Can being healthier actually make you perform better at work?
Dr. Greg Wells, associate scientist of physiology and experimental medicine at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children and sports medicine analyst for past Olympic Games, says it can.
“Sustainable excellence—sustainable performance—comes from the ability to perform well and from the ability to be as healthy as you can be,” he said at the inaugural Wellness Champions Symposium.
He spoke about two critical health habits: sleeping soundly and getting exercise.
Read: Work stress steals sleep
Why sleep is important
Good sleep is “absolutely essential,” Wells said, adding he focuses on this a lot in the hospital’s cancer ward.
“Up until about two or three years ago, we had no idea how the brain kept itself healthy…and no idea why we slept,” he explained. “When you sleep at night, your brain washes itself, cleans itself, repairs itself. And unless you sleep soundly, that can’t happen.”
How much sleep is enough? Each sleep cycle takes about 90 minutes, and you need at least four cycles. “If you sleep less than six hours, your risk of mortality increases,” he said, adding the people with the lowest risk of mortality get 7.5 hours per night.
Read: The ABCs of catching ZZZs
And put down that BlackBerry or laptop: looking at screens right before you go to sleep tells your body not to release melatonin, so you can’t sleep as deeply.
“Defend that last hour before you sleep with no screens, no electronic devices,” he advised. “Read a book, talk to your spouse.” Or do some stretching to help dissipate stress—Wells recommends 10 minutes a day, six days a week.
The business value of exercise
We know exercise is good for us, but did you know as as little as 15 minutes of walking per day can decrease your risk of breast cancer and colon cancer by 50%? “That’s how powerful exercise can be,” said Wells.
Even more interesting, exercise also stimulates brain activity. That’s why our work environment—where we sit at desks all day—is actually counterproductive to better intellectual performance, he explained. “We expect people to think at a world-class level while we shut off their brains.”
Read: Sitting is bad for employees’ health
There’s evidence that walking increases creativity, he added, noting Steve Jobs held creative meetings with his staff while walking around the campus. Wells recommends breaking a sweat every day, six days a week—ideally, for 60 minutes a day. He also suggested going for a 10- to 15-minute walk before executing an important task.
Wells called on employers and individuals to look at ways to integrate physical activity into the average workday. With stress, sleep disorders, mental health issues and obesity on the rise, “we are in the middle of a massive health crisis,” he said.
“There’s a different way of working that we all have to go after, 1% at a time.”