50 THE QUEENS COURIER • WELLNESS • NOVEMBER 15, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
wellness
Improve health and performance at the offi ce
Between the hours staring at a computer
screen and the nearly constant temptation
of treats in the breakroom, most
offi ces are not known for fi tness and
health. However, work is where most
Americans spend at least one-third of
their days, and it’s a place where simple
changes can make a big diff erence.
Hunger is an important factor in managing
workday wellness, from maintaining
focus to making smart snacking
choices. A survey on workplace snacking,
conducted by Focus Vision and
supported by the American Pistachio
Growers, found that 92 percent of workers
report becoming distracted from
their tasks at work due to hunger before
lunch. Eighty percent said they get hungry
in the mornings before lunch and
think about food oft en or every day.
Watching your eating habits and being
more aware of your body’s physical needs
can help promote a better offi ce lifestyle.
Take steps to improve your workday
wellbeing with these tips from Dr. Mike
Roussell, nutrition expert and adviser to
“Men’s Health” and “SELF” magazines:
Keep healthy snacks on-hand. Sugary
snacks can send you on a roller coaster
ride of energy and focus. Th e right kind
of healthy snacks can satiate your appetite
as well as improve your health and
performance at work. For example, the
survey on workplace snacking showed a
midmorning snack of pistachios can help
improve concentration, and the right
kind of snack at the right time can help
give you a competitive edge at work.
Find time for activity. Being physically
active can help control stress, recharge
your brain and promote overall wellness.
Being at work doesn’t mean that you
must be sedentary. Break up lunchtime
with a short walk or jump on board with
a growing trend and conduct walking
meetings. Next time you have a brainstorming
or check-in meeting, take it to
the streets and hold your meeting while
walking around.
Feed your brain. A healthy body
doesn’t just mean strong muscles and
maintaining a healthy heart, but also
nurturing a healthy brain. It is important
to fuel your brain with the nutrients
it needs to function at its best.
Research from Loma Linda University
shows that eating pistachios stimulates
brain waves associated with cognition,
memory and learning. Lutein, an antioxidant
found in pistachios, is also associated
with improvements in executive
brain function.
Stay hydrated. Staying hydrated is not
only important for athletic performance,
but is also important for peak mental performance
at work. Several research studies
show that small levels of dehydration
can decrease mental performance
and negatively impact mood. To avoid
becoming dehydrated, have a large glass
of water with each meal or snack and at
least one more glass between meals.
Take breaks to recharge. Engineers
of one productivity app analyzed time
logs from more than 5 million days of
tracking to determine the behaviors of
the most productive people. Th ey found
that when people worked for 52 minutes
then took a 17-minute break they had
the highest productivity levels. Setting
periods of intense focus and then time
off during your workday can help you be
more productive and reduce stress.
Skip mindless eating. Th e offi ce can
be a nutritional landmine. Bowls full
of candy and breakrooms with boxes
of donuts make it all too easy to nibble
without fully realizing all the calories you
are accumulating. Taking a more proactive
and conscious approach to snacking
can help cut out unwanted extra calories
while also curbing your appetite.
Explore more ideas for smart snacking
at the offi ce and at home at americanpistachios.
org.
A Handful of Health Benefi ts
Increasingly, people with desk jobs are
looking for healthier snack alternatives
to typical choices like donuts and vending
machine fare. A solution may be a
simple handful away.
In a survey commissioned by the
American Pistachio Growers, 1,000
American offi ce workers who skipped
breakfast consumed a snack of pistachios
(about 1 1/2 servings) between 9
a.m. and 11 a.m. Th e midmorning snack
proved to be just what they needed to
power through the morning. Ninety-two
percent of the participants reported the
pistachio snack helped eliminate hunger
and improved their concentration.
Reinforcing their role in mental acuity,
in a separate study, pistachios produced
strong gamma waves, which are
critical for enhancing cognitive processing,
information retention, learning, perception
and rapid eye movement during
sleep.
“Pistachios are an ideal midmorning
or midaft ernoon snack because of their
unique nutrient package that not only
promotes feelings of fullness and satiation,
but newer studies show that it
can promote an optimal mental state
and more focus at work,” Roussell said.
“Pistachios are a healthy snack that you
can look forward to eating day in and
day out.”
Indeed, an option like pistachios is a
healthier choice than many go-to snacks.
Th ey do not contribute to weight gain
or body fat changes and can signifi -
cantly improve dietary nutrient intake.
Survey participants increased their consumption
of nutrients such as thiamin,
vitamin B6, copper and potassium aft er
snacking on pistachios for four weeks.
Courtesy Family Features
Photo courtesy of Getty Images