In our modern world, our life expectancies have increased many folds. However, with our longer lives, we have also discovered many health problems that develop over time. While there are cures and treatments for many illnesses, you are assured of faster and better recovery if you take care of yourself throughout your life.
Keeping fit doesn’t only mean staying slim. People often have genetic health problems like diabetes or hormone balance problems develop where they gain weight or stay fat no matter how many times a week they work out or how much they restrict their diet. Staying healthy means developing good habits that will reduce the negative impacts of the aging process.
These habits are also beneficial for people with special health requirements. For example, they can help a mother in their postpartum journey and help in solving any underlying conditions or complications caused during the birth of the baby.
Although mothers can take lactation supplements if they find that these conditions are affecting their milk supply, these habits can prove beneficial to a great extent too. Let us find out how you can maintain your health with some easy changes in your habits.
Exercise 3 Times a Week
Exercise plays a big part in staying fit. Being fit means being able to exert yourself and raise your heart rate without getting out of breath or exhausted. If you get tired of walking up the stairs in your 20s, imagine how much of a bother that will be when you are 80! To prevent this, take 20 mins out of 3 days of the week.
Your exercise can be anything from yoga to martial arts. If you don’t want to get too involved in fitness, ask a certified instructor to make an easy-to-follow routine for you. You can also approach fitness forums like on Reddit to get a routine without paying for it. Just remember that information you get online isn’t verified, so if you can pay a professional, it is a better option.
You can get your nutrition easily by having a plethora of seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Seasonal produce contains all the nutrients you need to stay fit and healthy. The range of macro and micronutrients you get from this product is much more varied than anything you can get from a bottle. Your body learns to cycle nutrients properly, and this also leads to an increase in healthy BIO flora in your gut, which improves digestion as well.
Walk A Mile Every day
Besides exercising, you should also get into the habit of walking every day. Modern lifestyles are sedentary, which means we sit down a lot. There is little need to walk around when we work or study at home and get around using cars and busses. These long periods of time sitting down puts stress on our joints and makes us lazy too!
Walking has many benefits, including increasing heart and lung health. Studies have also shown that people who walk are at a lesser risk for having heart issues, have lower blood pressure, and get arthritis much later in life. This is because walking strengthens your bones and muscles and improves your balance as well.
Give Up Bad Habits
By bad habits, we mean habits like drinking and smoking. While we don’t expect people to give these habits up overnight, there are steps you can take to reduce your consumption.
Photo by Andres Siimon on Unsplash
For alcohol, you can decide not to drink alone and only drink at social gatherings. As a first step, limit alcohol consumption to those days you don’t exercise.
Smoking reductions are a little more challenging to deal with. Smokers get cravings and withdrawal symptoms that can sometimes need professional interventions. If you have addiction issues, speak to a therapist to chalk out a plan to reduce consumption and eventually stop.
Maintain Sleep Hygiene
Approximately 30% of adults in America have experienced insomnia. Insomnia, or trouble getting to and staying asleep, is a problem because it messes with your brain and body. Without sleep, you are irritable, and you cannot focus well. The increase in blue light sources from phone and laptop screens has played a significant role in the rise in insomnia across homes in our country.
Sleep hygiene is a set of rules you abide by that promotes restful sleep. Here, you eat and disconnect from the screen two hours before bed. You keep these distractions out of the bedroom and block out all light and noise when you go to bed. Use noise machines or apps if you need background noise, and go to sleep at the same time every night. With these steps, you’ll be sleeping soundly in no time at all.