Helo Hälsa helps Arla's employees understand the brain as a work tool

As working life places ever higher demands on availability and performance, understanding how the brain works matters more than ever. That was the starting point when Helo’s neuroscience-based mental trainer and speaker Maria Stenström stepped in front of Arla's employees with a lecture combining neuroscience with practical everyday use.

Under the title “A brain-smart working day”, participants explored how the brain is built for a reality quite unlike the one we live in today — and what that means for the way we work, prioritise and recover.

Make time for rest

One of the lecture’s central messages was that stress in itself is not harmful. It is the lack of recovery that makes it destructive. Participants also learned more about the prefrontal cortex — the brain’s “chief executive” — and how it shapes everything from focus and decision-making to emotional regulation and motivation.

“We are all carrying a Stone Age brain around in a 24/7 world. By understanding how our brain and nervous system work, we can create the conditions to perform and feel well at work.”

Maria Stenström

The lecture closed with a framework for a more brain-smart way of working: becoming aware of your reactions, regulating them, and then actively choosing how to act — instead of being driven by impulse.

“We are proud to work with Arla and to contribute to their work on health and wellbeing in the workplace. The commitment we meet out in companies confirms how great the need for this kind of knowledge is.”

Sofie Bingmark, CEO and founder of Helo Hälsa