A Healthy Culture is Contagious
Three years ago, a colleague was telling me about the difference her Oura ring was making in her life. I had never heard of an Oura ring before. Turns out, the little round device she wore on her finger was being used to track her sleep, monitor her heart rate variability, and track her oxygen saturation. As the ring gathered more data about her, it also guided her to make changes to significantly improve her sleep, lower her blood pressure, and increase her “Readiness Score” each day.
I decided to get one for myself.
Three years later, I am loving the Oura Ring and the daily feedback I get from it. The technology inside the little metal circle is incredible. I now understand when I should go to sleep each night and when my optimal wakeup time is— all based on the data it has stored specific to me. The more activity I have throughout the day, the better my Readiness Score is the next day. The ring even warned me in the night that my body temperature was unusually high— and the next day I tested positive for Covid.
Wearing the Oura ring has become a part of my health routine. And over the past few years, it has become something many people in our office wear as well. In fact, everyone on our team is now utilizing some type of device— whether it’s an Oura ring, an Apple Watch, or a Whoop. And we track our progress together. We opt into the Apple Health friend groups, the Peloton weekly challenges, and a daily Oura Circle Tracking.
This past year in particular, our team has taken a strong interest in our personal and collective health. Like most companies, we have a system for setting quarterly business goals. But what’s unique about us is that we also set fitness and wellness goals for the quarter, and we track them together. Every Monday morning as part of our weekly agenda, we check in as a team to see how each of us is doing toward achieving our health goals.
In the past year, our team has tracked and accomplished the following:
Training for and running a half-marathon.
Taking 10,000 steps per day for the entire quarter.
Working out for 8,000 minutes on the Peloton app.
Taking 40 yoga classes in a quarter.
Meditating 50 times in a quarter.
Walking the dog every morning before work for the quarter.
Not eating sugar for 90 days.
Not buying takeout for 90 days.
Completing 75 Hard.
Here’s what I am most proud of: Every single person on our team has had some kind of health transformation in 2024. Our “Culture of Health” has become contagious— in a really positive way. Year-to-date, our team has collectively lost more than 150 pounds (including spouses who’ve also taken to new, healthy habits). We’ve utilized data from our Oura rings to improve sleep quality. We’ve used results from Viome tests to improve our gut health. We’ve taken pre-cancer screenings through GRAIL (and fortunately had excellent results from it). We’ve even changed what and when we eat based on blood results and the findings from Function Health. (Note: all these resources and links are shared below.)
As a group, the eight of us are healthier, happier, better rested, less stressed and more confident. We are working more in-sync with each other than ever before. And many of our spouses are on the bandwagon as well. This focus on health for us as couples is leading to better habits at home, happier children (because of happier parents), and more overall physical activity for the whole family. Culture is contagious— especially at home.
What is the culture you have built (or want to build) in your office, on your team, or within your home?
When we look at all the latest studies on health, happiness, and longevity, there is so much science that proves how critical it is for us to eat well, sleep well, be more flexible, have stronger grip strength, have good core strength, reduce our alcohol intake, reduce our sugar intake, and spend more time outdoors in fresh air, sunlight and nature. And these are only a few of the recommendations! You can also journal each day what you’re grateful for, do the daily Wordle, and engage in creative activities (knitting, doing jigsaw puzzles, coloring)— all in an effort to keep your brain fresh.
So pause for a moment and ask yourself:
What am I doing— right now— to take great care of myself physically and mentally? Am I engaging in enough physical activity? Do I have an accountability buddy with whom I can commit to working on my goals? What area of my mental health could use some love and attention?
I urge you to pause and pick something.
What would make an impact on you right now? More cardio? Better sleep? Less take-out and more meal prep? My friend lost 20 pounds this year and gives 100% credit to the Factor “Heat and Eat” meals she has shipped to her home every week. No snacks, no junk: she only eats the food that gets sent to her for her healthy lunches and dinners. Now her two business partners are also buying Factor meals. They keep a supply of the meals in the office freezer to encourage healthier eating rather than an unhealthy fast food solution.
Culture is contagious. How and where you spend your time matters. Choose your friends wisely. Model healthy behavior— it may even surprise some people.
What are you waiting for? Take care of the body you have. Keep it active and strong. It’s never too early. But waiting too long might make it too late.
Let’s all take action now.
Don’t postpone until a new year begins to make a resolution or to prioritize yourself. Prioritize yourself starting today. Bad habits can be broken. Stronger and leaner feels better. And taking on this mission together is always easier than trying to tackle it alone.
Let’s create a future for ourselves that is better than our present.
This Month’s Resources: All About Your Health
Clean Food: The Best Meal Delivery Services
Wanting to eat healthier, but have no time to prep your meals? Looking for some variety in your dinners and lunches? Not sure where to turn when it comes to buying pre-made meals? Bon Appetit has researched and tested all the meal delivery services and offers these 14 as their top choices.
Viome Testing: To Improve Your Gut & Oral Health
Looking to reduce inflammation or eliminate foods that don’t agree with your belly? Maybe you’re not sure which foods are the ones causing your issues. Check out Viome: They use science and technology to identify and target hard-to-detect, underlying causes of microbial imbalance and inflammation in the body. After you complete the survey, you’ll get a customized list of foods to eat, to minimize, and even those you should avoid altogether.
Function Health: for customized blood results
If you have been looking for a concierge approach to your wellness, but don’t want to pay the $6-10k for a typical concierge physician, you might want to start right here with Function Health. For $499, you’ll get an in-depth scientific look at your blood work and receive a fully customized report that scans for more than 1000 different diagnoses. Even better: you’ll receive a clear plan of action. Your app’s dashboard will help you track and improve your health based on your actions and ongoing follow-up labs.
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