by Grace | Jul 27, 2021 | Uncategorised
It’s Sleep Awareness Week, the time of year when everyone should appreciate why sleep is crucial for their body, mind and overall well-being. But as a society, we do not sleep well. Resmed’s latest sleep health survey shows that 41% of Australians are not getting enough sleep, 35% wake up tired, and 23% take more than half an hour to drift off. (Resmed, 2021).
What are the benefits of a good night’s sleep on your work performance?
- Increased alertness;
- Improved memory;
- Increased productivity;
- Higher levels of reasoning;
- Decreased stress levels;
- Levelled mood;
- Increased attention to detail;
- More focused, reasonable thinking;
- The ability to think more clearly;
On top of this, sleep can help you to:
According to healthline.com (2018)
- Maintain a healthy body weight;
- Decrease your risk of developing heart disease or stroke;
- Decrease your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes;
- Avoid depression;
- Increase your immune function;
- Decrease inflammation in the body;
What can you do to ensure a good night’s sleep?
According to sleepfoundation.org, the best tips are:
- Stick to a sleep schedule – same bedtime and same wake up time, even on weekends;
- Practice a relaxation bedtime ritual – A relaxing, routine activity (such as reading or meditation) conducted away from bright lights;
- Avoid naps – power naps may get you through the day, but if you find you can’t get to sleep at bedtime, cut them out;
- Exercise daily – vigorous exercise is best, but even light activity is better than no activity;
- Evaluate your room – your bedroom should be cool, free from any noise or light. Consider ear plugs and eye masks if necessary;
- Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows – invest, full stop;
- Avoid bright lights at night time – save this for the morning;
- Wind down – spend the last hour before bed doing a calming activity such as reading. For some people, electronic devices such as a laptop can make it hard to fall asleep;
- If you can’t sleep, go into another room and do something relaxing until you feel tired – it is best to take work materials, computers and televisions out of the bedroom. Save your bed for sleep;
- If you’re still having trouble sleeping – don’t hesitate to speak to your local GP.
by Grace | Jul 27, 2021 | Workplace Education
Dental Health Week (DHW) is the Australian Dental Association’s (ADA) major annual oral health campaign.
According to the Australian Dental Association (ADA) (2021):
- 75% adults rarely or never floss or clean between their teeth.
- 1 in 5 adults brush only once per day.
- 39% of parents report their children drink 2 – 5 soft drinks per week.
- 2 in 3 adults usually visit the dentist for a problem rather than a regular check-up.
- 47% of adults (18+ years) consume too much sugar.
The ADA aims to deliver 4 key messages for the 2021 campaign:
- Brush teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
- Clean between your teeth daily using floss or interdental brushes.
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet and limit added sugar intake.
- Visit the dentist regularly for check-ups and preventive care (usually every 6-12 months or otherwise advised by your dentist);
by Grace | Jul 27, 2021 | Workplace Education
What are the benefits of breastfeeding?
According to the Australian Breastfeeding Association (2021) and Raising Children (2021).
- Breastmilk contains all the nutrients your baby needs for around the first six months of life. Your baby doesn’t need any water or foods other than breastmilk in these early months. Although baby formula manufacturers try to copy breastmilk as closely as they can, formula won’t ever be exactly the same as breastmilk.
- Both colostrum and mature breastmilk contain antibodies, good bacteria and other agents that help reduce your baby’s risk of infections and conditions like gastroenteritis, respiratory tract infections, ear infections, type-1 diabetes and type-2 diabetes, and obesity;
- The taste of breastmilk changes with whatever you’ve eaten, which means that breastfed babies are likely to accept new tastes when they start eating solids;
- Breastfeeding is important for baby eyesight, speech, jaw and mouth development;
- Breastmilk is easy to digest and is easily absorbed into your baby’s system;
- It increases a baby’s resistance to infection and disease;
- It’s convenient, cheap and always there when you need it;
- It’s always fresh, clean and safe;
- It quickly soothes a fussy, unhappy baby;
- Breastfeeding helps create a close and loving bond between you and your baby and can be a deeply satisfying experience for you both;
- The good fats in breastmilk are important for baby brain development;
Breastfeeding and work:
Many mothers successfully combine work and breastfeeding. Our work environment continues to change, and as many more women return to the work force, many workplaces now have greater awareness of the importance of individual family responsibilities, and include this in workplace policies. Breastfeeding still tends to be left up to the woman to discuss with her employer on an individual basis – Australian Breastfeeding Association (2021). Options may include the following:
- Expressing and providing your childcare service with your breastmilk;
- Discuss with your employer that you may require a private room (not the toilet area) with a comfortable chair, a refrigerator where you can store expressed breastmilk, somewhere to store an electric breast pump or manual breast pump, and time to express milk during lunch break and other breaks if necessary. Time could be made up at the end of the day.
