13 Entrepreneurs Dish On The Importance of Health and Wellness

“More reasons to why health and wellness should be your top priority!”

— Dr. Dale

From 13 Entrepreneurs Dish On The Importance of Health and Wellness  

For entrepreneurs, focusing on change and newness don’t just come at the start of a calendar, but at a moment’s notice. With hectic schedules, long days, and even longer nights, it’s important to carve out time to focus on your health, wellness, and of course getting in some sleep. Regardless of the constant pressure on entrepreneurs, many of us still jump on the wellness bandwagon of New Year’s Resolutions.

Interestingly enough, only 17 days into January is where most people end up leaving their resolution behind, also known as Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day. If you’ve kept up the pace thus far, you’ve only a little more than 300 days to go. If that seems like a long way out, perhaps the advice from entrepreneurs from all walks of life will give you some added inspiration to keep up the wellness efforts:

Jillian Michaels: Keep It Simple

According to world-renowned fitness expert and life coach, Jillian Michaels, it’s all about simplicity. Keep it simple, affordable and accessible. The less strict the better. Anything rigid is hard to stick to:

1. Don’t eat too many calories

2. Use common sense with food choices and eat less processed when possible

3. Practice the 80/20 rule. Allow 20% of your daily calories to be treat foods and the other 80% to be relatively healthy

Speaking of simplicity, Michaels recently launched a new fitness anywhere platform, FitFusion, which allows you to stream some of the more popular workout types on any device.

Peter Corbett: Productive Activities

Some of us run, others meditate and do yoga. For Washington, DC’s founder and CEO of iStrategyLabs, Peter Corbett, he’s been on a progressive wellness journey for a healthier lifestyle over the past few years.

“My best advice is to find some activity you really love – where you can also be productive. For me it’s cycling. I can get out there for an hour or two, clear my head, and solve a few business problems by noodling on them as I ride.”

Ross McCray: Measure Everything

If you want to achieve a goal, you need to measure wellness milestones leading up to it. For VideoAmp cofounder and CEO Ross McCray, that means measuring everything.

• Measures everything, whether it’s sleeping, eating, or working out, put everything in a spreadsheet and then create models over time

• Times everything

• Wears a heart rate monitor, monitor body weight

• Big on tracking to use in my performance

• No interest in marathons but have done Spartan Races, Tough Mudders, has taken team to do a Spartan Race

Cyril Paglino: Find A Balance

Being a healthy entrepreneur isn’t all lifting weights and hitting the track. You also need to flex that brain muscle to promote wellness.

“As an ex-breakdancer for over a decade, I rigorously trained daily for professional competitions. Those experiences made me realize how good health can affect productivity for the better — and even make me a better CEO,” said Cyril Paglino, cofounder and CEO of Tribe. “I kick off every morning by reading for 45 minutes before checking my emails, which helps me start the day with the most up-to-date tech news at top of mind. In general, I try to make sure I get in a workout 4-5 times per week to allow me to unplug from work for a few hours and relieve any stresses that may come my way, keeping me sharp and focused throughout the day.”

Bert Jacobs: Inspire Optimism

For a positive brand dedicated to inspiring optimism, it’s important to have healthy employees – both mentally and physically. Bert Jacobs, chief executive optimist at Life is Good shares how he inspires his team into a healthy atmosphere:

1. Get your vitamin L! When we laugh, it actually changes our body chemistry in positive ways. Laughing regularly reduces stress and anxiety, releases muscle tension, boosts our energy, lowers our blood pressure, improves cardiac health, triggers the release of endorphins and dopamine (our natural happiness transmitters), strengthens our immune system, and helps us sleep better.

2. Hit the pause button. When it’s time to eat, we should leave our work space. While we eat, we should think about and/or talk about interests other than work. Not only do we enjoy our meals more this way, we digest them better and come back to work stronger and refreshed.

3. Sweat Equity – The benefits of daily rigorous physical exercise are not just physical. After a good run or workout, our mental state is more relaxed, and the complex puzzles of business development become simple to solve.

Ryan Croft: Clearing Your Mind

Before kicking off his day, cofounder and COO of DC-based TransitScreen, Ryan Croft, clears his mind.

“As a tech startup founder, I have found running is the best way to stay physically, mentally fit. I run at least two miles at 6am every morning and often more on the weekends. For me, running provides a digital detox. Running enables me to open my mind to big picture strategy and new opportunities that I often overlook in the hectic every day hustle.”

Carrie Seibert: Meal Prep

Have you ever wondered why Meal Prep Sunday is such a popular thing for fitness, health, and wellness buffs? Besides having a better handle on what you eat throughout the week, it also means you get healthier options than eating out all the time.

“My best tip for staying healthy is to plan ahead for food (including meals and snacks) so that I don’t get caught reaching for junk food.  If possible, it’s helpful to do as much food advance food prep as possible on the weekend, as well as making healthy desserts and snacks.  Planning out what you want to eat each day also helps keep you body nourished, fueled, and satisfied,” said Carrie Seibert, owner and founder of Soap Commander.

