Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is not as simple as many of us would hope. Often the easiest choice for food or way to save time during the day is not the healthiest. Supporting your overall health and well-being relies on consistent care for your body and positive habit formation.
Establishing healthy, consistent habits and keeping up with them is a constant journey, but by following some key tips, you can feel more confident in your health and wellness.
Get Regular Physical Activity
Our bodies are meant to move — support your overall wellness by making exercise an important part of your daily routine. Exercise has a wide range of benefits for your health, both immediate and long-term. Exercise has positive effects on brain health, blood pressure, heart rate, and stress levels. Regular exercise, like strength training and cardio, can also help you maintain a healthy weight, achieve weight loss, and reduce your risk of heart disease over time.
The best part is that you can choose the form of exercise that you prefer most, whether running, weightlifting, or playing sports. All exercise is beneficial, although they may offer slightly different benefits.
Experts recommend exercising for at least 30 minutes a day. The amount of time you spend exercising will depend largely on your health and fitness goals, like whether you want to maintain your weight, lose weight, or build muscle.
Eat a Balanced Diet
Food is fuel, helping your body to function appropriately, and the fuel you give your body matters.
Consistently eating foods high in unhealthy fats and sugar can leave you feeling sluggish and may even lead to negative long-term health effects. On the other hand, eating healthy foods like lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, and fruits and veggies high in vitamins and antioxidants can provide your body with more effective fuel.
Maintaining a varied diet with vitamin-rich foods allows you to reduce your risk for chronic disease, enjoy a better mood, and support healthy skin and a healthy heart. Avoiding processed foods, staying away from saturated and trans fats, and minimizing high-sodium foods all help to promote health.
Keep in mind that you do not have to be perfect all the time, and it is okay to have the occasional treat, but your day-to-day habits will be key to your health, so try to lean toward more positive choices as often as you can.
Have a Strong Sleep Routine
Although it is one of the first things that busy people sacrifice, sleep is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle, supporting both your physical health and mental well-being. Sleep has many health benefits, including helping you maintain a healthy weight, supporting your immune system, promoting a more positive mood, and improving your focus, along with many others.
According to general guidelines, most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. When it comes to sleep, quality matters just as much as quantity. You can improve the quality of your sleep by having a consistent routine, having a comfortable, dark sleep environment, and avoiding sleep inhibitors like caffeine or phone screens within a couple of hours before bed.
If you have consistent trouble falling asleep or struggle with a sleeping disorder, you should consult your doctor about ways to improve your sleep.
Get Regular Checkups
Your body is like a machine that runs constantly so you can function.
Consistent checkups are vital for diagnosing and addressing any problems with a machine. During a routine checkup, your doctor will do a general screening and usually take bloodwork to ensure your body is functioning as it should. If your doctor notices any problems, they will bring them to your attention and give you a treatment plan to address them.
You should get a checkup at least once a year to ensure that you are in good health and to help pinpoint and address any minor issues before they become serious.
Stay Hydrated
Water is necessary for our survival. After all, 70% of the human body is made of water.
Water helps carry nutrients between cells, supports digestion, helps organ function, and flushes out bacteria from the body. Staying hydrated is vital to our health and can even help you feel more alert and energized throughout the day.
There is no direct answer for how much water you should drink as everyone is different, but a good general rule is to strive for about eight full glasses of water daily. If you live somewhere hot, if it is the middle of summer, or if you exercise frequently, you may need to drink more water to account for water loss through sweat and general bodily functions. Try to sip some water throughout the day — feeling thirsty is a sign that you are already dehydrated.
In addition to drinking more water, you should try to avoid sugary drinks like fruit juices as often as possible, as they may leave you feeling thirstier and can lead to negative health effects. You can still get hydration from anything that contains water, but there is no real substitute that is quite as effective as water itself.
Although it is possible, it is rare to drink too much water, so if you think you need it, drink up.
Minimize Stress
Stress is probably one of the most negative contributors to your health as it has many negative effects on the body. Stress is the feeling of emotional tension and is a natural response that helps tell us when something needs to be fixed.
However, operating under constant stress can have a wide range of symptoms that affect your mental and physical health, including anything as minor as a poor mood to effects as serious as an increased risk for disease.
Between work and other aspects of life, it is not always possible to minimize stress as much as we would like. As a result, it is important to find ways to cope with stress. Different coping strategies may work better for different people. Some good examples include meditation, exercise, and listening to music. It is always important to make time for things you enjoy, especially when life seems too stressful.