We’re always being told to live more healthily, but there’s so much noise from so many different sources as to what a “healthy lifestyle” actually entails. You probably have a busy life, much like everybody else, and you don’t want to spend each and every day worrying about whether you’re living as healthy as you could be. You just want to live. And that’s exactly how you should approach a healthy lifestyle—it should become part of your routine. You shouldn’t even have to think about it. Living healthily should be as natural to you as getting out of bed each morning. It’s all about making changes to existing parts of your daily routine.
A healthy lifestyle shouldn’t be a chore, essentially. You just need to take a look at the ways in which you’re failing to look after yourself and the changes you could make. No, you don’t need to go to the gym for several hours every day if you don’t have the time or desire to do that. You could, however, start switching out unhealthy parts of your meals for healthier alternatives. You could go for a run during your lunch break at work. Today we’re going to discuss some of the ways in which you could make better use of the time you have available during the average day, for a new, healthier you…
Take care of your body. Let’s start with the aspect of healthiness that most people prioritize: your body. It’s hard to maintain a healthy body in this very sedentary period of humanity. We sit in our cars to get to work and then we spend eight hours sitting whilst we’re at work (well, most modern-day jobs involve sitting anyway). The less you move, the unhealthier you’ll become. We all know that. But you’ll do more damage than putting on weight; a lack of physical activity could lead to an unhealthy heart and an unhealthy mind. Exercise really can help to improve mental health, as can many of the healthy decisions we’ll discuss in this article.
Of course, keeping your body healthy extends beyond exercise. You might also feel self-conscious about your outward appearance, which can have knock-on effects on your mental health. So body confidence plays a big factor in being healthy and happy. Your outward appearance reflects how well you’re taking care of yourself on the inside, essentially. You might want to focus on ways to reduce stress if you deal with acne and other skin blemishes. You could even look into tamanu oil uses if you want to find a natural solution to soothing and improving your skin and your physical health. Don’t underestimate the importance of feeling happy with your appearance; mental health is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, and we’ll talk more about that later.
Put an end to bad habits. So many of us have unhealthy habits but some are certainly more damaging than others. At the end of the day, moderation is the difference between an unhealthy decision being damaging or relatively harmless. Eating the occasional unhealthy meal is a treat (and that’s fine), but eating unhealthily too often can lead to obesity, heart disease, and mental health problems. Drinking the occasional glass of wine is another treat that’s fine in moderation, but over-consumption of alcohol can lead to liver damage and, again, mental health problems.
Other kinds of substance abuse are more serious, even in smaller doses, but the point is that you need to recognize when an occasional “treat” is becoming something more addictive. Kicking bad habits is a choice you have to make for your future self. Perhaps you haven’t noticed the consequences of excessive smoking if you’re still young, for example, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t taking a toll on your body. By the time you can physically see the damage, it’s already been done.
Sleep well. One of the best ways to improve your health is to fix your sleeping pattern. The recommended amount of sleep is eight hours per night, though that varies from person to person; you may function well on seven hours, or you may need nine. Sleeping well helps to improve your mood and emotional wellness, so it’s not just a matter of having energy and concentration during the day. Sleep deprivation has so many knock-on effects when it comes to your health. If you don’t get enough rest then you run the risk of weakening your body, which could weaken your immune system and make you susceptible to illnesses. Essentially, you aren’t allowing your body and mind to fully recover.
But getting enough sleep is only one part of sleeping well. You also need to focus on the quality of your sleep. You should make sure you have a firm mattress because they can often lose their support over time. It’s crucial that your body is well supported whilst you rest in order to ensure that you wake up without bodily aches and pains. Additionally, you should avoid over-stimulation before bed so as to ensure your mind can relax and drift off to sleep. Avoiding screens and bright lights is a good place to start. Your goal should be to allow both your body and mind to wind down and relax at bedtime.
Protect your mind. As discussed throughout this article, mental health problems are becoming a serious issue for many people. This is partly due to the fact that many of us don’t take mental health seriously. Perhaps you agree with many of the other points in this article; perhaps you’ll try to find a way to exercise more often or eat better so as to live more healthily on a daily basis. The question, however, is whether you’ll prioritize your mental health every day. Your mind is a precious thing and you should be protecting it in the same way as you’d protect any other aspect of your physical health. At the end of the day, your mind and body both rely on one another. Let your physical health slip and your mental health will slip; let your mental health slip and you’ll notice the signs in your physical health. We’ve discussed how acne can be the result of stress and how a lack of physical activity can lead to mental health issues. But what can you do to better protect your mind?
Well, meditation and prayer is a good place to start. You need to learn how to take control of your mental health so as to help it heal when it feels unwell. You wouldn’t leave a broken bone unattended and you shouldn’t leave a poorly mind unattended either. Focusing on your thoughts and body in the present moment can do wonders to improve your mental state. Do some research into different meditation techniques and see what works for you. There are other ways to improve your mental health, of course. You should aim to improve your communication with friends and family because it can really help to alleviate mental pain if you share your feelings with loved ones. Keeping all those feelings bottled up inside will only let your stress, anxiety, or depression manifest and become worse. Whilst you can’t solve your problems with one conversation, it can certainly help to let somebody else in on your world. Knowing that you’re not alone will give you strength to overcome your issues. That’s the key to a healthier state of mental health.
Photo by Wang Xi
Mia Guerra
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