We all envision, leading a happy, healthy life and generally we like to follow habits of health.
However, in our attempt to have happy but financially stable life, we often neglect our health goals and end up having chronic illnesses later in life.
These illnesses take away the hard-earned joy of otherwise established life to push us only in the swirl of lethargy and physical weakness.
This is indeed a vicious cycle.
Therefore, if you want to age well, you need to start young.
With the slight change in your lifestyle, it is possible to develop habits of health that can make your life healthier and happier.
It requires you to make changes in your lifestyle to have improved physical and mental health.
It starts with a better diet, staying positive, focusing on yourself, including physical activity in you retune and ends at staying positive.
Did it make sense?
Yes? Awesome.
Umm, no?
Let me break it down into an easy-to-follow guide that can motivate you in your journey of health.
Plan Your meals Properly – Habits Of Health
Your diet plays a significant role in shaping both physical and mental health.
Think carefully about your body needs. Be very clear about whether you want to lose, gain or maintain your weight. When you would be clear about your goal, you will be able to plan the meal accordingly.
A healthy meal plan will have a maximum of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and minimum sugar and caffeine.
Hence, you will be able to take control of your carbs and sugar requirements wisely.
A plus point of meal planning is that it won’t allow you to take junk food every other day.
We all know there is a reason why junk food is called junk!
Have Breakfast Religiously
The first outcome of meal preparation won’t be a healthy weight or overall sound health.
Instead, it will remind you to take breakfast regularly.
Breakfast is, without any doubt, the most important meal of the day.
Taking a healthy breakfast helps in better metabolism and prevents you from overeating later in the day.
It has been observed that adults who take a healthy morning meal show better performance at work, and kids who do not skip breakfast get comparatively good grades.
Which category are you in?
Choose wisely!
Some healthy breakfast options are whole-grain cereals, granola bar, low-fat milk, yogurt and fruits.
Stay Hydrated
Another prominent habit of health that meal planning would lead you to is drinking water and staying hydrated.
Every cell and organ of your body needs water for proper functioning.
Water is a souvenir of a healthy life.
Your body uses water to maintain temperature and regulate body fluids.
You might have been advised to drink eight glasses of water daily, but it is not medically validated.
It is ideal for taking enough water so that you can urinate once every 3 hours.
Also, your urine should be light in color.
You can also consume food items that have high water content such as cucumber, watermelon, lime, oranges to replenish your fluid needs.
Once you learn to keep up well with your meal plans, the next habit of health for you is having a quality shut-eye.
Get Enough Sleep
A good night’s sleep is essential as it helps your brain wash off the debris that might have built during the day and reset the nerve networks for better functioning the next day.
When you have a night of sufficient sleep in the night, you wake up in a good mood and have a better focus that makes you productive at work. In contrast, lack of sleep causes fatigue, lethargy and vertigo.
In long term consequences, lack of sleep negatively impacts the brain and heart functioning.
Hence, you should have an 8-hour sleep to keep going!
Adopt an Exercise Routine
It is worth mention here that sleeping for only eight hours should be a priority.
It doesn’t mean becoming a couch potato and spending your day on your bed, thinking you are letting your brain rest.
As much as good night sleep is essential, exercise as a habit of health cannot be ignored.
Keep your muscles moving with daily workouts.
Daily workouts not only help you lose body weight but keep your bones and tendons healthy.
Doing strength training exercises like lunges, push-ups, and weightlifting helps you practice mindfulness besides providing a well-built body.
Go Out for Fresh Air
You should not only stay indoors when your ultimate goal is to achieve habits of health.
Going out and exposure to sun rays provides you with vitamin D, which is the key component for strengthening bones.
Additionally, fresh is the source of oxygen that cleans out your lungs, allowing you to breathe without any impediment in your airways.
Ever wanted to boost your brain and have a sharper mind?
Fresh air is your savior. Research suggests that spending time around nature increases your energy by 90% and helps thinking critically and actively.
Go on a Social Media Detox
You might not have heard a lot about this, but social media detox is the most effective habit of health in today’s era.
On average, most of us these days are spending four hours on social media daily.
A social media life can be very consuming, sometimes.
The things you see and the news you read can have a toll on your mental health.
The time spent chatting on social media, content creation and tweeting about your daily life can also be used for more productive activity.
Hence, you need a social media detox here.
In simple words, if you are feeling anxious or stressed out, you need to stay away from social media.
It might sound weird, but once you stop using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social networking platforms, your mental health will improve.
Focus on Your Hygiene
I cannot stress more on the cruciality of good personal hygiene for your optimal health.
It includes washing your hands frequently, flossing your teeth regularly, keeping your hair clean, and bathing every other day.
All of this will aid you in fighting bacteria, viruses and other potentially life-threatening germs.
Learn a New Skill
However, your journey of health will not be fruitful if you fail to stay positive.
That’s why it is essential to stay away from the negativity of your surroundings and try to keep busy.
In the same run, you can learn a new skill.
The learning process keeps your brain occupied, allowing you to focus on yourself or the skill that you are learning instead of the fuss in the environment.
Do you know that most neurologists agree that learning a new skill is especially helpful for adults to avoid dementia and cognitive decline symptoms?
Few activities that you can involve yourself in are painting, signing up for a creative writing workshop, learning graphic designing or mastering coding.
If learning a skill is out of your scope, then there is a more comfortable alternative—practice mindfulness to keep the negativity at bay.
Practice mindfulness
There can make no better shortcut to your optimal health than practicing mindfulness.
Mindfulness is an act of becoming more aware of where you are and what you’re doing, without paying attention to what’s going on around you. It reduces stress, relieves pain and improves your mood.
Moreover, it allows you to see who you are.
It gives you control over your conscious and unconscious reactions allowing you to regulate anger, rage and jealousy.
Mindfulness techniques can be as simple as observing your breath while walking, smelling a flower or reflecting your sensations as you climb the stairs.
Laugh it Out
Now, you might wonder how I can laugh when I see the world collapsing around me?
Guess what, you are not wrong to think that but take laughing as an exercise.
Laughing produces endorphins- brain chemicals that incite happiness and regulate mood.
A hearty laugh relieves tension, relaxes the stomach for 45 minutes, and increases immune cells that help you fight disease and infections.
Once you have mastered the art of staying optimistic, hang in there and practice balance!
Keep your Balance
Regardless of your age, the right balance assures a healthier heart and greater confidence.
The simplest way to practice balance and coordination is yoga.
If you are young, the right balance will help you prevent injuries, and if you are ageing, it will keep you active and lower the chances of falling and breaking a bone.
Summary
Good health is no longer a myth.
Consistently following these habits of health can help you achieve your optimal health and enjoy the quality of life.
It is better to take baby steps and start from simple choices, for instance, having regular breakfast.
In the beginning, these small changes might not seem practical.
When you put all of them together, they can provide a strong foundation for the healthy-est journey.