A healthy and fit body results from making the right decisions in life. Although age, family medical history, and genetics are factors that cannot be changed, there are still many things within our control that we can improve. Some lifestyle changes can significantly impact a person's physical and mental health.
Here are some tips that have been proven to maintain and improve health:
Get moving
If you want to be more energized and in a better mood, get moving! Regular exercise can benefit a person's physical and mental health. The recommended ideal amount of exercise for adults is 150 minutes of light aerobic activity per week, or 75 minutes if it's high intensity.
Some of the benefits of exercise include the following:
- Strengthens the heart, which leads to a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack, high blood pressure, and stroke.
- Improve cognitive function and reduce the risk of dementia or memory loss.
- Improve mood by reducing the risk of depression and anxiety.
- Help manage and maintain a healthy weight.
- Strengthens bones and muscles to move more easily, even in old age.
- Reducing the risk of chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer.
Pay attention to what you eat.
Reducing processed and fast food and implementing a balanced nutritional diet is one way to ensure that the body gets vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients. Processed and fast food is not good for the body because it tends to be high in sugar, salt, trans fat, preservatives, and artificial colors without sufficient nutritional value.
Balanced nutritional needs are fulfilled by observing the principles of food diversity, physical activity, clean living behavior, and maintaining ideal body weight. In addition, you also need to pay attention to the portion of food so that it is not too little or too much.
Pay attention to your portions and meal schedule.
Quit smoking and avoid cigarettes.
Cigarettes are responsible for 1 in 5 deaths in the United States each year. Smokers are also known to die about ten years earlier than non-smokers. Some of the conditions that can be caused by smoking on a person's body are as follows:
- Heart disease: smoking is the leading cause of premature death from cardiovascular disease.
- Stroke: smoking can make blood vessels narrower and stiffer, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
- Respiratory disorders: smoking damage to the airways and air sacs increases the risk of developing the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Lung cancer: an estimated 80% of cancer cases are related to smoking. In addition, smoking can also increase the risk of other cancers such as bladder cancer, oral cancer, stomach cancer, and others.
Prioritize adequate and quality sleep.
Sleep has a vital role in every process that occurs in the human body. The body is the time to repair cells and restore energy. In addition, the brain also performs many important functions when you sleep, such as storing information, removing waste, and strengthening nerve cell connections.
The ideal amount of sleep varies with age, but for most adults, 7 hours per night is recommended. Children or elderly people usually need sleep for a longer duration. Lack of sleep can cause high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and mood swings.
Keep your body hydrated.
Drinking enough water every day is the key to good health. The body needs water to carry out its various functions, such as maintaining body temperature, aiding the digestive process, keeping organs functioning as they should, and sending nutrients to every cell. In addition, good hydration also ensures that the brain functions optimally.
Generally, a woman needs nine glasses of drinking water every day. This number can increase if you live in a hot or humid location, spend a lot of time outdoors, have strenuous activities, experience diarrhea or vomiting, and are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Dehydration can trigger constipation and various other health conditions
A healthy body is not something that can be obtained in one day. A healthy and fit body is the accumulation of results from the choices we make every day. For that, also read the article Part II for more health advice!
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Reference:
Brocato, C. & Rishe, J. (2023). Top 10 Tips for Staying Healthy. [online]. https://www.healthline.com/health/staying-healthy