Donna Mleziva, Dan Moore, Nate Rusch, Joan Schaller, Barb Tomashek-Ditter, Molly Vandervest, Kimberly Vlies, Crystal Williams and John Zimonick.  Thanks to Sue Bodilly for taking the above photo!DesignSnip

Jenna Bares, UW-Green Bay student, and Alex Reichenberger, Fitness Coordinator, designed the team T-shirts this year!  The great logo they created was printed on the front of the UW-Green Bay Bellin Run Team T-shirts.  The T-shirts were purchased through a wellness grant from the Department of Employee Trust Funds.

“In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, ‘I have finished.’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that.” ~ Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder

 

Treat Yourself Today!

Treat yourself to tea and bookcoffee or tea and a good book today. You read emails. You read text messages. You read the news. But have you read a good book lately? Reading for pleasure can be an escape from the stresses of everyday life, help keep your mind sharp, and even make you more likely to empathize with others.

So set aside a half-hour to curl up with a book. Grab a comforting cup of coffee or tea, too. Drinking black, green, or oolong tea can boost the body’s defense against disease, research says. Tea has also been linked to lower risk for heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and allergy symptoms. And coffee has been associated with a lower risk for type 2 diabetes. We’ll toast to that!

 

Article from the StayWell Company, LLC

Goat Yoga held May 10th

MAC21What a beautiful day for yoga with baby goats!  About 25 employees came out to enjoy the baby goats in the quad on Friday, May 10th.  We heard a lot of positive feedback from employees, and AlexGoat1BlackGoat1we all enjoyed GoatOnBackinteracting with the goats.  Thank you to Jen Jelenic, Alex Reichenberger, and Linda Schmitt for leading the yoga classes, to LaClare Farms for sharing their precious goats, to Amy DePeau for setting this up, and to BrownGoat1StandingLynn1PlankGoats2the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) for sponsoring this event!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Interested in more goat yoga?  Here are some links:

Mini Greek Chicken Kabobs recipe

Ingredients

For the marinade:
1½ Tbsp canola oil
½ tsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
1½ tsp dried oregano leavesTeriyaki-Chicken-Kabobs-GI-365-22
½ tsp dried dill
1 medium garlic clove, minced
⅛ tsp dried pepper flakes
¼ tsp salt

For the kabobs:
Canola oil cooking spray
4 chicken tenders (8 oz total), rinsed and patted dry, cut crosswise into small chunks
½ small green bell pepper, cut into 16 cubes
16 grape cherry tomatoes
1 small yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 16 pieces
16 bamboo skewers (6-in each)

Directions

  1. Combine marinade ingredients in a quart-sized resealable plastic bag, seal tightly, and toss back and forth until well blended. Remove 2 tablespoons mixture, place in a small bowl, and set aside. Add chicken pieces to bag with the remaining marinade, seal tightly, and toss back and forth to coat completely. Refrigerate 1 hour, turning occasionally.
  2. Coat grill rack with cooking spray and preheat grill to medium-high heat.
  3. Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade. Thread piece of chicken and each vegetable per skewer in this order: pepper, chicken, tomato, and squash. Repeat with remaining skewers.
  4. Place skewers on a grill rack and cook 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear, turning frequently and being careful not to overcook. Remove from grill, place on a serving platter, and brush reserved 2 tablespoons marinade evenly over all. Serve warm.

Serves 8

Serving size: 2 kabobs. Each serving provides: 60 calories, 3 g total fat, 0.4 g saturated fat, 6 g protein, 15 mg cholesterol, 80 mg sodium, 2 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g sugar

 

Recipe from the StayWell Company, LLC.

Make time to play!

The secret to happiness, like the secret to success, has long been studied and debated. What makes one person happy could stress out someone else (take skydiving, for example). Still, psychologists and other researchers have found that some activities and mind-sets appear more than likely to increase joy and contentment. Today – try the following tip to increase your happiness and reduce your stress!

Take time to play. Playfulness helps anyone of any age be more resilient, happy, flexible, and creative. It teaches us to manage and transform stress and negative emotions, too. It’s easy to be playful with pets and children. But looking for ways to play with grown-ups at work and home is a great way to increase the strength and health of your relationships.

Article from the StayWell Company, LLC1280px-Family_playing_a_board_game_(1)

Wellness Webinar: Practicing Self-Compassion

Many of us instinctively beat ourselves up for failing to meet our goals, but there is an alternative. Find out how self-compassion facilitates goal pursuit by helping us regulate our emotions and maintain our belief in our ability to change.

Join us to learn about:Heart shaped splash

  • What is self-compassion
  • How it helps us meet our goals
  • Misconceptions about self-compassion

Date: Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Time: 12:00 to 12:30 p.m.

Location: Cofrin Library, 7th floor, room 710C

No need to RSVP – just mark your calendar to join us, and bring your lunch!

You could also participate in this webinar at your workstation if you prefer – please visit wellwisconsin.staywell.com and go to Webinars to register.

All webinars are recorded and available to Well Wisconsin Program participants on the StayWell wellness portal after the event date.

To access the StayWell wellness portal, you must be an employee, retiree, or spouse enrolled in the State of Wisconsin or Wisconsin Public Employers Group Health Insurance Programs.

Challenge Your Entire Core

If you want to develop a stronger, firmer core, you need to train all the muscles of your abdomen. Oblique crunches target the muscles that run along the side of your waist.

Try them today. Here’s how:

Start by lying on your right side with your right forearm on the ground, your legs straight, and your left arm resting on the side of your body.

Engage your abs (imagine pulling your navel toward your spine) and extend your left hand as you lift your legs off the ground to bring your toes toward your hand. (You don’t have to actually touch your hand to your feet; it’s the motion of bringing them closer together that’s important.)

Do 10 oblique crunches on this side before rolling over to your left side and repeating the motion, reaching your toes toward your right hand.

Article from the StayWell Company, LLCcore workout

Exercise Your Brain Muscles Today

Hobbies may be for fun, but they have a serious side, too. There’s growing evidence that what you do in your spare time can boost your health and well-being.

Doing something you enjoy can be a great stress reliever, and certain activities also give your brain a boost. That’s important because your brain, just like your body, needs exercise. Research has shown that keeping your brain active can keep it sharper. It may even help you build up your brain cells and connections, or generate new brain cells. This could help fight off mental decline, which appears to stem from altered connections among brain cells as we age.

So why not spend some time today curled up with a crossword, Sudoku, or other puzzle? If you don’t subscribe to a newspaper, you can find puzzles online or through smartphone apps.

Article from the StayWell Company, LLC

brain exercise