In a busy and fast-moving world like ours; healthy living has become a huge task. With a daily 8 am till 6 pm job, sitting all day in front of a computer with no other eating option than to munch on junk, eager to meet up deadlines, boss breathing instructions down your neck, unfinished projects staring right at you, and lots more kinds of stuff we have to go through daily, the feeling to cut ourselves some slack on the nutritionist or doctors advice most times outweigh our initial goal to practice a healthy lifestyle which often requires intentionality and discipline to carry out.
Healthy living can be found in our daily activities: in the food we eat, clothes we wear, the way we move, our insight into life, and most importantly the way we use our bodies. The body is built In such a way that it can perform so many activities at a time but there's a limit to how much we should wear our bodies out.
Nothing wears an individual out like stress; according to the American Institute for Stress; 77% of people experience stress that affects their physical health, 73% experience stress that impacts their mental health and 43% have trouble sleeping due to stress. Stress is mostly caused by things that we hold as priority e.g money, job, family, career, promotion . . . But unfortunately, once the body breaks down from overuse, all that won't matter much anymore.
WHY SHOULD YOU PRACTICE HEALTHY LIVING?
•Healthy living is vital for survival and not an option; the earlier you have an understanding of these the better. Healthy living is not negotiable. Your daily activities are like blicks in a kiddie's block game; each blick adds to what eventually becomes a beautiful piece of art and how well structured your life is will tell on your health( physically, mentally, emotionally, etc).
•A healthy person is more productive than someone who is not that is why companies mandate a medical clearance before employment, they want to be sure you will be able to carry out your duties without distractions from your health.
•Life is meant to be enjoyed not endured unfortunately an unhealthy don't have the privilege to choose. Health is one of the unrated gifts, the value of good health can't be estimated. The privilege to do what you need to do at whatever time or pace is something to grateful for.
COMMON HEALTHY LIVING TIPS
📌 AVOID JUNKS: Junks are bad for our health as emphasized by health practitioners, though they come in handy and propose a fast solution to hunger pangs but the result always hurts our health. In place of junk, you can eat healthy meals like vegetables, sea foods, fruits, proteinous foods, etc that have great benefits for the body and helps keeps it healthy.
Bonus tip: buy your vegetables and raw meals in bulk that you can finish before it expires or rot this saves you the stress of frequent trips to the supermarket and a price reduction.
📌 MAINTAIN 7 to 8 HOURS OF SLEEP DAILY: Sleep helps reboot and renews our brain cells which makes us productive, retains concentration, and reduces fatigue during the day's activities. Lack of quality sleep results in what is called sleep debt and too much of it reduces the brain's capacity to think.
📌 EXERCISE: It is said that whenever you're tired or stressed out, instead of sleeping straight away; first of all engage in a few minutes of exercise. Why? Exercise helps loosen up your joints, enhances the free flow of blood from the heart to the organs, and also relieves you of stress faster than sleeping. Exercise is systematic movement of the body for flexibility, burning of excess fats in the body, loosening of tensed joints, etc.
📌 SWITCH CARBONATED DRINKS WITH WATER: Water doesn't just quench thirst on a hot afternoon or after a tiring day, it also rejuvenates your body, helps relieve tension and also aid your digestive system, heart, and kidney Avoid carbonated drinks as they pose more harm than good due to their high level of sugar content. It's advised by the health boards that men should take at least 2.5 liters of water daily and women 2.2 liters daily.
Bonus tips: Take 2 glasses of water first thing in the morning, fill a 1.5-liter bottle to work daily and make it a point of duty to finish it, and take 2 glasses of water 1 hour before bedtime. Also, you can replace carbonated drinks with 100% natural fruit juice like Orange, pineapple juice, mango juice, etc which can be easily made at home.
3 SURPRISING HEALTHY HABITS YOU DIDN'T TAKE NOTE OF.
You could imagine my surprise when I found out these habits we do subconsciously are helpful to our health.
• Taking Water Before and After A Meal: This is mostly done to quench thirst or moisturize the throat before eating but I found out that drinking water before a meal helps you lose weight. Yes! Drinking water before a meal makes you feel full and reduce your intake of food( you don't have to be so worried about your diet and eating habits anymore). It also speeds up the digestion of food in the body.
• Stretching First Thing In The Morning: It's not just what we do first in the morning out because we saw someone do it; Stretching first thing after stepping out of the bed helps relieve tension and pain in the bones and joints from staying in a particular position all through the night, it also helps your lower and puts it position for the long hours of sitting ahead, aids flexibility and mobility of the body and also corrects the body structure.
• Affirmations: It's no news that the words we speak are powerful and contribute to our health. A relatable example is the way a pregnant woman forms a bond with her child right from the womb just by speaking to him/her and most times the child responds with either a mild kick or turning around in the womb. To tell you that your body listens! Often while affirming some words we touch ourselves, our body reacts to that and it stands as a seal for whatever has been said. So watch your words because your body is listening.
