1. Loving relationships and social interactions
being surrounded by people who love and nurture you is probably the number one component of healthy living. Finding time to cultivate friendships with people who support your values and with whom you can laugh, and participating in social and spiritual gatherings as well as celebrations are great ways to support your health.
2. Manage stress
Stress triggers the production of cortisol, a hormone that is produced to help us deal with “dangerous” situations and while it serves its function very well when triggered sparsely, it can cause havoc in our body when produced too often (chronic stress). Stress can lead to cravings for foods high in calories and poor in nutrients, facilitating weight gain and the accumulation of fat around the waist, even if we don’t eat more than your usual.
While stressful situations can’t be avoided altogether, it is important to notice that our body doesn’t differentiate if we are stressed for a “good” reason or are just getting worked up in traffic. The body’s response to deal with that stress is the same. Hence the importance to regulate ourselves when we can to keep stress responses at bay. One of the most effective ways to self-regulate is to use our breath, taking long breaths that fills our belly, as many times as necessary until we feel calmer. This instantly works on calming our nervous system and calmness cannot coexist with stress in our body.
3. Prioritise sleep
Although sleeping has been the subject of many discussions recently, it is possibly one of the most undervalued components of good health. We tend to feel that if we sleep more, we won’t have time to do all the things that we have to do the next day but research has shown that productivity falls by 19% amongst workers who sleep between 5 and 6 hours per day compared to those who sleep between 7 and 8 hours2. Sleeping less than 5 hours resulted in a 30% fall in productivity2.
Furthermore, the lack of sleep increases the chances of becoming obese3, decreases immunity, causes premature ageing4, triggers poor food choices and overeating and increases the risk of developing depression5. Between 7 and 9 hours of sleep is recommended for optimal health5.
4. Eat consciously:
Paying attention to our body’s signals to hunger and fullness and honouring these signals promote health and improve body image satisfaction. Creating a calm space for our meals, free from screens and unnecessary distractions helps us feel more attuned to how we feel when we eat, and chew our food properly, thus promoting better digestion, as well as being more sensitive to our body signals of fulness, which are often not noticed when we are multitasking while eating. Where possible, preparing the table with nice-looking dishes, a candle and/or flowers for example, can create a sense of peace and contribute to a peaceful meal and improved digestion.
5. Practice physical activity you enjoy:
You don’t need to go to the gym for a workout, in fact, the famous blue zone centenarians (zones with the highest rates of centenarians on Earth) have probably never been to the gym. Though they were actively working on their land and community, gardening, fixing, running after their children…
Whether you like walking the dog, gardening or brisk walking, choose an activity you enjoy and will practice consistently. It is more beneficial to health to practice shorter bouts of physical activity throughout the week, every week than several long bouts on alternated weeks (inconsistently).
6. Organise your environment:
Being organised not only supports mental health, it also aids healthier food choices. Something as simple as having an organised fridge, with chopped vegetables in see through jars, looking attractive and ready for snacking can play such a big role in helping you make better food choices.
References
1- Scott, K. A., Melhorn, S. J., & Sakai, R. R. (2012). Effects of Chronic Social Stress on Obesity. Current obesity reports, 1(1), 16–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-011-0006-3
2- Grandner M. A. (2018). The Cost of Sleep Lost: Implications for Health, Performance, and the Bottom Line. American journal of health promotion : AJHP, 32(7), 1629–1634. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890117118790621a
3- Cooper, C. B., Neufeld, E. V., Dolezal, B. A., & Martin, J. L. (2018). Sleep deprivation and obesity in adults: a brief narrative review. BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 4(1), e000392. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000392
4- Oyetakin-White, P., Suggs, A., Koo, B., Matsui, M. S., Yarosh, D., Cooper, K. D., & Baron, E. D. (2015). Does poor sleep quality affect skin ageing?. Clinical and experimental dermatology, 40(1), 17–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/ced.12455
5- Watson, N. F., Badr, M. S., Belenky, G., Bliwise, D. L., Buxton, O. M., Buysse, D., Dinges, D. F., Gangwisch, J., Grandner, M. A., Kushida, C., Malhotra, R. K., Martin, J. L., Patel, S. R., Quan, S. F., & Tasali, E. (2015). Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult: A Joint Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Sleep, 38(6), 843–844. https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.4716
