Some people do not realize the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle, others are aware of the benefits but choose to avoid making that decision for one reason or another. Others, on the other hand, are convinced that they are whereas they are not. According to a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that just 3% of adults in America got a perfect score on the four necessary criteria of healthy living according to the author.
Leading and maintaining a healthy lifestyle does not only entail the physiological benefits but psychological benefits as well, to enable you to live with a sound body and mind. On one side it helps you prevent the contraction of chronic diseases and long-term illnesses as well reduce the rate of contraction of short-term diseases. On the other hand, it improves your self-esteem from enhancing your self-image and staying healthy. And in overall it increases the quality and quantity of your life. Here are some of the aspects of maintaining a healthy lifestyle to improve the quality and quantity of your life.
Steps to maintaining Healthy Lifestyle
Check Your Weight
A relatively high percentage of chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, other cardiovascular diseases and some cancers are caused by being overweight. You need to regularly check your weight through the body mass index (BMI). A healthy weight should be at a BMI of 18 to 25. Anything more or less could be harmful to your wellbeing. Your weight does not only affect your physical health but mental health as well. Your self-image determines a great deal of your self-esteem and self-efficacy which translates into your social life and relationship to those around you. Eating a balanced diet and constant exercise is what you need to maintain a healthy weight. And the workout does not have to be intense; a recommended ten thousand steps walk will do just fine.
Get Regular Physical Check-Ups
Visiting the doctor for a physical examination once a month or two or even a year could be very high benefits to your health. The regularity can be determined by either your age, job description, lifestyle choices or genetic structure. That could help prevent a chronic disease before it matures to a detrimental magnitude. Lab tests and screenings such as colonoscopies, heart tests, and mammograms should be a priority during these tests. If possible, you should visit a doctor at the slightest sense of illness, because it might be more severe than you may think, and the earlier it is determined, the easier it will be to deal with in time.
Physical Exercise
Engaging in physical exercise for as little as forty minutes every day could change your life, health-wise, and general well-being. You can join a gym and take up exercise sessions, or you can work out at home, or you merely brisk walk for a few blocks. It is also essential to choose an exercise system that works for you. Do not take up a rigorous workout program that you will not adhere to, and end being fat and lazy. You can start small as you proceed to the top. Physical activity helps your body control body fat, improve blood circulation makes your muscles stronger and more flexible and reduces your rate of getting ill.
De-Stress
As mentioned earlier the quality and quantity of life are not only determined by our physiological health but psychological health as well. Taking care of your mental health is just as imperative as taking care of your physical health, which is why it is essential to know how to deal with stress without harming your body. Some people abuse drugs and alcohol to de-stress, which is causes addiction as well some chronic illnesses. Healthier ways to de-stress include; meditating, deep breathing exercises, yoga sessions and praying just to name a few.
Lifestyle Habits
There are lifestyle habits that with time increase the risk of causing you bodily harm or terminal illness. Practices such as smoking, drinking, irresponsible sexual behavior among other things make you susceptible to illness. Smoking and drinking, for instance, causes some cancers as well as some terminal diseases such as heart disease and liver cirrhosis respectively. It is advisable to reduce the rate or stop the indulgence of these lifestyle habits for the sake of your health.
All in all, these aspects of healthy living should not be alien to you. Most people come across them one way or the other, through family members, the doctor’s office, friends and so on. What you are left to do now is choose to live healthier as a lifestyle choice. Be mindful of the little habits that might affect your health negatively, and start adopting practices that will impact your health positively. Note that the difference begins with you. By the choices you make and by the attitude you have towards these decisions. These are the determinants of whether you will stay true to your body and mind to improve your quality and quantity of life.
Here at Frontline Emergency Clinic in Richmond, TX, we offer high quality no wait emergency care services provided by board certified physicians and registered nurses. Day or night, we are always available to serve you and offer the care you need.