A vibrant community inspires action in every member, whether it’s leading a free public yoga class, becoming a volunteer, shopping local, or growing Iredell County’s economy as a business owner.

Behind every vibrant community is a commitment to wellness.

Individual commitments to personal health, exercise, and self-care often require a sense of fortitude. Community leadership can better support such resilience through public initiatives that promote healthier lifestyles. 

Here are several steps leaders can take to inspire community wellness.

Encourage Healthy Smartphone Habits

Think about how much time residents spend on their phones. Quickly scan a restaurant, grocery store, or mall to find teens and their parents scrolling apps. Smartphone use is just as frequent at home.

While smartphones and social networking inspire action online, being constantly plugged in also triggers mental and physical wellness issues. Decreasing levels of participation in the outside world lead to isolation and disconnection. Meanwhile, tech neck is a modern condition directly caused by poor posture from looking down at smartphones.

Such relevant wellness issues warrant engaging public campaigns that promote healthy smartphone use.

For instance, you could create a billboard or poster campaign that advocates for digital detoxes, sponsored by the public library. Local commercial spots could encourage families to put down their phones for a board game night.

Community health centers could promote illustrated diagrams that show the impacts of tech neck, with a call to correct posture and minimize smartphone use.  

Promote Community Ergonomics

When left untreated, tech neck can lead to frequent headaches, reduced mobility, forward head posture, and even neurological symptoms like nerve irritation. It’s a very real health issue, which also necessitates the need for community-wide ergonomics campaigns.

Tech neck also arises from prolonged computer use without proper ergonomic support.

A primary example of community ergonomics is a library investing in:

• Ergonomic chairs with proper lumbar support
• Monitors placed an arm’s length away
• Monitor screen adjusted below eye-level
• Desks at elbow height (with elbows resting at 90 degrees)
• Standing desks (for both desktops and laptops)

Remodeling libraries with ergonomics in mind would offer more space for visitors to walk and stretch. New reading chairs would provide proper back and neck support.

As part of a community ergonomics initiative, public areas can supply more information on neck, shoulder, and spinal health, highlighting conditions like pinched neck nerves and necessary procedures like posterior cervical foraminotomy.

Take a Moment to Move

Many people forget to stretch, especially when sitting down.

Consider a “Take a Moment to Move” community wellness campaign that promotes movement no matter where someone is.

It can range from promoting community jog-a-thons to simple foot stretches while drinking a cup of coffee. In fact, daily foot stretches can lower the risk of plantar fasciitis, a common heel pain condition, according to the Mayo Clinic. 

One example would be a work-from-home (WFH) wellness initiative, which is even more relevant with the rise of remote work. Aside from promoting ergonomic home office setups, integrate targeted stretches to relieve neck and shoulder strain.

Produce videos that illustrate chin tucks to stretch overworked muscles at the base of the head. Show how remote workers can squeeze their shoulder blades together to prevent slumping. Taking a moment for a few shoulder rolls can ease tension in the trapezius muscles, reducing inflammation. 

Promote these stretches as a “reset button” for the muscles and nervous system.

A remote work wellness initiative isn’t complete without posture awareness. Encourage residents to make a subconscious habit out of good posture.

Create videos or diagrams that illustrate how to keep the head aligned over the shoulders to prevent jutting forward. On travel days, promote the use of rolling bags over heavy one-sided shoulder bags that can cause muscle knots. 

Take a Moment to Breathe

Round out your campaigns with a “Take a Moment to Breathe” campaign that promotes mental wellness through Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) techniques, such as:

• Deep breathing
• Being present without judgement
• Meditation
• Positive mental visualization

Ensure residents know how to access local resources for mental wellness. Make posters and brochures available in public areas and through local government websites. Host free talks on mental wellness, sponsored by the health department.

Build Resilient Communities

Community resilience starts with wellness initiatives that address relevant problems like digital screen time, tech neck, ergonomics, muscle strength, and mental health.

Make wellness fun to encourage members of the community to take leadership roles in health campaigns, from concerned parents worried about screen time to librarians who want to promote better posture.

Together, everyone can build a more resilient Iredell County.