Mental health and wellness are more important than ever in employee benefit plans, but are you practicing what you preach? As you wrap up open enrollment, you can lead by example and take time to recharge and improve your mental and physical well-being. Below are different activities that can boost your mental attitude.
Social Activities
- Truly Disconnect. We are all guilty of checking email after hours or responding to a late-night work text. Once you’ve hit send for the final time on this year’s open enrollment documents, do yourself a favor and turn off your cell phone when you leave the office (and leave your computer there as well!).
- Plan Family Time. The holidays will be here before we know it. Take time now to plan for the festivities. Planning ahead not only helps you avoid unwanted surprises during family visits, but you’ll also reconnect with family members.
- Engage in Extracurricular Activities. Did you miss your last book club meeting? Have you wanted to try the new spin class? Set aside the time on your calendar! Connecting with others is an important part of mental wellness.
Physical Activities
- Improve Your Sleep. Sleep is crucial to mental – and physical – well-being. You most likely were not sleeping as soundly as you would have liked during the past couple of months. Make sure your sleeping place is peaceful, that you disengage from electronics at least an hour before trying to sleep and that the room temperature leans toward cool.
- Exercise. Even a 30-minute walk can raise your spirits and provide physical benefits. Adding weight exercises also provides continued metabolism burn throughout the day!
- Get Back to Healthy Eating. When we’re busy or stressed it’s easy to let healthy food choices slide. Convenience becomes more important. Now is the time to reset. Make a meal plan, prepare lunches to avoid eating out every day and stock up on healthy snacks like fruit and nuts.
Spiritual Activities
- Meditate. Reminding yourself that there is something bigger than us can help put the craziness of open enrollment in perspective. Meditating can involve praying, mantras or simply deep breathing.
- Read. Escaping to other places through books is a great way to detach from the all-consuming questions surrounding healthcare plans.
- Practice Mindfulness. After many days of solely focusing on the open enrollment process, appreciating the world around you is a simple, yet effective way to reduce stress, anxiety, depression and chronic pain. Building mindfulness can be as simple as repeatedly bringing yourself back to the present throughout the day. Click here for a great introduction to the practice.
Your own negotiated healthcare plans should include professional mental health services. If you feel the need to speak with someone about stresses you are facing, reach out.
The benefits are there, so take advantage!
How We Can Help Post Open Enrollment
We are here to help find overpaid medical claims for self-funding companies. Recovered money might be used to treat employees to a mental health break with a coffee bar, chair massage at the office or noise-filtering headphones. Regardless of whether the reclaimed dollars go back to the company bottom line or are used for wellness programs, HR benefits administrators and insurance brokers can rest a lot easier knowing a chosen healthcare plan isn’t paying out more than it should! That’s what we call mentally refreshing!