Being well Balanced or Balancing Wellbeing
Being well Balanced or Balancing Well Being
Balancing Wellbeing and Being Well Balanced
The term wellbeing refers to a state of physical and mental health, the two are intrinsically linked. Mental health can be described as any cognitions which influence our state of mind and ultimately our performance. Mindset impacts greatly on motivation, confidence, self esteem, determination, drive, concentration and focus.
Physical health is a combination of attributes which collectively contribute to physical wellbeing. To achieve excellent physical function we would expect to exhibit, a good: immune system, digestion, sleep patterns, muscle strength and cardiovascular capacity.
The factors affecting physical and mental health can both be disturbed if a person exceeds the amount of pressure that they can tolerate. It should be noted that pressure tolerance is as individual as finger prints, therefore it is useful to understand how you react to excess pressure.
Absenteeism costs companies a huge amount of time and money and very often this can be reduced by understanding the impact that pressure has on overall health.
Excess pressure results in a stress response which is initially a physical reaction, it increases heart rate, breathing rate, metabolism, blood sugar and muscle strength, vision, it heightens awareness, concentration, focus and alertness. Think about how you would react if there was a car crash or an intruder in your house. We get the same response, to a greater or lesser extent whether it is a life or death situation or a promoted by work. The crux is that this response can not be managed for a long period of time without it impacting on our health.
The possible result is this:
Pressure at work - physical stress response, heightened awareness, concentration and focus (great for getting the job done but if it persists) - Impacts on eating habits, inability to relax, affects sleep - being tired negatively affects mood, behaviour, concentration, motivation and focus. Negative physiological reactions may include head aches, bowel function, lowers immune system and more prone to bugs and infections. Ultimate result is absent from work.
Enhance your performance by creating a balanced lifestyle, understand how you perform and react to pressure. Staying at the top of your game!
Submitted by Diane Fisher on Friday 20th August 2010