Top 9 Ways to Incorporate Health and Wellness into Your Meetings and Events

One of the latest trends in meetings and events is to incorporate elements of health and wellness into your event. A growing number of attendees are reporting that they are more likely to attend a meeting if they also offer health and wellness items as part of the conference. To make this easier for your planning, I’ve put together a list of the top 9 ways to incorporate health and wellness into your next meeting or event.

Include A Meditation Room

Meditation has been proven to reduce stress, control anxiety, and lengthen attention spans. Additionally, this mindfulness practice has become a daily activity for many in order to keep stress at bay. This makes having a meditation room at your meeting a great choice. Attendees will appreciate having a calm and zen space where they can calm their minds and decompress from stressful meetings.

Offer Group Yoga or Exercise Classes

Just 30-minutes of light exercise every day can benefit health. In fact, 30-minutes of low-intensity activity every day will reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 24%. By offering group activities such as yoga or exercise classes, you are keeping your guests active and healthy.

Serve Healthy Snacks and Food Options

Studies have shown that the more fruits and vegetables consumed, the happier, more engaged, and creative employees tended to be. That’s why we encourage our clients to include healthy food and beverage options in their menu planning. This helps to avoid the 3 pm slump, and it also keeps your attendees more alert and engaged throughout the day’s sessions.

Take Your Sessions Outside

20% of the oxygen that you breathe in is used by the brain. That means increasing fresh air provides greater clarity for the brain, allowing you to focus and concentrate better. While planning your meeting, check to see if there are options for holding sessions outside. Or, you can use an outdoor space for meals and breaks. This gives attendees the breath of fresh air that they need to keep their minds going strong.

Offer Chair Massages on Breaks and During Lunch

Everyone loves a chair massage. But have you ever wondered why? Massages have been shown to improve immune system function and decrease the stress hormone cortisol by 31%. Add on a chair massage station at your event to give your guests a chance to destress and stay healthy.

Give Sessions on Mental Health in The Workplace

71% of adults report having at least one symptom of stress. When planning sessions for your next company meeting, include a few sessions on maintaining mental health in the workplace. This shows your employees that their mental health is important to you, and it also helps to keep depression at bay. Keeping your team mentally healthy will ultimately help your company performance since depression reduces cognitive performance in 35% of cases.

Stay Hydrated

Everyone knows that drinking water is important, but do you know just how important it is for your productivity levels? Just a 1% drop in hydration can lead to a 12% drop in productivity, and a 3-4% drop can lead to a 25-50% drop in productivity. Those are big changes in productivity just because of a lack of hydration. Keep your attendees hydrated by including plenty of water stations, bottled water, or even personalized refillable water bottles.

Do Group Breathing or Meditation Exercises

You always hear health professionals recommend breathing exercises and meditation to maintain optimum health. According to the National Library of Medicine, meditative breathing exercises can substantially improve blood pressure and reduce stress. Literally give attendees a breather by offering group breathing or meditation exercises during your morning and afternoon breaks.

Take Mental Health Breaks

Prolonged attention to a single task hinders performance. Studies show that taking regular breaks raises workers level of engagement, resulting in high productivity. By scheduling mental health breaks throughout your meeting, you are giving attendees the chance to regain their mental clarity, which will result in a successful conference.

Any way you look at it, health and wellness are center stage in the lives of your attendees, and that is not likely to change any time soon. So, by including some (or all!) of the elements on this list, you are putting your attendees first. And even though it may not be visible during the planning process, this will have many positive returns in the future. We have a team of expert CMP-designated meeting planners that would be happy to help you plan your next meeting in a mindful way. Contact us today at www.agendausa.com to get started planning.

Informational Sources: Healthline, Medical News Today, National Library of Medicine, Physio Falmouth Plus, Time Magazine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Daily MBA, National Library of Medicine, Psychology Today