Embracing A Healthier Lifestyle

Last updated on June 24th, 2024

Lifestyle refers to the way we live our daily lives. It is directly related to a person’s physical, mental and emotional well-being. Having a healthy lifestyle is all about making the right choices for your body. This includes healthy eating, being physically active, exercising and maintaining a healthy weight. This blog digs deep into the science behind a healthy lifestyle. So take a cup of green tea and sit back and relax as we curate the best ways of embracing a healthier lifestyle for you.

What makes a Unhealthy Lifestyle?

Our physical health, in most cases, is affected by the lifestyle we lead, like irregular eating habits, improper diet, addictions such as — tobacco, alcohol or drugs, excess sugars, junk foods in your diet, etc. Not only do these wrongly picked-up habits compromise your present-day health status, but they also pave the way ahead to many serious health hazards, including chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and hypertension, which come later in life.

Importance of lifestyle modification in physical well-being

Several research studies published by the National Institute of Health and other medical journals over the years have documented the risks of an erratic lifestyle. The number of premature deaths around the world due to cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and diabetes (which are now called as lifestyle disorders) is staggering. Small changes to a healthier lifestyle will make a huge difference and take a long way.

Improve Your Lifestyle Choices

When we talk about lifestyle, we mean a comprehensive approach to life. Lifestyle not only comprises our routine diet and exercise but also signifies our habits, our choices, our behaviour, and our decisions. Exercise and nutrition are a gateway towards a healthy lifestyle. However, one has to work on improving small habits and making informed choices in order to achieve a healthier lifestyle. The following are some health tips that are adapted to your lifestyle:

• Stay away from smoking.
• Reduce eating junk/ cut the junk.
• Avoid addictions.
• Meditate often to calm your mind.
• Take the staircase instead of an elevator.
• Make conscious choices when eating in a restaurant, and eat fresh and natural foods.

Nourishing

The human body requires a regular amount of minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. These nutrients are required by our body to function optimally and remain disease-free. After all, we are what we eat. Ask yourself a conscious question while eating anything – Will this satiate my senses, fill me up and nourish my body, or am I eating dead food with empty calories and no nutrients? Your answer will help you make better choices. A balanced diet can boost your energy levels, improve your mood, and help you maintain a healthy weight.

Nutrition Revamps the Quality of Life

The food you ate yesterday affects your health today. In the absence of disease, your body functions the way it is designed to, and you are at complete well-being.
Recharge your energies by feeding your body well. Instead of focusing only on carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, increase your micronutrient intake. Nourish your body, and don’t just feed it. Kickstart a preventative lifestyle today.

How is your Sleep Health?

The purpose of sleep is to allow your body to recover fully in order to be able to function optimally the following day. Eight hours of sleep is recommended by the experts to obtain the maximum health benefits. Just because you don’t have insomnia doesn’t mean sleep is doing a good job for you. One should listen to the circadian rhythm ( a.k.a the body clock, also called the biological clock ) that tells your body when to eat, sleep and rise.

This internal body clock takes cues from the cycle of sunrise and sunset, temperature, the environment around you, etc. Sleep deprivation has been known to lower the efficiency of the human brain and also affects our immune system. Several research studies done by the Harvard School of Health have shown the relationship between sleep deprivation and obesity. Good sleep improves memory and keeps you more agile. Here are some tips for better sleep:

• Create a routine: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends.
• Limit screen time: Try to avoid screens at least an hour before bed. The blue light can mess with your sleep.
• Create a relaxing environment: Make your bedroom a sleep sanctuary—cool, dark, and quiet.

Take Care of Your Mental Health

Mental well-being is often the most underrated one as it is non-tangible and is equally important as physical health. If an individual is mentally unhealthy, he will also be physically unfit, which will reflect in every work that he does. The human body can achieve an optimum level of health and fitness only when both mental and physical fitness are achieved.

Just like muscles need relaxation after exercise, the mind needs de-stressing. Every individual de-stresses in a different way. For some, a sport is their stress-buster. For others, a colouring book helps them relax. Yoga, meditation, a good night’s sleep and listening to light music are a few popular ways to unwind and de-stress.

Physical well-being is a combination of many things, including regular exercise, good nutrition, and a positive attitude. No matter how small you start, you can make a big change and improve your lifestyle.

• Balanced Diet Improves Cognitive Functioning

The U.S. NIH website’s study on cognitive development establishes the importance of nutrition in cognition. It shows that children who were fed a healthy and balanced diet performed better in school. For good cognitive health, one needs to consume all the micro-nutrients.

This includes omega-3 fatty acids (which are present in walnuts and flax seeds), vita, iron (found in dates, green leafy vegetables), iodine (found in natural sea salt), folic acid (sources green leafy vegetables, avocado, peas and beans) and zinc (which is found in chickpeas, mushrooms, cashew nuts, spinach ). The undernourished brain is slow to perform in comparison to a well-nourished brain.

Conclusion

Congrats, you have made have made it here. Thanks for joining on this journey to embrace a healthier lifestyle! Remember, it’s all about balance and making small, positive changes that add up over time. Whether it’s eating better, staying active, or taking care of your mental health, every little step counts. Keep experimenting, find what works best for you, and stay consistent. You’ve got this! Feel free to share your own tips and experiences in the comments. Here’s to a healthier, happier you!Last Updated on June 24, 2024 by Dr. Damanjit Duggal