Love Your Heart Campus Wellness Challenge

In celebration of February as American Heart Month, the Be Well, Bengals program is partnering with the ISU Wellness Center to host a week long “Love Your Heart” Wellness Challenge (February 15 - 19). This program is open to faculty, staff, and students at all ISU campus locations. The goals of this challenge are to increase awareness about heart health, and support our Bengals by providing activities that promote heart health. 

To participate, please complete this registration form by noon on Friday, February 12.

Participants who register will be able to self-select one or more of the following heart-healthy activities to complete during the challenge week. 

• Check your blood pressure 3 to 5 times. High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, which are types of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. 
• Learn how to read nutrition labels and track your saturated fat or fiber intake for 5 days. Eating too much saturated fat can increase your low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), which can contribute to an increased risk for heart disease. Eating enough fiber, especially soluble fiber, each day can help lower your LDL-C. 
• Move your body and track your minutes to see if you achieve the recommended minimum 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity like brisk walking, jogging, hiking, or any of the cardio classes offered through the GET-FIT program (purchase required), or enjoy some of the free at home workout options.
• Track how many hours you sleep for 5 nights. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults between 18-64 years of age should achieve 7-9 hours per night and adults older than 65 years should achieve 7-8 hours each night. Research has shown that not sleeping enough hours each night or not achieving restful sleep can negatively impact your heart health. 
• Have your lipid profile checked. A lipid profile will show you and your medical provider the levels of your total cholesterol, LDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), non-HDL-C, and triglycerides. High levels of LDL-C, non-HDL-C, and/or triglycerides increase your risk of heart disease. 
• Have your blood glucose (sugar) checked. A high level of blood glucose can indicate pre-diabetes or diabetes, which is a risk factor for heart disease. 
• Participate in an ISU mindfulness meditation sitting group. Managing stress through mindfulness activities, including meditation, can decrease your risk of heart disease.

These activities are intended to support your personal wellness goals, and you do not need to submit your tracking data or any personal health results to participate in the challenge. Health information produced from participation will be solely available to the individual participant for their own health and well being, and will not be requested or accepted by the University. 

At the end of the “Love Your Heart” Wellness Challenge, one employee participant will be randomly selected to receive a wellness voucher ($25 value) that can be used toward the following ISU Wellness Center or Campus Rec services. 

• Personal training (in person or remote)
• Nutrition coaching (in person or remote)
• $25 toward the purchase of a GET-FIT Passport (in person or remote)
• A fitness assessment (in-person, Pocatello only)
• A 1-month Campus Rec membership (in-person, Pocatello only)

For any questions about this“Love Your Heart” Wellness Challenge, please contact traning@isu.edu. For questions about Wellness Center services, contact wellness@isu.edu.