Good health doesn’t just happen overnight, it’s the fruit of continuous observance of healthy practices. If you want to have long-term good health, you need to have habits that will make an impact on your health today and in the years to come. Remember that if you want to see a healthy older version of yourself, you have to start being healthy now.
Are you already living a healthy life? That’s great! Have you just started? Congratulations! Are you are still contemplating to start living healthy? If you are still thinking about it, here are 10 simple healthy practices you can try for better health:
Move
Movement is essential in keeping the bones and muscles in good condition. Lack of movement leads to stiffness and muscle mass loss. You don’t need to be a fitness buff to do this but just keep moving. Find an exercise or a movement that you enjoy doing like walking, running, swimming, or dancing. Take the stairs instead of riding the elevator, take your dog for a walk, clean the house, water the plants. Try doing any or a combination of these movements for at least 60 minutes a day and you’ll start to feel better.
Eat Healthily
Having good nutrition is crucial to having optimum health. Good nutrition doesn't mean going on a diet and depriving yourself of food. To maintain good health, you should always opt to eat nutritious food like fruits and vegetables. Avoid eating junk foods and foods with too much salt or sugar. Don’t eat or avoid eating processed foods. Eat lots of fiber, consider adding whole grains to your diet, and always check the Nutritional Facts label of a food product before you purchase it.
Drink More Water
Drink plenty of water to keep your energy levels high because water deficiency can lead the brain and body to generate less energy. This makes you feel fatigued, lethargic and you wouldn’t have enough energy to go through the day. 7-8 hours of sleep means that your body has been deprived of water for that long, making you dehydrated when you wake up in the morning. So drinks lots of water in the morning to jumpstart your day.
Manage Stress
Everyone gets stressed. You can get stressed at home, at work, with family, with friends, with colleagues, or sometimes just parking your car can be stressful. Too much stress can have a negative effect on your health, compromise your sleep, impact your immune system, and affect your emotional wellness. Stress is an unavoidable part of life and most of the time you have no control over the stressors in your life. What you can do to stay healthy is to learn how to manage stress well.
Sleep Adequately
Sleep plays an important role in good health. While you are asleep, your body rests, rejuvenates, and generates hormones that are essential to a number of physiological processes. Sleep allows the brain to do maintenance work such as repairing and restoring tissues and cells, adding new information, and putting long-term memories in order.
Lack of sleep has been linked to increased use of tobacco and alcohol, higher risk of having high blood pressure and diabetes, hormonal imbalance, and obesity. A person needs at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep so get adequate sleep and you will be more alert, energetic, and more productive.
Have a Good Posture
Have you ever been scolded for having a bad posture when you were young? Well, they were right, having a bad posture is bad. Having a good posture is just as critical to good health as exercising, eating right, and getting enough sleep. Having a good posture ensures that there is enough muscle tension in your body and that your body is symmetrically aligned. It prepares your body to tackle daily activities with more exuberance.
Pamper your Legs and Feet
Your legs and feet take you wherever you want to go and carry your weight in almost everything you do. The condition of your legs and feet can greatly affect your mobility and can also indicate the state of your overall health. You should know how to take care of your feet, how to improve leg health and find out the causes of foot pain and toe pain so you can prevent having foot problems.
Be Mindful
Being mindful is being highly aware of the feelings you are experiencing at that specific moment. Being mindful incorporates guided visualization, breathing techniques, and other strategies that can help your mind and body to relax. Mindfulness can help you sleep better, lessen stress, improve focus, prevent depression, aid in weight loss, and more.
Regular Checkups
One of the best ways of maintaining a healthy life is preventing illness from occurring. Having regular checkups and screening tests is crucial in preventing illnesses or catching them at an early stage when treatment and cure are possible.
Be Thankful
Count your blessings and list down the things that you are grateful for. Being thankful brings a feeling of warmth and joy that creates a surge of endorphins that lifts you up and make you feel good. Research showed that being grateful helps people feel favorable emotions, appreciate positive experiences, boost their health, handle misfortunes, and establish strong connections.
Always remember that it is never too late to change your habits. If you are in your 30’s and wishing you should have started living healthy when you were in your 20s then you can just imagine your 50-year-old self saying the same thing if you don’t start changing your habits now. So Change NOW! It might take some time but it’s all worth it.
You might also be interested to read 12 Health Products That Can Help Relieve Body Pains and Nutritional Facts Label: Read, Understand and Know What They Mean.