Rob Farrow: ‘Board’ Meetings

Board meetings? More like surfboard meetings.

“For the new year (and as part of our new offices), my CTO and I have instigated a mandatory board meeting during lunch everyday, basically a 45-1.5 hour surf session out front of our offices,” said Rob Farrow, cofounder and CEO of Aisle Planner . “It’s a great way for us to get the team outside, think freely and brainstorm while getting the some exercise… Not everyone has gotten on board just yet, but the ones who have love it and everyone else is taking up their own personal excursive plan during lunch…makes for a happy team.”

Don Joos: Start Your Day Early

We’re not all morning people, but for ShorTel CEO Don Joos, he starts the day with a bit of ass kicking.

“I have a regular 5:00am workout consisting of Insanity, Asylum and a five-mile run regardless of where I am in the world and the time zone. Since so much of my job is unpredictable, the workout helps keep my mind and body fresh and at least have a predictable start to my day.”

Jamie Johnson: Workout Before You Hunt For Your Food

You need to get out and move. Period. If you spend your entire day in front of a computer, find a way to get out of your seat today!

“By default of being a millennial, I found myself working those 16 hour days in front of a computer, we all know this is not healthy and in the long run it is the recipe for burnout. In talking with one of my investors, we discussed keeping fit and healthy. I said ‘I prefer to go to the gym at night’ and he said ‘I go to the gym every morning, before I go out to hunt for my food. Once I have caught my food I go home to rest.’ It suddenly dawned on me, maybe I am doing it all backwards. What sense is it in going out to hunt all day for my food and then going prepare my body after the deed was done. In other words, my investor was telling me to go to the gym in the mornings as it would set me straight to succeed in the day while I at work.”

– Jamie Johnson, CEO of FJP Investment

Caleb Parker: C-C-C-Combo Breaker

If you think eating right is the way to go when it comes to wellness, think again. Bold CEO Caleb Parker discusses finding the perfect combination.

“The winning combination is eating right, exercise, and sleep. It’s a struggle to manage all three, but you don’t have to be perfect. I avoid white bread and regular sodas, exercise at least 3 times a week (Gym preferred, but even push-ups and pull-ups at home for 5 min is better than nothing), and I aim to get 7 hours of sleep at night.”

Bilal Kaiser: Express Gratitude

Being thankful is about creating a positive mindset in hopes of promoting good among others. And it’s the best way to stay mentally healthy.

“Express gratitude and take time to breath. Seriously! I say out loud what I’m thankful for while driving on the beautiful LA freeways, and I do a series of breathing exercises when I’m feeling anxious or stressed. These two habits have dramatically cut down on my stress levels and impacted my emotional health more than any gym time.”

– Bilal Kaiser, principal at Agency Guacamole

David Laloum: Focus on Now

Living the present isn’t just a saying you find on fortune cookies. It’s one of the keys to living a health life.

“It took me years to realize the importance of focusing on what you’re doing at the moment, no matter if it’s work, physical exercise or being at home with your family on a Saturday afternoon. Multitasking is inevitable nowadays, and sometimes desirable. But try as much as you can to focus on what you’re doing now. While working, see if you have those multiple tabs opened in your browser. If you do, save those links somewhere, and just open them again when you’re ready to focus on them.”

– David Laloum, founder and CEO of Carts Guru

Loma Linda University Professor Teaches 11-Year-Old That Laughter Can Be The Best Medicine

“Let’s all take a moment to simply just laugh.”

— Dr. Dale

From Loma Linda University Professor Teaches 11-Year-Old That Laughter Can Be The Best Medicin 

In April, Isabella “Bella” Rios had a class assignment: Her task was to review a three-page list of scientific disciplines and choose one to investigate.

In this age of information and technology advances, she opted for an older, more humorous discipline. She wanted to learn about gelotology, the study of laughter and its effects on the body.

Bella, a fifth-grader at Timberwood Park Elementary School in San Antonio, Texas, knew little about the subject. An Internet search turned up several stories written by or referring to Loma Linda University’s resident gelotologist, Lee Berk, an internationally known authority in the field who also holds a doctorate in public health.

Humor, she learned, helps people live longer, healthier and happier lives. Intrigued, the 11-year-old decided to reach out to Berk via email to request an interview.

Berk, an associate professor at Loma Linda University’s School of Allied Health Professions and School of Medicine, said he was surprised and delighted to receive Bella’s request for an interview. Later he and Bella spoke on the phone.

Berk is serious about laughter — especially when it comes to studying the actions people can take to bring positive emotions into their lives to promote health and healing. He has published work and presented at scientific gatherings about his studies on the positive effects of laughter during the past three decades.

“Do you think humor belongs in the classroom?” Bella asked him.

