Sleeping well: fewer worries when health and wealth connect.

• Author: Brenner, Bryan K.
• Position: Indiana Wellness Guide

When Americans are asked to report what keeps them up at night, it's no surprise that money and health often top the list.

However, while we worry about money and we worry about our health, what is surprising is that we often don't see how the two are related.

Think about it: Every year, health care costs take bigger bites out of workers' paychecks. And every year, workers struggle to offset those increases--often by decreasing 401(k) contributions, reducing savings or canceling health insurance.

Meanwhile, many of us continue to lead unhealthy lives--neglecting exercise, eating poorly, skipping medical check-ups, smoking--and that forces us to rely on the very health care system we find so expensive. It's an ugly cycle.

There is a better way. By highlighting the health-wealth connection, you can help your employees improve their physical and fiscal health. Here are five things you can do to get started:

* Talk about it Discuss the connections between health and wealth with your employees, and help them see money and health should be two parts of one comprehensive plan.

* Get well(ness) Put into place programs that help your employees get and stay healthy. Employees participating in the wellness program at one area company posted a 22 percent decrease in health claims. Think of the money they saved on medical bills.

* Show how it adds up Explain the power of compounding interest in savings programs, and the cumulative impact of good health decisions. For example: Saving $5 on cigarettes each day, obviously leads to improved health, but it also adds up to $1,825 in a year. A recent Rutgers University study noted that investing that amount with an annual return of 8 percent over 25 years will net more than $130,000.

* Teach patience Nobody loses 50 pounds overnight, or saves a million dollars in a...