- You may be able to have your baby brought to you at work. Talk about this with your employer. Discuss the possibility of breastfeeding during breaks and lunchtime, and flexible work hours and breaks.
- Consider the purchase of an electric breast pump to make expressing sessions at work quicker.
- Be aware that expressing may seem difficult at first but most working mothers say they improve very quickly, and the benefits are worth the initial effort.
For more information on breastfeeding, the Australian Breastfeeding Association has all the answer to your questions – https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/index.html
*It is the decision of the mother whether she would like to breastfeed, and it also may be dependent on various factors why she cannot or sometimes it just doesn’t work out. As always, WHS Vic are here to provide helpful information (both to individuals and workplaces) and are always non-judgemental towards the choices of any individual.
by Grace | Jul 27, 2021 | Health Assessments, Skin Checks, Workplace Education
This month we are celebrating our tradies!
In light of Tradies National Health Month, we’ve researched various statistics for you:
- Tradies are at a higher risk of developing skin cancer due to being exposed to the sun for extended periods of time;
- Young apprentice tradesmen (17-25yo) generally do not eat enough fresh food and consume too much junk food on the job and at home;
- 94% of tradies report that they don’t eat enough fruit and/or vegetables;
- Tradies/construction workers and ‘blue collar’ careers, have some of the highest suicide rate in Australia amongst men;
- 33% of males in the construction industry have high blood pressure;
- 45% are at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease;
- 69% believed that being sore is just normal for the work they do;
- 68% said that they follow safe guidelines of lifting, leaving 30% at greater risk of injury from unsafe lifting;
- Every day 10 tradies are badly injured at work – a total of 3,650 injuries to tradies each year, with back injuries being the most common;
Sources: Vic Health Government, Blokes Psychology, Ethos Health, Service Seeking (dates ranging from 2017 – 2020).
How can WHS Vic help your workplace to support your tradies?
- Individual Health Assessments onsite, screening for heart health, diabetes, cholesterol and body composition (including bone density screening) to determine a problem before it’s too late;
- Presentations to your tradies from our dietician, tailored to you – we suggest information on how to maintain healthy body weight to combat diabetes, high cholesterol and an unhealthy heart. Our dietician can also explain times of the day to eat for tradies, the importance of specific foods for fuel and basic nutrition for health and wellbeing.
- Presentations to your team involving stretching techniques before beginning work, lifting techniques, strengthening exercises and the norm of how your body should feel day to day;
- Presentations from our psychologists to your team with techniques on how to achieve optimal mental health and
- Onsite skin checks for your tradies;
- In clinic (located in Geelong) audiometry and spirometry;
- Drug and Alcohol education;
- In clinic range of movement and physiotherapist assessment, offering advice and techniques to combat injury in the workplace;
Get in touch with us to help celebrate and support your tradies’ optimal health.
by Grace | Jun 29, 2021 | Health Assessments, Workplace Education
There’s nothing like signing up to a running event in the middle of winter to get you motivated! The Melbourne Marathon, set to take place 10th October, 2021 have released training programs, with now being the perfect time to start training for the half or full marathon!
Through the following link https://melbournemarathon.com.au/training-hub/, you will find training programs for the varying distances:
- 5km (8 weeks);
- 10km (8 weeks);
- 21km (14 weeks);
- 42km (14 weeks);
According to Very Well Fit (2020), there is a huge number of benefits of running including:
- Improved overall health;
- Improved sleep;
- Improved fitness;
- Toned legs;
- Weight loss;
- Room for extra calories;
- Stress reduction;
- Improved motivation;
- It’s very social;
- Improved confidence;
- A sense of accomplishment;