You play a crucial role in keeping yourself healthy. Taking proactive measures in your healthcare choices is one of the best ways to do so. With so much information out there, available on the web, it’s not always easy to browse through the madness, figuring out what’s right for you?
There are minute changes and decisions you can make on day to day basis to bring about a change in your lifestyle for long-term benefits, including making time for a little physical activity, observing your dietary habits, and effectively managing stress. By overlooking your health, your body robs of the precious energy, restricting you from achieving those personal and professional goals.
With these factors in mind, we’ve created a series of regular practices into your life – the more you adapt to it, the more charged up you’ll feel.
1 – Implement the art of habit forming
Habit forming is an art that supports any successful and a healthy lifestyle.Forming a habit and following a pattern is a preliminary step upon which everything else is built. If you comprehend the importance of forming a new habit and behavioral patterns (and getting rid of habits that are holding you back), then you’re all set to hit the new phase. It is always advisable to make gradual changes in our lifestyle, rather than going all out and making some major changes.
The best way to form a healthy habit is to observe and make a note of things you’ve done throughout the day. By keeping a check on the things you’re eating, the amount of physical movement you’ve done, and the quantity of drinks you have consumed makes it easier for you to follow a pattern and to spot the area where there’s a scope for improvement.
2- Sleep adequately
Sleep is often the most undervalued activity in our lives, and also the one with the most direct power to improve our experience every time we wake up. If you’ve been getting a six hour sleep on a daily basis, aim for just one more hour of sleep – it will help you feeling completely energized, mentally poised and emotionally resilient.
When you don’t get enough sleep, you end up compensating by eating more – more often junk food. Get enough sleep and you’ll not need to snack to stay awake. Also, lack of sleep is responsible for causing premature aging and you do not want that to happen.
3- Address what’s on priority
Nobody of us would want to have a chronic long-term illness. Unfortunately, a lot of us suffer from chronic conditions; in this case it is important to keep your doctor informed about the changes in your health. Positive lifestyle changes like a healthy diet, adequate amount of sleep and some regular physical activity can help in reducing or managing your symptoms. Sometimes, a lot of your health conditions can be managed without seeking any medical intervention, but by simply modifying a few habits like exercising, meditating, taking measures to get rid of your bad habits like smoking which can be avoided by finding an alternative for smoking. A few changes here and there will help you live a longer vibrant life with a healthier version of yourself.
4– Bring about some changes in the way you move
Physical movement is life. Without some form of physical movement, there’s a likelihood of you becoming grouchy, lazy, and confused. Regular physical movement is extremely important regardless of how much you weigh or what your health condition is. It helps in burning off the extra calories, improves the circulatory system, and is good for the heart health. Remember, a little physical movement isn’t going to make you an athlete but it’ll surely help in maintaining your muscle mass, improves overall health, and keeps you focused. To initially start with, you can start using the stairs as a replacement of elevator, go for a 10 to 15 minute walk in your lunch break, and spare some time for your family weekend activity.
5- Eat less, but more often at regular intervals
Food is fuel to your body, but eating food in an adequate proportion at regular intervals is equally important. We should try to divide our daily meals into 5 servings with a combination of fresh fruits and vegetables for the necessary vitamins, minerals, and enough fiber. For example, a glass full of fresh fruit juice for breakfast, a few fruits for snacks and a good amount of portion of different vegetables for lunch and dinner.
Alternatively, skipping breakfast or other meals can lead to uncontrolled hunger that can often lead to overeating. Being mindful of the portion size will prevent overeating in any form, and will allow us to consume anything that we enjoy, without the need of eliminating anything.
6– Meditate to reduce stress and anxiety
In this massively stressful life that we are living in, it becomes crucial to bring about a little practice of meditation and yoga in our day to day lives. Besides reducing stress and bringing about positivity, meditation contributes in keeping our heart healthy. People who meditate regularly are more likely to have a healthy heart condition and are less prone to strokes and heart attack. Meditation is a form of activity that enables a person to learn more about his/her emotional state. Those who meditate regularly experience a change in their concentration levels, focus, reduced level of stress and controlled emotional state.
What is your vision of an ultimate lifestyle?
We are all responsible for our own success, but do get a little help from our family and friends, right? Hence, it is important to build a positive circle around you that helps you accomplish your goals. To bring about a permanent change, you’ll have to break it down into short-term and long-term goals, and then create a plan of action to achieve them. Reward yourself and constantly reaffirm your confidence and goals, and that’s how you’ll find yourself taking the tiny steps needed for achieving them.