Optimizing Your Health as a Female Business Owner
Managing Physical and Mental Health
BY: Idil Özhan
In research and the media alike, the keys to living a fulfilling and healthy life have been a hot topic for years. There has been much media coverage on how a healthy and balanced diet, an exercise routine, proper sleep hygiene, and various vitamin and mineral supplements can help people achieve a fulfilling, healthy, and happy life. Yet hormonal balance, which regulates most of our bodies and plays a significant role in women's health, has only recently started getting the attention it deserves.
The endocrine system is the body's messenger system, and hormones are its messengers (USEPA). Almost every biological process is regulated by hormones, including sleep cycles, metabolism, digestion, mental health, sexual health, skin health, growth, and development, among others (Basina). Think of your endocrine system as the CEO of a company and other bodily systems as the teams working alongside the CEO. If the CEO shows up to work in good mental and physical health and shows excellent leadership, the various teams working alongside the CEO will be more productive, efficient, and cohesive, thus producing better quality work. In this sense, maintaining our hormone balance is crucial to ensure our bodily systems function efficiently, which leads to a healthy body and mind. You may feel fatigued, unfocused, unproductive, and anxious if your hormones are unbalanced, which may disrupt your personal and professional life, keeping you from reaching your full potential (Cleveland Clinic).
Various things can lead to hormonal imbalances. These can range from certain health problems such as PCOS or thyroid problems, not having a balanced diet or an exercise routine, and even some of the products we utilize daily (Cleveland Clinic). Some critical steps in achieving hormonal balance are maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle; eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, fiber, and healthy fats, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly. Doing research on which products or chemicals can disrupt our endocrine system can also help us support our hormonal balance (Cleveland Clinic).
One of the most prominent factors in hormone imbalance that we often neglect, or have difficulty controlling, is our stress levels. When we experience stress, our bodies release the hormones cortisol and adrenaline, which can disrupt our endocrine system and other hormones leading to imbalances in the long term (Ranabir). This can negatively impact our chronic stress levels, daily experiences, relationships, thought clarity, and productivity. With the increasing demands of our daily lives, our stress levels are much higher than several decades ago. Building and maintaining a business on top of the regular daily demands life brings, is an additional stressor many entrepreneurs may not realize. On top of additional stressors, creating content, a business plan, and strategies, as well as assembling a team, building networks, and an endless to-do list may not leave a business owner much “self-care time.”
However, prioritizing time for yourself can boost creativity and productivity, allowing you to focus and make better decisions for yourself and your business. A few minutes of self-care each day can make a world of difference in your mental and physical well-being, and can boost your own success as well as your business’s (Schooley). Self-care is now a more cherished aspect of everybody's life to balance our stress levels and reconnect with our inner voice, nature, and tranquility.
We, at JETSWEAT, understand that launching and maintaining a business can be challenging, and is sometimes a strain on mental and physical health. That is why we are here to help you build the on-demand fitness and wellness platform you have dreamed of. With JETSWEAT you can gain access to advanced proprietary technology and automated business tools to build the connected and immersive digital business of your dreams, without the stress.
Works Cited
Basina, Marina. “Endocrine System: What Is It, Functions, Organs & Conditions.” Healthline, 12 March 2022, https://www.healthline.com/health/the-endocrine-system#function. Accessed 5 May 2023.
Cleveland Clinic. “Hormonal Imbalance: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic, 4 April 2022, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22673-hormonal-imbalance. Accessed 5 May 2023.
Ranabir, Salam. “Stress and hormones - PMC.” NCBI, 2011, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3079864/. Accessed 5 May 2023.
Schooley, Skye. “How to Use Self-Care to Improve Workplace Productivity - business.com.” Business.com, 23 March 2023, https://www.business.com/articles/the-importance-of-self-care-for-productivity-in-an-office-environment/. Accessed 5 May 2023.
United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Overview of the Endocrine System | US EPA.” Environmental Protection Agency, 13 March 2023, https://www.epa.gov/endocrine-disruption/overview-endocrine-system. Accessed 5 May 2023.