We all have a role to play in supporting our own health and the health of our team. Here are some strategies to support healthy hearts on your team and a heart healthy culture here at McGill:
- Share fruit with your team. Instead of bringing muffins to a meeting, opt to bring fruit to support your colleagues' heart health. Having fruit readily available can encourage others to choose it over other less nutritious snacks. Fruit has vitamins and minerals that support a healthy heart and body. Visit Canada’s Food Guide for more information about how to incorporate more fruit into your life.
- Encourage your team to move more. Emphasize the importance of taking their lunch break, maybe even invite them to take a walk outside. Have a walking meeting with a colleague or two to build physical activity into their busy days. Sign up with a team member for staff fitness classes to keep each other accountable and have fun together.
- Support stress reduction on your team. Too much stress can have a big impact on our cardiovascular health. Plan ahead to lessen the need for urgent requests and allow colleagues to better schedule their work days. Talk to your team about workload, expectations, and stress levels, and ask them how they are doing. Attend a stress management workshop with a colleague to learn more about ways to mitigate stress and then share the take-aways with your team. If you notice that you or one of your colleagues is dealing with a high level of stress that is having a negative effect, you could share information about the Employee and Family Assistance Program, which provides free, round-the-clock counselling to support employees with personal, family, or work-related difficulties.
- Encourage nutritious eating. Step away from your desk at lunch, and encourage occasions for colleagues to eat together. Share healthy recipes that you have enjoyed or have a healthy potluck on your team so everyone can share their favorite nutritious dish. Finally, encourage colleagues to read March 2020’s MHW Newsletter during Nutrition Month to learn more about healthy eating.