Kate Halim
If you haven’t been particularly good at taking care of yourself, now is the time to start taking your health serious.
As an adult, you always control what children eat and make them eat a balanced diet while you neglect to take good care of your own health. They say health is wealth and that is very true.
If you are sick, your whole life automatically comes to a standstill. You spend money on hospital bills and time in different hospitals.
If you consume large amounts of sugar daily, eat loads of white carbohydrates, eat like a teenager and get very little exercise, you are playing with your health.
Not taking care of your body will get in the way of you having the life you want. If you are not healthy, you cannot achieve the goals you set for yourself. You also cannot fully enjoy what life has to offer if you can’t participate.
While there are many aspects of your health that are out of your control, you need to start taking care of the things that you can control so that even if you suffer from a chronic illness, you can get the best out of life.
Now is the time to change your lifestyle and take charge of your health by making positive changes. Here are some ways to take good care of your health and live a healthier, happier life:
Sleep
Doctors recommend that an adult get an average of 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Although sleep needs are individual and some people do need more rest than others, the effects of chronic sleep deprivation are far-reaching.
Sleep deprivation affects your mood, concentration, attention, memory, ability to fight off infection, your libido, and your judgment.
Inadequate sleep can also lead to weight gain, depression, car accidents, potentially fatal errors, and cause serious health problems such as stroke, heart attack or diabetes.
You can change this by scheduling time for sleep. This week, try moving your bedtime back by an hour. Stay away from bright lights and your phone when you want to sleep. This will help you sleep better.
Hydration
Even mild dehydration can affect your energy level and your mood. Dr. Grabreil Omonaiye reveals that it is recommended that adults drink eight glasses of water per day, but that amount may need to be higher or lower depending on other factors such as your level of physical activity and your size.
Omonaiye said: “If you want to constantly stay dehydrated, start by adding just one extra glass of water a day to what you are already drinking. You may soon see an increase in your energy.”
Nutrition
Nutrition is a complicated thing nowadays with food allergies and food intolerances in abundance. What is healthy for your body may not be healthy for someone else’s but there are certain commonalities that most people could agree on.
Cut down on sugar. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Eat a variety of foods. Maintain good portion control standards for your body in terms of your height and energy level.
Nutrition is not about weight. It’s about health. It’s about fuelling your body with good energy sources so that it can work at its optimum capacity. Having healthy food on hand is half the battle. Plan your meals ahead weekly if you can because this prevents you from eating junk food.
Cut out one thing that you know is not healthy for your body even if it is a small thing like adding one scoop of sugar into your tea instead of two.
Exercise
Many people think of exercise as just being for weight loss but it does far more than that. It helps combat disease such as high blood pressure, depression, certain types of cancer, stroke, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. It boosts certain brain chemicals which leaves you feeling happier and more relaxed than before. Exercise boosts your energy, improves your sex life and helps you get a better sleep.
Some people make all kinds of excuses as to why they can’t exercise. They use time, kids, health as excuses but they can do one simple thing which is move more. Park further away. Take the stairs. Dance in your kitchen. Use soup pans to do bicep curls. Play hide and seek with your children at the park. Just choose one small way to move more.
Dental Health
When was the last time you got your teeth cleaned or went for a dental check-up? Did you know that poor dental health and gum disease have actually been linked to heart disease and lower life expectancy? That is a good reason to take it seriously. You are probably already brushing your teeth a few times a day which is a start. Start flossing if you don’t already and book a dental appointment for yourself.
Mental Health
Your mental health is just as important as your physical one. No matter how stressful your life is, there are steps that you can take to decrease your body’s stress response and to be doing good self-care.
Take a walk, have a visit with a friend, take a candlelit bubble bath with Epsom salts, read a good book, go for a massage, pray, write in a journal, and/or see a counsellor. Take a few minutes three times a day to sit with your eyes closed and breathe in and out five times slowly.
Book appointments
Do you need to see a doctor for a check-up or a specialist for something that is worrying you? Do you need to see a nutritionalist, physiotherapist, naturopath, chiropractor, or massage therapist?
Make an appointment today that you have been procrastinating about.
Plan of action
Go to bed half an hour earlier, drink one extra glass of water each day, cut one unhealthy thing out of your diet and move more.
You can start flossing if you aren’t and book a dental appointment for yourself, breathe slowly in and out five times with your eyes closed three times a day and book an appointment with a medical professional.
Part of getting the life you want is taking care of your body. It’s the only one you’ve got, so take good care of your body!