We’re grateful to support the City of San Diego’s First Responders and their family members with this Meditation Challenge
February 1-28
The City of San Diego wants to see our first responders and their families thrive. Our goal is to help you feel well-prepared, rested, and balanced. Our first responders are the lifeblood to protecting, supporting, and saving lives in our City. To that end, we want to support you feeling good in your mind and body. Sign up for this Challenge so you can reap all the benefits that mindful meditation has to offer.
Heart attacks and suicide are the two leading killers of first responders, and mindfulness meditation has been proven to help. Here's what the research is saying:
Brain Science Shows Why It's a Great Idea for First Responders to Meditate:
Decreases stress on the cardiovascular system
Improves sleep patterns
Reduces depression and anxiety
Enhances resilience
Increases emotion regulation
Increases attention and focus
Increases alertness
Aids in better decision-making amidst chaos
Improves domestic and professional relationships
Here’s how it works:
The City has partnered with the top-rated wellness app Nudge
Clickable Links:
After you register, you’ll receive an email with instructions to get connected on your smartphone.
Each week the Nudge app will provide short educational videos and guided meditations, so you can start building and tracking your daily meditation habits.
Weekly Themes
Week 1: Sleep
Week 2: Appreciation/Gratitude
Week 3: Self-Compassion
Week 4: Balance
To track your progress:
Each day, you’ll receive a notification, or Nudge, from the app asking,
“Did you meditate today?”
Take this as a simple reminder to help you prioritize your physical and mental well-being.
You’ll simply enter “Yes” or “No” and if you did, you’ll enter in how long you meditated.
It’s that simple.
Individual Prizes & Group Award
Gift Cards for REI, Amazon, Nike (valued at $35) for Individuals
One GRAND Prize: Food Truck Celebration!!
San Diego’s Police Department is competing head-to-head with the City’s Fire-Rescue personnel! There will be on-site food truck service for the department with the highest meditation participation.
Note: Prizes and Awards are for City employees only.
City Employees can meditate to win Gift Cards from these retailers
The City is raffling off individual prizes for the Meditation Challenge!
Here is how you can enter to win!
For every day that you meditate for at least 5 minutes, you’ll get an entry into the raffle.
That’s 28 different raffle entries you can earn!Any time you meditate for 7 consecutive days, you’ll get TWO entries into the raffle!
That’s an additional 8 raffle entries you can earn throughout the challenge!Each week the Nudge app will feature short educational videos about mindfulness & meditation.
There will be a total of 5 videos, so that’s 5 additional raffle entries you can earn!
Police vs. Fire-Rescue
Employees from Police and Fire-Rescue will compete for the City’s Meditation Title!
Based on the group that logs the most minutes meditated, the City will host an outdoor food truck celebration for the winning group.
Note: Only minutes meditated by employees will be counted toward the group award.
Families
Families & Meditation
While first responders are on the front lines responding to emergencies and other traumatic events, their loved ones play important supporting roles. Whether you are a family member or any other loved one, the stresses a first responder brings home affects you as well.
Supporting the first responder in your family isn’t easy. They work long shifts and odd hours, and often bring the stress of their work back home, which impacts everyone.
Meditation is a proven and powerful tool to support healthy communication and relationships. It can help first responders and their family members thrive in many aspects of their lives.
Include the Kids Too!
Meditation has been shown to be especially calming and beneficial to parents and children alike. You may think your child is too young or incapable of meditation, but even children as young as age 3 are able to sit next to you and mimic your meditation, eventually settling into their own true meditation practice.
FAQ?
Do I have to use only the guided meditations on the Nudge app?
No! Feel free to use any platform (e.g. Calm, Insight Timer, Liberate) that supports you meditating daily.
You WILL need to track your meditation in the Nudge app in order to earn an entry into the raffle.
Be sure to answer “Yes” when the app asks “Did you meditate today?”
What if I happen to skip a day…or two?
That’s okay! Get back into the Challenge by simply meditating for at least 5 minutes.
You can still accumulate daily raffle entries and restart at any time to try for 7 consecutive days.
Do I have to track anything for watching the short educational videos?
Nope! For the educational videos there is nothing you need to track or report. The Nudge app automatically enters you into the raffle whenever you watch an entire video.
What if I missed a weekly educational video?
You’ll get entered into the raffle for watching a video at any time during the challenge on/before Nov 14th. Each video earns you one entry into the raffle.
Are family members eligible for raffle prizes?
Unfortunately, at this time the City is only awarding prizes to employees. Family members are invited to participate to reap all the wonderful benefits of daily meditation practice.
Other Questions?
Please note: Participation in City of San Diego Employee Wellness Program activities is strictly voluntary. By participating in a virtual challenge you are acknowledging that you will not, nor will anyone acting on your behalf, hold the City of San Diego responsible for any injury that might occur from your participation in a wellness activity.
For employees please review the California Labor Code Section 3600 posted on the CityNet wellness page.