Prioritizing wellbeing during COVID-19

There may be no better time than during a global pandemic to focus on your wellbeing. It’s normal to feel greater stress in the new stay-at-home world we’re living in right now. Many of us are juggling our jobs while also watching our kids 24/7 and serving as teachers on top of that. It’s a lot to handle physically and emotionally.

We’ve recently announced our acquisition of Blue Zones®, a pioneer in taking a systemic and environmental approach to improving the health of entire cities and communities. The organization shares our values, and our vision for community wellbeing perfectly aligns the work of Blue Zones. We believe that together we can have an even bigger impact on improving the health of communities we serve.

A focus on wellbeing is needed now more than ever in our current coronavirus environment. Blue Zones studied the healthiest people in the world to determine their Lessons of Longevity. These lessons are credited with big drops in obesity, smoking and body mass index. The great news is that these lessons rely on the environment around you —meaning you don’t need a gym membership to start making huge improvements in your wellbeing. Now is a perfect time to give some of these lessons a try.

Here are some of our personal favorite lessons:

• Move naturally: “The world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron, run marathons or join gyms. Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it.” Find a local open trail or simply walk your own neighborhood. Use the environment around you to break a sweat and take in the natural wonder of our world.
• Purpose: “Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy.” Seven years! Imagine adding seven whole years to your life just by looking inward and determining what matters to you. Once you’ve found what matters, embrace it, make it part of your daily routine and remind yourself of it every chance you get. It will make you happier and give you more life.
• Plant slant: “Beans, including fava, black, soy and lentils, are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets.” Eat more plants! The healthiest people on Earth prioritize eating more vegetables and greens. Start off easy by doing “Meatless Mondays,” then gradually replace more meals with veggies only.
• Belong: “Research shows that attending faith-based services four times per month will add 4-14 years of life expectancy.” How’s that for a stat? Keep (virtually) attending those church services —it turns out that having a sense of belonging is a big indicator of living a long and healthy life. If you haven’t attended church in a while, here’s your chance to slip into a service quietly online.