Author: Amy Cottrell (DipCNM, mBANT, rCNHC, mANP)

Employee health and well-being should be key pillars of every business. During the global pandemic, the importance of health and well-being was thrown into the spotlight more than ever for obvious reasons.

An organisation prioritising employee well-being can result in more engaged, motivated, healthier, and happier employees. And as a result, they take fewer sick days and are more likely to remain loyal to their employer [a].

There are generally accepted ways to encourage workplace wellness, such as offering employees the option to work from home, take personal days, finish work on time, encouraging regular breaks, offering nutritious snacks at work, or workplace yoga classes, to name a few examples – all of which can all support employee well-being and job satisfaction in general. More than 6 in 10 employees value the well-being services offered by their employer [b].

As well as providing well-being support for the workforce, it’s also important to look at the health and well-being of each employee – since no two people are the same. One way to do this is to offer employees access to a DNA test which provides them with personalised information and advice which they can use to support their long-term health and well-being.

Modern life, which can often include a poor diet, stress, lack of sleep and exposure to toxins, can create an environment where our genes may not behave as optimally as we would like. The good news is that it is possible to positively influence your genes with specific nutrients and lifestyle modifications: this is called nutrigenomics, and it’s what companies such as DNApal specialise in.

The DNApal test (a simple cheek swab performed at home) uncovers personalised information linked to general female and male health, sleep, stress, allergies, gut health, metabolism, insulin risk, sensitivities to caffeine and alcohol, lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance, blood clotting, cholesterol, specific nutrient need, heart health, healthy ageing and ideal exercise type. The reports link this information to specific, actionable nutritional and lifestyle recommendations.

Two key areas impacting our workplace well-being and performance include exposure to excess stress and insufficient good-quality sleep. Optimising sleep and building resilience to stress can improve our immunity, concentration, productivity, and, most importantly, our long-term health. Our modern lives influence by lack of sleep and excess stress, but perhaps you didn’t know that our genes play an important role here too.

Our body clock is regulated by a group of so-called “clock genes”(CLOCK, PER3 and MTNR1B) and play a role in orchestrating our body’s sleep and wake cycle (circadian rhythm) [c]. These “clock genes” can be positively or negatively influenced by our genetic predispositions and environment (think caffeine, stress, and alcohol). A DNA report can reveal whether you are an “early bird” or “night owl”, the efficiency of your sleep-wake cycle, how you respond to melatonin (the “sleepy” hormone), as well as offering specific advice on optimising your body clock.

When it comes to stress, there are several key genes (FKBP5, ACE and COMT) that are involved in regulating our response to stress by influencing the levels of the so-called “stress hormone”, cortisol [d], blood pressure [e] and how we break down stress hormones [f].  Once you understand your susceptibility to stress, you can implement a personalised stress management plan to increase your resilience to it, which can ultimately mean that you feel better equipped to manage work and life stressors.

Suppose employees have access to personalised information and advice via a DNA test. In that case, they can feel empowered to celebrate their uniqueness and feel more aware of managing their overall health and well-being with personalised choices that serve them individually. As a result, they will feel happier and healthier in the workplace and their lives, benefiting all involved.

Please contact us at hello@dnapal.me to find out more about our corporate packages. For individuals, choose from one of our packages and order our DNApal test today to learn more about how you cope with stress, how to get better sleep, diet advice, and more.

Feel free to leave us a comment if you have any further questions.

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