8 Must Read Tricks To Optimal Health

Jim Rohn once said, “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live”- so true and yet most of us still neglect our overall health. There are many steps you can take to walk a path toward a healthier you, we want to offer you 8 tricks to get there.

Get Some Shuteye

Sleep is so incredibly important to a properly functioning body. It is during sleep that we restore our body and prepare for the next day’s activities. It rejuvenates, re-energizes, and restores the mind and body while the nerve cells and tissues are repaired and renewed. During the six to eight hours one sleeps, the body rests and the mind organizes past, present, and future activities and feelings. When we awake we feel recharged and ready to face the next day!

Stay in Touch

Keeping your emotional state healthy is a big part of your overall health. Reaching out to friends and family will give you the sense of being connected to others and reaffirming that you are cared for and loved. Companionship may ward off depression, boost self-esteem, and provide support and good friends discourage unhealthy behaviors such as smoking and heavy drinking. Looks like it’s time to free up your calendar for some qt. time with your loved ones.

Get Going

By now this advice is a no-brainer- but you really need to get in at least 30 minutes of exercise a day!  Regular exercise can help protect you from a laundry list of ailments such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, obesity, back pain, osteoporosis. Accomplish this by walking, jogging, and swimming or use exercise equipment such as Whole Body Vibration machines. It can also put you in a better mood and help you to better manage stress- both good for your mind, which transcends to a healthy body.

Keep your Whites Pearly

Surprisingly, many people are not aware of the link between your oral health and the overall health of your body. Our mouths are full of bacteria but most of us manage to keep that bacteria under control with regular brushing and flossing- if we don’t the bacteria grow out of control and cause oral infections, such as tooth decay and gum disease. This bacterium can affect other parts of your body as well with risks for heart disease, pre-term labor, osteoporosis, diabetes, and more. One thing is for sure- the body and mouth are not separate!

Learn Something New

Taking a class is an excellent way to keep your brain active, and an active brain is essential to staying healthy.  Learn to play the guitar, take a cooking or photography class- research shows that learning new things illicit the chemical dopamine in the brain. This is the chemical responsible for triggering feelings of pleasure- which means even if you have absolutely no talent, picking up the guitar will still make your brain happy! And a happy brain is great for your overall health.

Shed Weight

Losing weight by following a practical and sensible diet is a sure-fire way to maintain the health of all of your internal functions. It will lower your risk of several diseases like cancer, heart disease, osteoarthritis, stroke, and many more. Lose weight by eating a sensible diet and exercising each day. In no time you will see and feel the effects- maintain regimens that work for your lifestyle and you will see lasting results. Losing weight and looking healthier also does wonders for your self-esteem which means your emotional health is positively impacted and your overall health will skyrocket

Watch Your Diet

Eating right is an absolute must for overall health. The food pyramid is a good place to start learning how to divide all of your nutritional needs into a manageable daily intake. Eat lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and cut back on foods that have a lot of fat, salt, and sugar. Learn about balance, variety, and moderation in food as well. The benefits on the body of eating well are innumerable and so easy to begin. Eating healthy keeps our bodies running at optimal levels and it also keeps our immune system in check.

De Stress

Not all stress is bad, but we do need a break from the bad stressors when we begin to feel overwhelmed, otherwise our health may begin to deteriorate. Too much stress can take a major emotional toll on your mind, body, and spirit- three things that are essential to keeping all bodily functions properly working. Make the time for a massage, a stroll in the park, or a nice warm bubble bath. Find an activity that will relieve tension and melt your stress- you will find that are better equipped to handle whatever life throws at you when you put aside moments for yourself.

Our bodies are a very intricate and complex system. We operate as a grand machine and must understand the correlations between what we eat, think, do and feel and how it affects our body. By just following a few guidelines you will be well on your way to changing your lifestyle for the better, and hopefully for good. Achieving overall health and wellness takes a lifetime of effort- with any luck you will have plenty of time to perfect the task.