Recharge Your Batteries

Winter is a time when we tend to have low energy and find it hard to get motivated to go out and try new activities. Yet with the start of a new year and a new century, we want to put our best foot forward and feel good about ourselves; be enthusiastic about pursuing challenges.

The Working Solutions website has a web quiz to help you determine if you squander your energy. You'll have the answer after nine easy yes or no questions like, "Does processed food make up the most of your diet?" You’ll get some tips on how to boost your energy, based on the input that you provide in the quiz.

Having low energy is one of the symptoms of depression that affects almost 20 million people in the US. Read the article "When Sadness Won’t Go Away" on the WSI website newsletter (under Recharge Your Batteries) to determine if you have more of the symptoms of clinical depression. If you discover you have symptoms, you may want to contact your EAP at 800-221-6327.

Even the normal winter "blahs" are no fun and are a signal that it’s time to Recharge Your Batteries. One of the best ways to do that is to move — physically!

And it doesn’t take much physical activity to improve your sense of well being. Even a cumulative 30 minutes a day (5-10 minutes here and there) can make a difference. Did you know that nursing home residents, when put on a moderate exercise program, were actually able to get along without wheelchairs after awhile? The WSI website article "Get Moving" (under Recharge Your Batteries) tells more about what a "moderate amount" of activity is and what it can do for you.

Another no brainer for boosting your energy is to get more sleep. We are a sleep-starved nation, and many don't link that lack of sleep with having low energy. "The Scoop on Sleep", another article on the WSI website, explains why sleep is so vital to our daily functioning and how sleep experts train habitual insomniacs to get more and better sleep without drugs.

All of the articles on the Working Solutions website are also available to members and their families by e-mailing Working Solutions at articles@wsi-or.com. For your coworkers without internet access, they can:

• Call Working Solutions at 800-358-8515 to have the article packet mailed or
  
  
• Fax their request with name, address, daytime phone and union affiliation to Working Solutions at 503-246-1533

Any member who wants extra assistance on this topic or about adult/elder or special needs dependent issues, can call Working Solutions anytime at 800-358-8515.