“Most definitely,” Berk said. “It’s a relatively new discovery, but the brain actually begins communicating neuronically within itself when you’re laughing. The brain is functioning at its highest level of cognitive processing, stimulating a heightened ability to learn and recall as a result of your laughing behavior.“

Bella asked Berk if laughter has any adverse effects.

“It’s very rare,” Berk said. “One cannot die from laughing. But from a medical standpoint, patients with certain types of seizures and patients with very rare pulmonary or lung issues may have difficulty with laughter. The other kind of laughter that is not good for you is laughter that aggressively makes fun of others.”

True humor, Berk explained, induces mirthful laughter. Examples would be if a person watched live comedy on television and broke into laughter or saw slapstick humor, which Berk calls his guilty pleasure.

“Multiple studies have confirmed that a positive, humorous perspective on life is beneficial to healing and longevity,” he said. “The good news is you can find humor in most everything if you look for it.”

Berk told Bella that he first became interested in the subject while studying the wisdom of the ages. “There is an Old Testament proverb that says, ‘A merry heart does good like a medicine.’ And today, modern research supports that premise that people who are happier, and especially people who integrate laughter and humor into their lives on a regular basis, live longer and healthier and don’t get as many diseases.”

Bella’s mom, Sylvia, says Berk’s research made a big impression on her daughter and improved her performance in school.

Jennifer Diaz, Bella’s teacher, said Bella earned an A-plus on the project and the other kids in the class thought it was a cool field of study. “They found it especially interesting to learn that laughing during learning is proven successful,” Diaz said. “Bella also applied some of Berk’s concepts about humor and the mind/body connection to her own life. His ideas made a big difference in how she deals with stressful situations, and they gave her a more optimistic outlook on life.”

This Is What It Actually Means To Get A Good Night's Sleep'

“Getting a good night’s sleep’ can make you happier, more energetic and sharp.”

— Dr. Dale

From This Is What It Actually Means To Get A Good Night's Sleep'

A good night’s sleep is about way more than just clocking seven to nine hours in bed each night. And now, experts in sleep medicine and other health care fields have issued new metrics that spell out exactly what high-quality slumber means.

The National Sleep Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group, for the first time defined key indicators of good sleep quality in a recent report:

• Being asleep for at least 85 percent of the time you spend in bed;

• Taking 30 minutes or less to fall asleep (or up to 60 minutes if you’re 65 or older);

• Not waking up more than once per night for more than five minutes (or twice a night for five minutes for those 65 or older); and

• Spending less than 20 minutes total awake after initially falling asleep.

These new metrics are based on the findings from 277 peer-reviewed sleep studies. An expert panel of sleep-medicine specialists and members of other health organizations (including the American Academy of Neurology, the Society for Research of Human Development and the Society for Women’s Health Research) analyzed those studies and agreed on the final version. The sleep-quality indicators are separate from the National Sleep Foundation’s recommendations for sleep durations for various age groups, released in 2015.

The new metrics are meant to help people better understand what good sleep health looks like overall, David Cloud, chief executive officer of the National Sleep Foundation, told The Huffington Post in an email.

“Now more than ever people are using devices [that] track their sleep and generate a tremendous amount of data without providing the tools people need to understand it,” Cloud explained.

Your sleep might look different ― and that’s okay.

The new metrics describe good-quality sleep, Sabra Abbott, a neurologist who specializes in circadian rhythm and sleep disorders at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, told HuffPost. But not everyone’s sleep looks the same, she added.

“Just because you aren’t able to perfectly meet these four guidelines, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have poor-quality sleep,” Abbott said. The metrics “are useful as an initial target.”

If your sleep does not meet these measures, that’s reason to check what needs improvement ― like spending too much time awake in bed at night, which can make insomnia worse. (If you can’t fall asleep within 20 minutes of waking up in the middle of the night, you should actually get up and do something else to help you relax ― like listening to music or reading. Lying awake in bed can create an unhealthy link between your bed and not sleeping, according to the National Sleep Foundation.)

Not meeting the new metrics may also be a sign of an undiagnosed sleep disorder, like sleep apnea, sleep-wake phase disorder (where your body clock does not run on average time) or insomnia, which can all be treated, Abbott said.

Another important indicator of getting good sleep is how you feel when you wake up, and during the day. “Do you have any reason to think you could be getting better sleep, or you feel tired during the day?” Abbott asked. 

Answering yes to either of those questions, or not meeting the new quality sleep metrics, are red flags, and you should discuss these issues with your physician, Abbott said. Talking about your sleep habits and patterns with your primary-care doctor is just as important as talking about diet and exercise, she said.

“The intent [of the new report] was not to diagnose the public with potential sleep disorders, but rather to provide information to empower people and help them gauge their sleep health,” Cloud added.

Another finding from the report was the need for more research to better understand the parameters of good-quality sleep ― especially which measures correspond to good long-term outcomes for other health measures, Cloud added.

“Ultimately, a better understanding of sleep quality is key to unlocking sleep health overall,” Cloud said.