I am not an expert when it comes to advice on how to have a healthy lifestyle, but paying attention to a couple of things along the way has helped to make my life better and spread awareness to people who are keen on developing themselves in this area. Nowadays, we live in a fast-paced world and it can be easy to neglect the very basic. Some folks don’t get enough sleep, others have a poor diet, many lack exercises in their daily routine. Some might not focus on their internal mindset or condition. Furthermore, a great number of souls don’t have anyone to connect with emotionally. It’s just the way it is in the todays society.
1. Sleep
We’ve got to get the basics right by getting enough sleep to feel refreshed and energised. Generally, people sleep for different amounts of time but ideally humans need about 7-8 hours of sleep. Well, now we have the duration of sleep covered, but how about what time to go bed and get up? It’s simple! The answer to that is go to bed and wake up at the same time daily. Make it a part of your schedule and you’ll be ready to take on the next element in the wellbeing bandwagon.
2. Good diet
Ha! This is a very important aspect I see myself and a lot of us neglect. Many of us work long hours and travel good distances to work. Our job takes most of our time, hence after work we are exhausted and can’t be bothered to cook. For food, we rely on buying fast food rather than making food at home. Because of this we aren’t getting enough nutrition from the food we buy. A good balanced nutritional value in our food is vital for the production and proper balance of hormones, such as happy chemicals like serotonin, dopamine and endorphins. I know that sense of doubt in our head that whispers “But, I don’t have enough time to cook for a well-balanced diet”. But I’m not expecting anyone to cook to MasterChef standards, there is always a workaround to save time on food preparation by cooking food for 2-3 days and keeping it in containers in the fridge. This way, you would only have to spend time twice a week cooking. In the end, it all depends on how you want to cook – having a good diet is the main thing to think about.
3. Exercise
Whenever we hear the word exercise, some people might just run a mile away. However, it turns out that exercise is really important because our bodies are secretly craving for this medicine. Exercise can be anything. Minimally, it could be something like a brisk walk for 30 minutes a day, going to the gym, doing your favourite sport, doing yoga, a few push-ups, pullups, squats, sit-ups etc. One isn’t required to be a top athlete to do any of the above. Just the will to move your body will do and it can be anything you love to do. After moderate exercise, our body produces endorphins which are happy chemicals that make us feel better. Exercise should definitely be in our priority list to attain our path of a better wellbeing.
4. Mindset
This is something that’s regularly ignored. Due to stress and insecurities, people forget to pay attention to the condition of our mindset. If we have a poor mindset it becomes difficult to face the daily challenges in life. There are ways to get through this by practicing a few methods that can help to develop a healthy mindset.
Meditation
Our minds are constantly thinking about events or things that have happened in the past or are going to occur in the future. Thinking about the future causes anxiety and staying in past could result in depression. Our minds are constantly attached onto the thoughts of past and future, so we forget to be right in front of the present moment. In my journey, the practice of meditation has guided me to be in the present moment. It’s really easy! All you have to do is close your eyes for 20-30 minutes without nodding off to sleep. After the session, the blissful state of mind is just amazing. Current research is proving it to be genuinely positive for humans.
Accepting yourself completely and knowing thyself in terms of strengths and weaknesses
As the founder of philosophical Taoism – Lao Tzu stated “He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened”. This says a lot about an individual, as truly accepting your own weaknesses, insecurities and doubts could lead you to a mindset of acceptance of who you are. On the other hand, recognising your core strengths will back you up in the toughest trenches of life.
5. Social interaction
Human beings are social creatures and we need to socialise. Talking about ourselves with our close friends or relatives’ releases dopamine. Which makes you feel good. Not letting it out creates frustration inside. Nowadays, we have hundreds of friends and followers on social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, yet we have few real friends in our real-life circle. “According to a study done by Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist from University of Oxford, shows the average person can only manage five close relationships at a time”, so keep them close and tight. Nurture those social interactions with your close friends, families and relatives.
Thanks for reading,
Freddy
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