July 2021 Employee Wellness Newsletter

A summer state of mind, financial wellness, APS benefits for managing blood pressure, diabetes, weight, and more fitness & nutrition trends in the news!

A Summer State of Mind

After the last 18 months, who isn't feeling a little footloose and fancy-free right now? Summer fun takes on a new meaning of gratitude after the quarantine gap year of 2020. July 1 marks the New Mexico official "open for business" date. We finally get to go places and do things with no restrictions. 

As we venture through summer and a more 'normal' way of operating, it's important to remind ourselves of some other states of mind for our wellbeing and safety. These are emotional states we all experience that tend to have a direct correlation to the cause of accidents and injuries as well as a connection to preventable chronic illnesses like high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity. 

Mindful States of Emotional Wellness: 

Fatigue

When we're tired we're grouchy, have a shorter fuse, and are simply not our best. Response time is slower, we're less alert on and off the job. Lack of sleep leads to high blood pressure, diabetes and contributes to weight gain. Turn off the digital distractions in the evening, build a mindful, relaxing bedtime routine, and get more sleep!

Rushing

When we're in a hurry we have a spike in blood pressure, we're more easily distracted, frustrated, we feel stress (which raises cortisol levels), and we tend to take less care with tasks - which leads to mistakes and accidents.

Frustration/Anger

Frustration is stress at the boiling point. Left unchecked it leads to anger and the result can be saying or doing something we regret later. Both rushing and fatigue can cause us to feel stress, be distracted, and contribute to frustration. 

Complacency (boredom)

When we do something a million times (think driving to work) we tend to let our minds wander elsewhere. Repetitive tasks also lead to boredom which means sometimes we're not as attentive as we should be to the job at hand leading to mistakes and accidents. When you catch your mind wandering, take a mental step back and refocus.

As you can see, these mindsets are interconnected just like our mental and physical well-being.  Learning to be more aware of our mental mindset to proactively address some of these situations is an important aspect of our health and resilience. 

Financial Wellness Workshops

We know stress causes illness. One of the biggest contributors to our stress (and mental mindsets for safety) is money! Join one of these prescheduled workshops, or schedule a session for your school/department, and learn how to save for living expenses, retirement, and more.

• More information and links to join us in the APS Financial Wellness Way folder and APS Employee Wellness Google event calendar. 
• For more fitness and nutrition trends in the news click on the July Wellness Newsletter.

APS Benefits offers free, confidential mental health resources, free health coaching, and Livongo - a cool integrated program to help you manage high blood pressure, diabetes, and weight. Go to the APS Intranet/Employee Wellness pages for more information.