The Best Ways to Keep Your Body Healthy

As we lead busy and stressful lifestyles, our health seems to be the last thing on our mind. Putting this first can help in many ways including increased motivation, sustaining a healthy weight and boosting a positive mind. Consciously deciding to lead a better lifestyle can also, in fact, help you to live longer and take a more positive approach to everyday situations, however challenging they may appear. Keeping in tiptop health also has tons of immediate health benefits from reducing Type 2 diabetes, strengthening your immune system and reducing depression and anxiety. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can sometimes tricky especially if your favor convenience foods and are stuck in a junk food rut. Rethinking your relationship with food and upping exercise could be just what you need to break that trend and forge a path to better living.

Check out some simple ways to keep your body healthy and reduce the risk of illnesses and long-term health issues.

Drink plenty of water

This is one of the most important elements of maintaining a healthy body, yet many people barely drink enough each day. Ensuring you are well hydrated throughout the day and more during exercise helps your body to flush out toxins and absorb vital nutrients easier. As the body is made up of a large percentage of water, it needs to be well hydrated to assist functions on a cellular level. There are many elements that water helps within the body including normalizing blood pressure, flushing out waste materials, lubricating joints and replacing lost water such as perspiration. It is recommended you drink approximately 2 liters of water a day to ensure your levels are balanced but many people are achieving nowhere near this amount. This will leave you dehydrated and you’ll start feeling the effects. Increased fatigue, acne, low motivation and brain fog are just some of the ways dehydration effects you and grabbing that morning cup of coffee won’t help in the long run either. Water intake should include freshwater and herbal teas and reductions in the amount of caffeine, fizzy drinks and alcohol, as these do not contribute to your daily intake.

Mindset and eating healthy

It’ll come as no surprise that eating healthy is one of the top ways to keep the body in its best condition. With the food industry hijacking our minds and filling our heads with a barrage of adverts and promotions for convenience foods, it’s very tempting to choose a chocolate bar over an apple. So first you need to train your brain. It’s easy to say that eating healthy is an easy way to be healthy but if it was so simple why isn’t everyone doing it. This is where analyzing your relationship with food steps in. To be in control of better eating habits, both your body and mind have to be in sync to achieve the goals. It’s not enough to say your diet should be brimming with a balance of fruit, vegetable, whole grains, carbohydrate and protein, you need to understand how each of them helps and how to implement them effectively to see results. Healthy eating and determining a relationship with food also assists in recovery programs such as eating problems and the effects of dope sickness as each step enables a better recovery and long-term addiction control.

There are so many resources available on diets and clean eating, it can become confusing and overwhelming. Keeping it simple in the early stages is key, as over complicating it will lead to failure very quickly. You have to be mindful of a range of things including health fads, crash dieting and quick fix promises too, as this will also lead to an unhealthy relationship with food.  

Sleep better and reduce stress

Getting those sweet dreams in each night is another important element of feeling healthy in both body and mind. Adequate sleep helps to promote a range of things including motivation, healthier lifestyle habits and strong body functions. When you sleep, your body is working hard to replenish you at a cellular level, so not getting enough halts this process. Many systems rely on a good night’s sleep including your immune system, heart and brain. Getting enough sleep also helps to refresh your mind and if you are having issues with lack of sleep or insomnia, this can have serious health implications in areas such as depression and anxiety. It is recommended you get a good 7-8 hours each night to help you feel ready for the day ahead.

When you have increased stress on your plate, sleeping is sometimes a difficult task. Stress is a major contributor to ill health and an unhealthy lifestyle and can affect other areas such as excessive eating, lack of motivation and no energy. Analyzing the cause of your stress is the first step in managing it. Some issues can be resolved by looking at a problem in a different light while others may need outside help. To relieve everyday worries and lighter stress-related problems, try some exercise or activities can help with tension. Taking some time out to meditate or trying calming exercises such as yoga is said to help empty your mind and effectively encourage body regeneration. These types of exercise can also help to correct muscle and joint issues, which had previously led to you reducing fitness levels due to pain. This, in turn, sets you back on the right track to better health and a great night’s sleep.

Health is always a hot topic, and with busy lifestyles and stress levels at their peak, it is sometimes difficult to make time for yourself. Looking at how to manage your time more effectively is another way to incorporate these elements into your schedule and gives you the opportunity to take full control of the situation and turn things around on your own terms. The points above may sound like a simple solution to overall health, but they are just the beginning of a long and sometimes challenging journey to a healthy lifestyle.