Micro resilience Part IV: increase your fuel efficiency
The micro-resilient concept this week comes from Bonnie St John’s 4th framework: increasing our body’s fuel efficiency. You can increase your fuel efficiency in the way you approach drinking water.
Research tells us that our brain is made up of 70% water, the rest of the body is made up of 60-65%. Water plays a key role in how most of our body systems function.
Some of the symptoms that can easily be due to dehydration:
· A dry mouth and the sensation of being either thirsty or hungry
· Generalized body aches and muscle cramps
· Dry skin that seemed more prone to irritation
· Decreased ability to focus well – even during high energy times
· Multiple non-specific coughs and colds
How do you stay hydrated in a crisis?
How you plan to have access to water may need to be adjusted to how you are going to stay hydrated while wearing a mask, and for some, gloves and gown. How are you going to stay hydrated if it is not appropriate to keep a bottle of water with you in your work environment?
Do you have influence as a leader within a work environment:
· where you work specific blocks of time where you musts wear masks?
· within the healthcare environment with those who must wear full PPE?
· with those who work directly under the sun?
· with those who are working from home?
During this global pandemic we have come face to face with the immutable truth that human safety is critical to our economic well-being.
How do you define human safety in the workplace?
How does the long working hours culture fit into the definitions of human safety that are emerging as a result of this pandemic?
The purpose of this focus on a micro moment in resilience is to find what works best for you. How can you plan ahead for each day so that you are drinking enough water to be at your best – to think your best and to respond at your best. How can you influence those around you?
Resources:
Candore, Giuseppina & Colonna-Romano, Giuseppina & Balistreri, Carmela & Carlo, Daniele & Grimaldi, Maria & Listì, Florinda & Nuzzo, Domenico & Vasto, Sonya & Lio, Domenico & Caruso, Calogero. (2006). Biology of Longevity: Role of the Innate Immune System. Rejuvenation research. 9. 143-8. 10.1089/rej.2006.9.143.
Cleary, M. A., Sitler, M. R., & Kendrick, Z. V. (2006). Dehydration and symptoms of delayed-onset muscle soreness in normothermic men. Journal of athletic training, 41(1), 36–45.
St John, B. (2017). Minor Shifts for Major Boosts in Focus, Drive, and Energy. Hachette, UK.
n.d. (2017). How dehydration impacts workplace productivity. Premium Waters Inc. Retrieved from https://premiumwaters.com/blog/dehydration-impacts-workplace-productivity/
Jy Ong, J.,et al. (2020). PPE- associated headaches increase among health care workers amid COVID-19. Headache. Retrieved from https://www.healio.com/primary-care/practice-management/news/online/%7B01a63c64-82a8-4db9-a272-48c962445c60%7D/ppe-associated-headaches-increase-among-health-care-workers-amid-covid-19
Wittbrodt, M., Millard-Stafford, M. (2018). Dehydration Impairs Cognitive Performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: 50; 11; pp 2360-2368. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001682 Retrieved from https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2018/11000/Dehydration_Impairs_Cognitive_Performance__A.21.aspx
