There are so many simple things you can do daily to improve your health that don’t need a lot of money or going to see the doctor. I have suffered for years in the past for not taking time to take care of my health. From the common flu to serious allergic reactions of which one was so bad I could not breathe and require emergency steroid injection.
I found out much later that being healthy simply means making more healthy choices each day. For example choosing steamed chicken over fried chicken. While your health isn’t entirely under your control, but you still have a lot of influence on the matter. Simple habits, repeated consistently, can profoundly impact your health in a positive way.
Try these strategies each day and reap the healthy benefits:
1. Be active. Active people are healthier and tend to live longer. That doesn’t mean you have to spend all day at the gym. It just means that you can’t spend all day sitting around like a couch potato. Get moving – your body will be so thankful you did!
- Have some activities planned each week that require you to think and move. For example: Start gardening. Volunteer for charity work. Take a walk in the park. Learn to roller blade. Take a dance class.
2. Drink more water. Too many people fail to drink enough water each day. There are a lot of options more exciting than water, but water is what your body requires. Over half of your body weight is water, so drink more of it and skip other beverages 90% of the time.
- Some healthy options, such as green tea and watery fruits like watermelon, will help hydrate your body as well.
3. Get sufficient sleep. Over one third of the adult population fails to get enough sleep. In a society that prides itself on working harder and getting less sleep than the next person, it can be challenging to make sleep a priority. However, getting enough sleep – 7 to 9 hours for most adults – will strengthen your health.
4. Manage stress. Stress is one of the primary obstacles of good health. It detracts from the amount and the quality of your sleep. The hormones and other chemicals produced during stress are damaging to the mind and body.
- Find relaxation practices that work for you and use them each day. Healthy options include meditation, body massage, aromatherapy, listening to soothing music, partaking in hobbies that make you happy, and warm baths.
5. Stay away from sick people. People with communicable diseases like a cold, flu, coronavirus, and more can make you sick. Some communicable diseases can permanently destroy your health.
- When others are sick, stay away from them as much as possible and use precautions such as masks and gloves around them. Of course, washing your hands thoroughly when you’re around them and when you leave helps immensely to stop the spread of the germs.
6. Be sociable. With very few exceptions, everyone needs to have some social contact to stay emotionally healthy. How much social contact is needed varies greatly from one person to the next.
- Find the right level for you and ensure that you’re maintaining it.
7. Keep your brain active. In today’s world, it’s easy to fall into the trap of mindless internet surfing, watching TV, and playing silly games on your smartphone. Do something that challenges your brain.
- Playing chess, sudoku, Go, crossword puzzles, bridge, and other mentally challenging games can be a great way to keep your brain healthy and sharp.
8. Eat real food. Real food is anything you can buy and consume in its natural state. Fruit, vegetables, nuts, meat, and beans are examples of natural foods. Eat what your body was designed to eat, and you’ll be much healthier.
- Cookies, white bread, instant noodles, fast foods, chips, cereal, candy and other pre-processed foods are full of chemicals that are detrimental to your health.
- Throw out can foods too as it does not contain much nutrients.
9. Drop unhealthy habits. Your health isn’t just influenced by doing the right things – it’s negatively impacted by unhealthy habits. Smoking, overeating, staying up too late, drinking, and eating a low-quality diet are a few examples of bad habits that can harm your health.
10. See your doctor. See your doctor regularly, get a health screening check regardless of how you feel. That includes the dentist, too.
- There are plenty of serious diseases that don’t impact how you feel until they’ve done damage to your body. Diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol are just a few examples of serious issues that frequently don’t present any symptoms at first.
You don’t have to exercise for hours, drink magical protein concoctions, or limit your diet to raw vegetables to be a healthy person. Do the simple and relevant things religiously and good things will happen. Good health can be a simple matter. You just need to start taking these simple steps.
I hope you find these tips useful and I look forward to you being healthy always. A healthy person is also a happier person!
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31