There’s more to healthy living than having a slim, athletic body. Restrictive diets and big muscles don’t necessarily mean good health. Equally, eating meat and the occasional burger doesn’t necessarily mean poor health.
Healthy living is about taking care of yourself as a whole. What you eat and how much you exercise absolutely play an important part. But when it comes to healthy living there are other pillars that many people just don’t stop to consider. It’s entirely possible to be a sickly mess with the healthiest diet and the best exercise regime in the world. So here are our five tips for healthy living, from diet and exercise, through to your mental wellbeing.
STAY WELL HYDRATED
Obviously we need water to survive. We’ll die without it. And everyone’s heard that you need about eight glasses of water a day. But beyond “you’ll die if you don’t”, many people don’t understand the benefits of proper hydration. Aside from keeping you alive, being well hydrated:
Helps combat fatigue. Water helps your cells function and is one of many energy sources for your body. It’s even been shown that people who are well-hydrated before going to bed wake up easier in the morning. Find yourself consistently struggling to get out of bed? Keep some water next to you at night and sip when you wake during sleep.
Prevents histamine buildup that provokes asthma and allergies.
Helps your cardiovascular system. Well-hydrated blood is over 90% water, which helps keep your blood flowing and prevents high blood pressure.
Helps kidneys and liver function optimally.
Keeps your skin healthy and helps prevent skin conditions like acne.
Makes losing weight easier. Drinking plenty of water helps prevent you feeling hungry, so you don’t snack as much throughout the day. Replacing sugary beverages like soda with water is also a simple, but powerful, weightloss method.
To top it all off, you don’t actually need to drink 8 glasses of water. Fruits and vegetables with high water content also contribute to your daily water intake.
GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP
How much sleep a person needs is fairly subjective. Whether you need 8 hours or not is up for some debate. Current thinking is that it’s closer to about 6 hours for most people. What’s not up for debate, though, is that a good night’s sleep is vitally important for healthy living.
Lack of good sleep has many negative consequences. Some of them are obvious, such as feeling fatigued throughout the day. Our ability to focus, concentrate, and retain information becomes seriously impaired. Loss of concentration or drowsiness can become particularly problematic when someone is driving.
But lack of sleep also has some wider-reaching consequences. It contributes to many major chronic cardiovascular issues. One night’s bad sleep can give people with hypertension elevated blood pressure for all of the following day. It makes us stressed and depressed, and kills our sex drive. It contributes to premature ageing of the skin.
People who get a good night’s sleep are generally more productive, less stressed, less depressed, and healthier overall.
MEDITATE
Not everybody goes for spirituality. Many are quick to dismiss meditation as nonsense. But when it comes to healthy living, particularly in this day and age, meditation can be very important.
The key benefit of meditation is to calm yourself. Stress and anxiety can majorly impact your wellbeing. Depressed people live shorter lives than non-depressed people. Meditation helps clear stress and anxiety from our minds. It helps us achieve that good night’s sleep, or prepare ourselves for a busy day ahead.
Even if you don’t believe in meditation, simply finding something every day that calms you is of great benefit. It’s important to not be emotionally and psychologically overwhelmed. Alcohol and drugs are not good methods, as they can lead to addiction and further problems. Whether it’s reading a book, drawing a picture, or watching a favourite film, find something in your life that takes your mind away from vague anxieties and puts it in the present.
YES, EAT A BALANCED DIET
There is more to healthy living than eating well and exercise, yes … but these are still vitally important. The important part here, though, is the word “balanced”. Eat junk food every now and then, but sparingly. Use it as a treat. Many people swing completely the other way and opt for a raw vegan diet. This isn’t particularly healthy either unless very carefully controlled.
Fat, carbs, and sugars are all necessary for life. Meat in moderation is very good for you. Even things like alcohol can be beneficial. The trick for healthy living is to eat foods in the right proportions. We’ve covered this in other articles and we encourage you to read further!
FINALLY, YOU CAN’T ESCAPE IT: EXERCISE
Anyone who tells you that you can live a healthy life with no exercise is lying! We don’t mean intense cardio or heavy weights, just be active. Move around as much as possible during the day. The optimum exercise for optimal health, it was found, was about 10 minutes of intense workout a few times a week. A quick run or a bike ride, and that’s it. You don’t need to torture yourself, just get the blood pumping for ten minutes every few days.
Again, we’ve got a longer article on exercise that you can read and we recommend you go have a browse. It’ll give you a better insight and some good ideas.
But that’s it! The five pillars of healthy living: hydration, sleep, relaxation, good food and a bit of sweat. It doesn’t take much. It doesn’t take the world. But it does take a little care and effort. Luckily, the payoff far outweighs the cost. Happy, healthy living!
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