Living and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be challenging and tough but at the same time easy and the most rewarding decision of your life. It’s all about the attitude you adapt towards it, I would say. Eating junk food, staying up late, jumbling up all the routine, procrastination, negative behavior and self-harm patterns, binge eating, drinking and even watching movies and shows have a very disturbing impact on one’s mind and body. So in today’s article, I am going to talk about simple and easy to follow tips on how one can live a healthy lifestyle and maintain it to live a healthy and happy life. Have a look:
Tips for Living a Healthy Lifestyle
When we talk about health people often assume that there are going to be things discussed about physical health and not mental health. It is still considered as not an important issue in our society, something which still doesn’t hold the place of utmost importance. Many researches have proven that physical health and mental health are co-related and affect each other in a lot of ways. Some basic examples of that would be feeling of anxiety and release of adrenaline which makes our heart pump more blood, increases blood pressure, response time, reflexes, etc. Another example would be of physical exercises relieving depression there is just so much more. Let’s get started.
Taking Care of your Mental Health
There are a lot of ways in which you can take care of your mental health some of them are:
Get a Healthy amount of Deep Sleep
Sleep consists of around 1/3rd of our life’s time, if we go into more numbers than a normal human being would have spent his 33.33 years of life sleeping. Do not take it as a bad sign but just the opposite. We need it and as per the time we are living now, more than ever. Sleep is really important and on top most priority for the body, even more than the food. It is a crucial time for your mind and body to rest, spinal fluid to clean out all the harmful toxins and waste proteins that generate between your brain cells during the day. You also need sleep to regulate your circadian rhythm, strengthen your immune system, heal, relax and replenish your eyes.
Give your Brain a Workout
The more you use it the more it stays active, this is not only true for your body muscles but also and especially for your brain. You can try many different activities, games and even problem solving modules for that. Try solving basic math calculations in your brain rather than using a calculator or your smartphone, solve riddles, puzzles, case studies, play games like chess, Othello, shogi, word pictures, take up new languages, try recalling all what happened this week, etc. You can do so much basically which puts your brain out of its comfort zone. Research has shown that playing and learning a musical instrument is a very good workout or brain and enhances activity levels beyond even problem solving situations.
Cut out Negativity
If you are trying to bring a healthy change in your life then you will need all the power and motivation you can gather. Negative people are like a leak in a vessel, they will slowly but surely drain out your motivation, energy and gradually efforts. You may even start to believe that you are not capable of achieving feats which you thought were possible earlier, the reason you started. So you need to make sure that you keep a safe distance from anyone who does not believe in you or does not appreciate your efforts. On the other hand, surround yourself with people who are your competition, who motivate you to go ahead and beyond, who care about you and understand your value.
Let Go
Life is full of challenges and uncertainties, even though we fight back and put in all the effort we still find ourselves in tough situations and tight spots. Mostly we regret our decisions, indecisions, imperfections and at times everything. My advice to you in this situation would be to let go, don’t forget but let go. You will have plenty of opportunities in future as well and if not then you will have better ones. Pull yourself back, gather all your pieces and start afresh, I am sure you will get results sooner this time and you will emerge more powerful this time. You also know all the mistakes that you have made this time, remember them and make a note to not repeat them.
Take a deep breath and Close your eyes
Overwhelming situations are a part of life and almost everyone faces them on more than one occasion. Think of it as an exam before you are allowed to go into the advanced class. Take it as an opportunity and not as a difficulty. Sure it would be hard and you may get discouraged at first but going through the process will really help you grow through it. If you feel that it is too much for you to handle and keep going then you can start meditating regularly, it really helps calm down and offers a clarity of thoughts.
Taking Care of your Physical Health
Since we are talking about integral growth and a healthy lifestyle then how can we forget our body? So let us look at some of the ways in which we can cover this part as well.
Drink lots of water
Water is an essential element and part of our daily diet. It helps our body to stay hydrated, carry on bodily functions like digestion, perspiration, bowel movements, urination, and so much more. If you are overweight then drinking enough water can also help you lose weight. The more you drink it, the less you would be eating during your meal times and hence you would stop overeating. It is recommended that one should take around 2 to 3 liters of water every day. You cannot fix a particular value as it depends on the amount of perspiration, humidity in the air, temperature, body weight, physical activity, etc.
Exercise
As I have been in different sports disciplines from time to time, I can say that regular exercise really makes a difference. You can build immunity against various infections, diseases, disorders, increase life expectancy, more muscle and bone density, strength, flexibility, greater lung capacity, low cholesterol levels, more satisfaction, decreased risk of heart and cardiovascular diseases. If you are facing trouble in choosing which sport to pick up or what activity to invest upon then you can always start looking in the field which you haven’t discovered yet. Most people have not tried gymnastics, aerobics, foreign dance classes, yoga, mallakhamb, etc. So there are lots and lots of physical activities which you can look forward to.
Take Care of what you Eat
Your body becomes what you eat, is a famous saying among fitness enthusiasts and I am pretty sure that you have yourself experienced it firsthand. If you are consuming junk food too much then you are not doing justice to your body. It’s not that the world hates fast food chains, these types of foods actually do more harm than good. They are designed for certain things and to achieve certain goals like to be easily prepared, aesthetic, easy to store, long lasting, cheap, etc. Being nutritious or good for health is not something which this food aces in. There are some real health issues and concerns related to it like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, insomnia, insulin release, depression, indigestion, cancer, and even short life span.
Here you need to take care of some points and include it in your daily routine.
- Eat lots of vegetables: Especially leafy and green vegetables, they are filled with fiber which is needed for easy bowel movement, nutrients and minerals which are essential for normal bodily functions
- Include fruits: Not only veggies but you need to include fruits as well. The fiber, mineral, protein and vitamin content is also important for the body.
- Avoid processed foods: Not only fast and junk food but you would also need to avoid any kinds of processed foods like cake, pastry, sweets, bakery breads, sugar, etc. Processed foods contain many synthetic materials and chemicals like emulsifiers, preservatives, food additives, colors, essence which are not good for the body. Many of these substances are already banned by the food authorities but a lot is still in use.
- Include Whole Grains: This point is especially for people who are suffering from obesity and diabetes. Eating processed cereals and processed flour can be quite unhealthy as they provide nothing but calories. You need to find ways to include whole grains in your diet so that you can ensure complex carbohydrates which burn slowly but give consistent energy and are also good for the body.
So these were some of the tips on living and maintaining a healthy lifestyle that I wanted to share with you. As I mentioned earlier that for a healthy lifestyle you also need to adopt a healthy attitude. So smile at your tensions and stress and they will still be there but your present won’t be. So live life to the fullest and stay happy.
Hope it helps.
Thanks for reading!