Forming healthy habits can be a baseline to a healthier happier more balanced lifestyle. Health goals can be achievable with building on a ‘little and often’ approach day by day, making small changes can be easy and help you make long-term and lasting changes.
It’s said to take approximately 66 days to create habit (good or bad), so if we are mindful of what we do and what we want to achieve, we could build a rewarding lifestyle which can bring an abundance of health and energy, productivity with less stress, increased tolerance, and a deeper sense wellbeing and contentment.
- Physical activity
Movement is key to a healthier mind and body. Know your current ability and remember your building a habit not aiming for world records. Start slowly and enjoy the fresh air or the feeling of achievement each day. Begin your new exercise habit with short walk, stretch or bike ride. If you’d like advice on a specific exercise or how much exercise is right for you then we are here to help with tailored advice from posture to gait analysis to improve your quality of movement and performance.
Benefits of regular Exercise include:
- Improved muscular and cardiorespiratory fitness.
- Improved bone and functional health.
- Reduced risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, various types of cancer (including breast cancer and colon cancer), and depression.
- Reduced risk of falls as well as hip or vertebral fractures
- Help maintain a healthy body weight.
- Reduces stress and boosts mood.
- Injury Rehabilitation
- Improves posture.
- Improves strength and balance.
- Get sufficient sleep.
Those who work well and are highly productive understand that resting is not taking your foot off the accelerator, it’s putting fuel in the tank. If you demand a strong work ethic from yourself then also grant yourself a strong rest ethic. Sustainable long-term purposeful progression with work needs consistent high-quality rest to recover and reflection to avoid burnout. Most adults need between 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
TIPS: put screens away for an hour before sleep, evidence shows blue light keeps you up at night because it has shorter wavelengths causing more alertness than warmer tones. Avoid caffeinated drinks from 4pm as it stays in the system for approximately 4-6 hours and first thing in the morning to avoid weekend withdrawals.
- Stay hydrated!
Water keeps every system in the body functioning properly. There are many benefits to drinking enough water such as:
- carrying nutrients and oxygen to your cells
- flushing bacteria from your bladder
- aiding digestion
- preventing constipation
- normalizing blood pressure
- cushioning joints
- protecting organs and tissues
- regulating body temperature
- maintaining electrolyte (sodium) balance.
- Eat a balanced diet.
If you are looking to be a healthy weight and thrive it is best to have a balanced and varied diet. Being mindful of reducing processed food which add to existing sugar, salt and fat levels.
A well-balanced diet provides all of the:
- Energy you need to keep active throughout the day.
- Nutrients you need for growth and repair. Helping you to stay strong and healthy and help to prevent diet-related illness, such as diabetes and heart complications.
Keeping active and eating a healthy balanced diet can also help you to maintain a healthy weight.
Deficiencies in some key nutrients – such as vitamin A, B, C and E, and zinc, iron and selenium can weaken parts of your immune system.
Weight control tip- Your body will use what it needs so there is no need to overcompensate with supplements or deny yourself quality foods, perhaps examine the correct quantity for you. You can get all the nutrients you require from a good balanced diet. Together with exercise, eating a healthy diet in the right proportions can also help you lose weight, lower your cholesterol levels and blood pressure and decrease your risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Maintaining a Healthy Mind
Your body can affect your mind just as your mind can impact your body and as you brush your teeth each day or condition your physical health, there are ways you can bring about better mental mechanisms when confronted with stress or relaxing in this fast-paced world.
Here is an introduction to helpful tips to help emotional regulation and improve on your mental wellbeing:
- Refrain from unhelpful thoughts. Easier said than done but the first step is being able to identify if you have negative thoughts or find yourself catastrophising, then to take appropriate steps to positive change.
- Be in the present – when we spend too much time thinking about the future or past it can impact on our daily life and level of contentment for the current moment.
- Getting enough good quality sleep. 8 hours is recommended.
- Connect with others. Studies have shown having a good network or positive supportive connections can not only help an individual but help clusters of populations thrive. Reach out to connect with likeminded people for a brief catch up or when learning to understand yourself and your targets, consult trained professionals who can assist you efficiently.
- Meditation and breath work. Breathing is great way to reduce stress hormones in the blood, it has also been noted to lower blood pressure, heart rate, reduce lactic acid build-up in muscle tissue, balance levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood, improve immune system functioning, increase physical energy and increase feelings of calm and wellbeing.
- Do something for yourself. It’s easier to help others but its very important that you take time for yourself. Whether it’s a cup of tea or a technology detox, treat yourself as you treat those you value highly.
- Write a letter to future you. You are the ‘lead act’ in your life, a life with the chances of 10^2685000 (that’s a 10 with a few million zeros after it!) different possibilities happening. Goalsetting and managing expectations can be an excellent start. If you have a dream however large or small, this is a sure way to see if its viable to turn it into a reality. Which could give you a reason for motivation each day and to recount on change or progress later.
REF:
https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/infographic/healthy-spring.htm
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-much-water-should-you-drink
https://www.psychiatrycentre.co.uk/blog/goal-setting-a-practical-way-to-improve-your-mental-health/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/breath-meditation-a-great-way-to-relieve-stress
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/breathing-to-reduce-stress
