Employer Health Services News for May 2025

Fitness Challenges in the Workplace

Offering fitness challenges in the workplace can boost morale, build camaraderie, and encourage a healthier lifestyle. Whether your employees are working remotely, hybrid, or in-office, fitness challenges create a sense of shared purpose.

Top 3 Fitness Challenges at CVHS

Over the years, our fitness challenges have been very popular. Here are three of our favorites:

• Football Challenge Individuals are placed on “football teams” for friendly competition. Participants track their exercise minutes and strength training days to earn touch downs and field goals for their team.
• Steps Challenge Simple, trackable, and accessible to everyone with a smartphone or fitness tracker. Teams or individuals track their steps in a race to a fun destination.
• Fitness Bingo Each square represents a different activity—like “Take a 30-minute walk,” “Try a yoga session,” or “Go on a hike.” It’s creative and encourages variety, making it perfect for employees with different fitness levels and interests.

What Makes a Great Fitness Challenge?

Designing a good fitness challenge isn’t just about racking up reps or steps—it’s about inclusion, motivation, and fun. Here’s what to keep in mind:

• Accessibility: Ensure the challenge can be completed by people of all fitness levels, with or without gym access.
• Creativity: Unique themes or formats (like game boards, sports teams or virtual walks) keep engagement high.
• Flexibility: Challenges should be easy to participate in from anywhere.
• Tracking Simplicity: Use user-friendly apps or spreadsheets so logging progress doesn’t become a chore.
• Social Engagement: Build in ways to share progress, cheer each other on, or form teams to increase connection.

Company-Wide Benefits Beyond Just Fitness

The personal health perks are clear—but fitness challenges also bring valuable organizational benefits:

• Improved Employee Engagement: Participation in wellness activities often leads to increased satisfaction and connection to the company culture.
• Enhanced Teamwork & Communication: Group challenges naturally foster collaboration and camaraderie.
• Reduced Absenteeism: Healthier employees often take fewer sick days and maintain higher energy throughout the workday.
• Positive Brand Image: Companies that care about employee well-being attract and retain top talent and promote a culture of care and balance.
• Stronger Mental Health Support: Movement reduces stress and boosts mood—helping to combat burnout and improve overall mental wellness.

Whether you’re launching a new wellness program or just looking to add some energy to the workday, fitness challenges are a win-win. Reach out to Catawba Valley Medical Center so we can help you launch a successful fitness challenge for your company. For more information about leading a fitness challenge at your organization, contact Marcus Osborne, Director of Wellness Services, at mosborne@catawbavalleymc.org

Cancer Program – Skin Survivor Screenings

Melanoma Awareness month kicks off with Melanoma Monday on Monday, May 5th. Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer, but when caught early, it’s highly treatable. It begins in the melanocytes—the cells responsible for producing melanin, the pigment that gives your skin its color. It generally occurs in the skin, particularly on areas most exposed to the sun. However, it can occur in the mouth, intestines, eyes or under or around fingernails or toenails.

Melanoma stats:

• An estimated 9,500 people are diagnosed daily with melanoma in the United States
• While it accounts for only 1% of skin cancer cases, it causes the vast majority of skin cancer deaths.
• Melanoma was the 7th most commonly diagnosed cancer in 2022 at CVMC.

July is UV Safety Awareness Month. UV rays are an invisible form of radiation that is part of sunlight, and these rays can penetrate and change the structure of skin cells. UV protection should be used year-round. The National Weather Service and EPA provide daily UV index forecasts which are defined as Low less than 2, Moderate as 3-5, High as 6-7, Very High 8-10 and Extreme as 11+. These forecasts should be used when planning outdoor activities.

Early detection of skin cancer is crucial, and greatly enhances chances of survival. When evaluating a mole, here are some important characteristics to consider:

• Asymmetry – One half doesn’t match the other.
• Border – Edges are irregular, ragged, or blurred.
• Color – Multiple colors or uneven shades.
• Diameter – Larger than 6mm (about the size of a pencil eraser).
• Evolving – Changes in size, shape, color, or symptoms like itching or bleeding.

If your uncertain about a mole or spot on your skin, it’s important to ask your primary care provider to take-a-look, so he/she can help you determine if it needs further evaluation.

Prevention is key and a better alternative to treatment.

• Use broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher) daily and reapply every 2 hours after swimming or sweating. Don’t forget to protect your ears and the part in your hair!
• Protect your skin by seeking shade
• Wear a hat and sunglasses
• Check the UV index daily and plan activities accordingly
• Avoid sun exposure between 10 am and 4 pm
• Use UV protective clothing/bathing suits
• Avoid tanning beds.

If you have staff that spend a lot of time outdoors whether that be for work or recreation, it’s important to make sure they’re getting their annual skin cancer screening from their primary care provider. For more information about cancer prevention, contact Melanie Lutz, Cancer Program Director for CVHS at mlutz@catawbavalleymc.org. To help a staff member find a primary care physician, contact Meghan Harmon, Community Health Outreach Manager at mharmon@catawbavalleymc.org

Sleep and Productivity

Briefly, let’s review some sleep basics. In the early part of sleep, the body goes through stages of slow wave sleep. This is truly deep sleep that is critical to muscle recovery, memory consolidation, and immune function. As we age, the amount of slow wave sleep decreases. Later in the night, we experience increasing amounts of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. REM sleep is when we dream. Slow wave sleep is probably more important that REM, although the exact purpose of REM sleep is poorly understood.

The amount of sleep each person needs is highly individual, but as adults, we generally need 7-8 hours of sleep. Regular sleep patterns are thought to be very important for the body and should be prioritized. It takes 10-14 days to establish a new sleep pattern with the key element being a consistent wake time. We recommend changing by no more than an hour on non-workdays.

These concepts of sleep lead directly to productivity and impact being able to focus, having the stamina to continue during a long day, and not having muscle fatigue while at work. Additionally, when we get adequate sleep it enhances productivity in many other areas of our life. For example, operating a motor vehicle requires self-control (knowing when not to have road rage), flexibility (changing tactics to avoid obstacles or rerouting), and memory, just to name a few. Moreover, driving a motor vehicle when drowsy can result in poor decision making and some experts in the field state that drowsy driving is as detrimental to personal and public safety as drunk driving.

The 10-3-2-1-0 Rule is a good rule of thumb for most people.

• 10 hours before bedtime, quit caffeine
• 3 hours before bedtime, stop eating and no alcohol
• 2 hours before bedtime, stop work
• 1 hour before bedtime, No screens (TV, computer, pads, or phone)
• and the 0 is for NO SNOOZE

Practiced regularly, there can often be a dramatic improvement in sleep quality, which will also enhance productivity.

Sleep is one of the foundational components of wellness and good health, however it’s often sacrificed to “get more work done”, which often backfires. Catawba Valley Health System can address your sleep needs. Our Pulmonology providers are experts in sleep and sleep hygiene and can assess an individual’s specific sleep concerns. CVHS also operates a Sleep Center that uses evidence-based assessment tools to objectively evaluate the quality of your sleep. If you have staff that struggle with getting good, quality sleep, contact Catawba Valley Pulmonology at 828.732.5400.