6 Daily Habits to Strengthen Physical & Mental Health
Your main focus this year is to eat better in order to feel better, this will help your vital organs stay healthier and it becomes easier to stay in shape, in order to sustain a stronger physical and mental status.
It starts with conducting a thorough evaluation on your lifestyle, in order to detect those factors that supports or diminish your health , these factors will normally include; your mental attitudes, dietary habits, physical activity, family and social relationships. Here are some tips that can help you improve your mental and physical wellbeing;
Tip #1: Clean eating must be non-negotiable
Cutting back on processed foods and replacing such with real whole foods is the best possible way to improve physical and mental health. You need to remove all food products made from white sugar, white flour and hydrogenated processes, if you want to stay healthy. Secondly, you need to consume brain-powering foods such as oily fish, nuts, and seeds.
You need to consume colourful fruits and veggies because they contain high levels of antioxidants tat fight ageing, and reduce the risks of many diseases, including cancers ( colourful fruits , such as Red, green, orange, and yellow as well as green vegetables are highly recommended at between 3-5 servings a day).
In addition to fruits and veggies, you should consume good quality lean proteins such as those found in Shell fish, beans, legumes, poultry, nuts, seeds, omega-3 fishes, eggs and lean meat.
Always go for chemical-free products, these include hormone and antibiotic-free organic foods. Try as much as possible to stay hydrated by consuming 6-8 glasses minimum of water a day, you may also consider taking a cup of herbal teas early in the morning.
Do not forget to cook your own meals more. It is easier to cook high quality foods at home, in addition to the fact that it is always cheaper.
Tip #2: Increase your physical activities
It is easier to exercise your body these days, all you have to do is choose an activity that you enjoy, for instance, swimming, and bicycling will help you burn fat and calories, and at the same time, they are fun. You should also aim at mixing various types of physical activities, including; Cardio workouts, weightlifting, and Pilates.
Make sure you come up with a Smart fitness plan that is measurable, realistic, attainable, and timely. Experts recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of regular activities for 5 days a week. You must track your progress with a chart or any measuring device, to ensure that your physical stability and mental alertness are improved steadily.
Tip #3: Sleeping for 7-8 hours a day is non-negotiable
If you are getting less than 6 hours a day of sleep there is a high possibility that you may suffer depreciation in mental alertness. It takes a while for some people to fall asleep and when they do, issues such as snoring and waking up in the middle of the night to urinate may reduce the quality of their sleeps.
Make sure you don’t drink any diuretic liquid such as soda, before going to bed, likewise don’t stay too close to your TV or any source of light before going to bed. Try as much as possible to track your hours of sleep on daily basis.
Tip #4: Positive thinking is one of the secrets to longevity
Positive thinkers are always optimistic of the future; therefore, they don’t allow their pasts to hold them back in pursuing the future. The state of your mind makes significant impact on your body’s stress levels, which in turn makes significant impact on your health and mental alertness.
Learn to avoid stress by staying positive and avoiding procrastination. Endeavour to start your day on a positive note; you can achieve this through meditation, or listening to an inspirational song.
Always remind yourself about your achievements, because they will motivate you to achieve more, and try as much as possible to re-frame negative situations- consider the problems from several other angles. You get stuck to negativities because you never think and ponder about their positive sides.
When you learn to analyze situations, you begin to develop practical solutions that will eventually help you improve the situation. When you eventually conquer a negative habit, you develop a feeling of accomplishment and that alone can heal your mental degeneration.
Tip #5: Embrace those supportive relationships
Think about the people you love and those who love you in return. In most cases, family, work and social relationships can help us heal rapidly in times of distress, and they help take our minds away from situations and people that cause emotional draining.
You need to learn to spend more time to nurture healthy relationships that influence you positively, and you will be surprised at how much help you can gain, especially with mental and physical healing. You can learn to avoid physical and mental agony by drawing inspiration from people and learning from their mistakes.
Tip #6: work hard on stopping unhealthy lifestyles
Unhealthy lifestyle habits such as excessive alcohol consumption and smoking are the fastest possible ways to draining your mental and physical wellbeing. Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to serious behavioural issues, aside the fact that it can damage your vital organs, especially the liver, and can also trigger rapid weight gain.
Smoking has been found to be the main cause of diverse forms of cancer. You don’t have to give up these habits abruptly, however a gradual withdrawal approach from such habits can drastically result in improve physical and mental wellbeing.
In conclusion, there is no magical approach to the improvement of mental and physical wellbeing; it’s all about making gradual positive changes to our diets, and general ways of life.
As you replace unhealthy meals with healthier ones, your body will get sufficient nutrients to initiate the healing and renewal process, while physical activities will help speed up your weight loss. Make sure you have a healthy routine that you can stick with, from day to day.
