To launch our new veterinary industry podcast, we caught up with Tara Woodcock, a senior qualified nutritionist to hear about how food can impact our work lives and reduce stress. This episode is packed with actionable takeaway tips that your veterinary team can implement quickly to boost staff morale, client engagement and communications.
Key Takeaways
1. Planning is critical for what we eat before, during and after work. Being structured in what we eat means that we can perform, enjoy the benefits of increased positive mood, be our best at work for ourselves and teams, and of course deliver positive client experiences.
2. Leaders need to ensure that their staff are having their breaks and often, these do not need to be long – short breaks work too! Small amounts of food and water across the day instead of one big meal produce balanced blood sugar levels and better afternoon concentration to help manage the afternoon “slump”.
3. When our cortisol levels rise and we get stressed, we are more likely to react negatively to our team members or clients in difficult situations or scenarios. We might not be able to concentrate when we need to focus. This can be reduced by including a morning tea into your day with nuts, fruit, peanut butter, avocado or a protein rich yoghurt which will then keep us fuller and more productive for longer, until we reach lunch.
4. Coffee can significantly raise cortisol and make us more anxious, limiting your coffee intake and substituting coffee for tea can help to improve wellbeing.
Additional resources: