We have all promised ourselves that we will lead healthier lifestyles at some point or another. It often starts off strong, making healthier choices and leading a more conscious lifestyle. However, life tends to get in the way, and we slowly find ourselves back where we started. While we are not necessarily unhealthy, we are not completely healthy either.
To determine whether you are leading a healthy lifestyle, researchers have identified four key factors that will impact your overall health:
- Are you a smoker?
- Can you maintain a healthy body weight? Are you losing weight to achieve a healthy body weight?
- Do you consume five fruits and vegetables a day?
- Do you exercise more than five days a week for at least 30 minutes?
The Archives of Internal Medicine used these factors in a recent study and found that only 3% of adults in America achieved a perfect score, 13.8% got three out of four and 4.2 only met two of the factors.
What Do These Factors Mean To You?
A lot of the factors on the list are things that we have been taught from a young age. We know that smoking is bad for us, we know we should be exercising and following a healthy diet and we need to be conscious of our weight. Even with all of this being common knowledge, we still find ourselves lacking in one or more of these areas. To help you on your quest for a healthier lifestyle, we have a few simple tips to get you started.
4 Tips For Healthier Habits
- Sleep is important: People who get a good night’s rest are better equipped to work with stress and have been found to have more control of the appetites.
- Eat regularly: Following a regular eating schedule can create healthy habits and are the best way to start leading a healthy lifestyle.
- Find ways to keep yourself grounded: Find ways to lighten the mood and laugh a little – stop focusing on all the serious things all the time. Another way to stay grounded is to practice mindfulness. Meditating is a great way to slow things down and focus on what is truly important. Yoga also ties into this, and not only promotes mindfulness but helps to promote strength and flexibility as well.
- Track your activity: invest in a pedometer or fitness tracker to show you how active you are in a day. Challenge yourself to achieve specific daily movement goals and look at increasing the intensity as you go along.
It All Starts With You
Your attitude and mindset will set the tone for your health and wellness journey. Be positive, reach out to loved ones for support, and push yourself to achieve more, even when you do something like play for real money. You control your life; you control your destiny. Isn’t it time that you made a change?