The holy grail of life? Staying healthy year round: no colds, no flu, no injury, no sleep deprivation, and no setbacks! Wouldn’t it be great to experience life without any downtime or time away from family, work (well, maybe), and loved ones?
We would all love to be in perfect health, eat the perfect foods, live the healthiest lifestyle, and be pillars of health and productivity given the time, education, budget, and choices in life. However, the truth of the matter is that staying healthy year round is easier said than done…it is a tall order that takes time, energy, effort, and a good sense of understanding of what your body is telling you.
Despite the fact that you may not be perfect, here are my tips on how to stay healthy year round to the best of your human capability:
1) Do some research on vitamins
Although you will never perfectly figure out the micro-nutrient needs of your body, do yourself a favor and research vitamins in a sense of daily amounts, water soluble versus fat soluble, and a full spectrum of foods that they may come in. You may just find out that you are deficient in vitamin D or vitamin B12 for example and may need to supplement.
2) Be good to your joints and your feet
Walking or running a lot? That’s great for your heart and great for your declining levels of fat: but don’t forget about the infrastructure that makes it all possible…your feet and your joints allow you to move and need to be pampered more than you think! Don’t neglect these important bodily workers: get some shock-absorbing cushions to keep your knees and your feet happy without falling apart.
3) Drink your water
This one may seem obvious and almost over-stated in every way possible…but drink your water if you want to keep up your metabolism and keep your body hydrated and regular. Remember that a healthy cell is a metabolized cell; and that a metabolized cell is an energized cell; and finally that an energized cell is a HYDRATED cell. So drink your water and keep your body running properly! 🙂
4) Incorporate weight training or resistance training in general
Cardiovascular work is great for your heart and it helps to burn fat. However, if you want your body’s metabolism to stay healthy, maintain strong bones and muscle, and keep your hormones in an optimal state, you will have to incorporate some form of resistance training. If you do not have weights or have access to them, you can learn some body weight exercises to keep your muscles primed and activated for growth.
5) Breathe, breathe, and breathe
If you want to control your cortisol, optimize healing, and get your lungs and heart beat in sync with each other, you will have to learn how to breathe properly. Try inhaling slowly for 6 seconds, holding for one second, and then exhaling for another 4 to 5 seconds. Do this for intervals of 3 to 5 minutes and you will notice the difference in your relaxation abilities, your stress levels, and your overall mental clarity. You will in addition help your body to heal and stay healthier in the long run.
6) Give up the booze and cigarettes
Do I really have to elaborate on this one? It’s pretty obvious that alcohol causes stress and breaks down muscle tissue whilst smoking causes increased blood pressure and weakens the immune system. If you want to give your body a true fighting chance, put down the smoking and drinking and allow it to heal back up and fight back so that you have less of a chance of getting sick.
7) Get enough sleep every night
This one may be a bit obvious as well, but the optimal levels of sleep (at least 7 hours for an activity individual) will make a world of difference in more ways than one. Your hormones will be more balanced, your mood will be betters, your anxiety will be better in check, and your body will have time to heal itself psychically and also mentally to prepare you for the stresses of the upcoming day. In addition, it will aid you in getting sick less often and for lesser periods of time. When in doubt, sleep it out!
That is my list of the 7 tips on how to stay healthy year round: I hope you liked it. Have some other ideas? Want to dispute my ideas? Want to add to or elaborate on my tips? Leave some comments below and we can discuss how to stay healthier for longer in full detail! 🙂