Keeping yourself healthy is a journey that never ends. You will have to keep moving and taking the right steps in the right direction. But if you are intimidated that treading on this path requires you to make significant changes to your life, such as shifting to a new place (like some countryside), expensive medical treatments, and the like, you are completely wrong.
It is often small but consistently taken steps that bring the most conspicuous results. Are you excited to have some sneak peek into ways that can guarantee your health and wellness? If so, here you go.
- Drink water before morning coffee
Water is essential for your body, but there are certain times during the day when drinking water is more effective. One of them is before having your morning coffee/tea.
Your body is low on water when you wake after a whole night’s sleep. So, drinking water in the morning hydrates your body and helps your brain, kidney, and gut work faster.
- Evade stress
Stress is the biggest single factor that can impact your health and well-being. So, keeping healthy also means evading stressors in your life. Is it the job that is causing stress/anxiety/depression? Or the relationship problems? Whatever it is, try to solve them at the earliest to eliminate stress.
When you frequently postpone addressing your issues, they snowball into bigger problems.
Seek professional help from organizations like Vista Pines Health Group if you cannot cope with mental health issues such as depression and the like. Various therapies and rehabilitation programs help individuals and families cope with these issues.
- Eat slowly to eat less
When a person eats, the nerve receptors present in the stomach sense and signal the brain that it is full, and your brain interprets it as a feeling of fullness.
When you start eating, your brain process this information slowly and take at least twenty minutes to send out fullness signals to your stomach; as a result, you feel full. If you eat faster, you can eat more within that twenty minutes interval. But if you eat leisurely, your brain will take the same time to process the information, but you will eat less. This might explain the bloating feeling you experience after a satisfying meal.
Therefore, according to research, fast eaters are more likely to get overweight than slow eaters. One study also suggests that middle-aged women are most likely to face this issue.
So, the next time you have your food placed in front of you, consciously eat slower, and you will see that you start eating less with time.
- Add more fruits and vegetables to your diet
Fruits and vegetables are absolutely essential for your health. Research published in the American Heart Association’s journal circulation shows that eating a ‘5-a-day mix’ of fruits and vegetables keeps you from many problems and helps you live longer. This includes two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables. Start by adding one or two fruits and vegetables to your diet and increase the number gradually.
Fruits and vegetables are naturally packed with nutrients that are good for your body. Regarding longevity, leafy greens like spinach, kale, and lettuce are good. They are high in folate; therefore, they are highly anti-inflammatory and promote the detoxification of the body and mental health.
As for fruits, eat fruits rich in beta carotene and vitamin C, such as berries, citrus fruits, and carrots.
Apart from that, you must have non-starchy veggies such as cucumbers, asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli. These veggies have polyphenols and fiber in abundance. They improve gut health, promote a better immune system, and improve mood.
- Work out every day
Working out is very important for keeping your body healthy and rejuvenated. According to the Singapore Sports Counsel initiative called Active Health, adults should indulge in moderate to vigorous physical activity every week.
Doing this seems intimidating, but it is actually not. There are various ways through which you can fulfill the physical activity needs of your body.
You can hit the gym for a sweaty thirty minutes session, go cycling, jogging in the morning/evening and swim in the evening. However, there is no compulsion to choose from these activities only.
You can choose any activity you like, for instance, walking with your dog in the nearby park. So, put on your running shoes and sprint along with your dog. If you are already running two days a week, add a third too to increase the intensity of your physical activity and explore new routes.
- Quit smoking
Legislations have caused the manufacturers to place disease-riddled images on the packets of cigarettes; smoking is still one of the serious issues plaguing public health in countries globally.
Although smoking is injurious to health, ironically, you won’t see any decrease in the sale of cigarettes.
It is essential and recommended for everyone currently smoking or thinking about it to stay away from it. Some ways to overcome smoking addiction include exercising, relaxation techniques such as yoga, mindful meditation, breathing exercises, etc.
The more devoted you are to your goal of quitting smoking, the more ways you will find to do so.
- Smile and laugh more
Did you know that laughing releases feel-good hormones that make you feel happy and uplift your mood? When you laugh, the brain’s reward center releases the feel-good hormone such as endorphin.
Also, when you laugh, you breathe in hard and take in more air which stimulates your heart and lungs. So, laugh and smile more and make yourself feel good.Â
Speaking of smiling more, don’t forget to take care of your teeth with the help of dental experts like this professional dentist in Harrisburg for prettier and healthier teeth.
Conclusion
Improving your health is not really difficult. In fact, it can be done by making simpler changes in your life, such as drinking more water, eating a healthy diet, daily exercise, spending time with friends, keeping a journal, etc. Most essentially, do things that make you happy because a happier body is healthier.
Hope this article is of great help to you guys.
