Tune into “The Wellness Effect” podcast

A new, exciting, and informative podcast is here!

Sagicor, a leading provider of insurance and financial solutions, has partnered with the University of The West Indies (UWI) and the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) to bring you The Wellness Effect, a groundbreaking podcast dedicated to health and well-being.

Launched on December 12, the podcast will be hosted once a month by Dr Kenneth Connell, President of the HCC and Deputy Dean of Recruitment and Outreach at the UWI Faculty of Medicine. He will be joined by co-host Professor Dwayne Devonish, Professor of Management and Organisational Behaviour at UWI.

The Wellness Effect provides a platform for in-depth discussions on wellness topics, offering expert insights designed to transform listeners’ health and well-being. The debut episode, which delves into the health impact of the festive season, highlights an important and often overlooked issue: the increased risk of sudden cardiac deaths during the holidays.

Dr Connell explained, “In the United States, the number one risk period in terms of incidents of heart attacks occurs on Christmas Eve, followed closely by New Year’s Day. These are two peak seasons. Stress causes a lot of changes in hormonal balances, including one important hormone called cortisol. This is thought to regulate your blood pressure and other risk factors such as blood sugar control. So, the risk really does increase (during this time); stress is really killing us slowly, but especially around the holidays. We also don’t sleep as well, so the whole biological rhythm is offset.”

Professor Devonish, emphasised the importance of promoting workplace wellness: “We are the only country that has a National Workplace Wellness Policy that seeks to advance healthy and well-working behaviours. So, like Sagicor, if you’re doing something that benefits employees’ health, it’s going to benefit the bottom line.”

In the inaugural episode, the hosts were also joined by Akil Ifill, Manager of Client Relations within Group Life and Health at Sagicor.

(PR)