Three keys to a healthy lifetsyle

The pandemic due to coronavirus has led the world into a hassle, letting majority of the people undergo constant stress and pressure directly leading it to an unhealthy lifestyle but it also stroked the minds of many people to be more conscious of their health.

A healthy lifestyle is not only about maintaining a healthy balanced diet or exercising regularly. We've all come across the old phrase " Health is Wealth", and to live a healthy lifestyle one must focus on their mental, social, physical, and spiritual health. 

Here are some simple ways to cultivate a healthy lifestyle.

1. Physical health is the overall physical condition that includes exercising regularly, a balanced diet, proper sleep, and a level of consumption of alcohol and tobaccos. 

Exercising

There's a shred of strong scientific evidence that being physically active will lead you to a healthy, long, and happier life. Regular exercise is very important as it keeps one fit and healthy, thereby reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and some cancers.

Aerobic activities like brisk walking, jogging, swimming, and biking increase your breathing and heart rate and keeps your lungs, heart, and circulatory system healthy, and improves your overall fitness.

  'Healthy sleeping habits

1. Go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time.
2. Exercise 2 hours before going to bed.
3. A small snack just before bedtime tends to promote sleep.
4. Limit caffeine intake to less than two servings per day, and don’t drink after noon. 
5. Aim to nap only for 10-20 mins before 3pm. 

Healthy eating habits

Eating well does not have to be complicated. Try the rainbow diet!

Rainbow food is the intake of foods of different color families which helps build strong immunity with colors. Color coding of fruits is due to photochemical that help fight against free radicals in the body.

RED color in fruits is given by Lycopene which is known for its properties to fight heart diseases, certain types of cancers, and sunburns. 

Yellows are boosters. Be it your mood, skin, eyes, bone, and hair health. This is done by the presence of Vitamin C and collagen, which have anti-aging properties.

Green's are very important for our diet containing some of the most essential nutrients like Calcium, Potassium, Iron, Magnesium, Vitamins B, C, K, and E along with minerals all packed into one.

Greens are a natural deodorizer. Bad breathe? Have some greens!

Blue - Purple-colored foods/fruits have resveratrol which has anti-aging and disease-fighting properties. They also help boost the immunity and potency of other antioxidants that are naturally present in our body

Orange. One should have lots of orange colored-food. They help improve eyesight and overall immunity. Orange foods contain Vitamin A that acts as an antioxidant and we all know that vitamin A is the best for good eyesight. 

2. Mental Health

When we are mentally healthy, we enjoy our life and environment and the people in it. It helps one cope better with difficult times. Nurturing our mental health will help us combat or prevent mental health problems.

"Rock bottom will teach you lessons that mountain tops never will".

No matter how much we long for a stress-free existence, stress is actually necessary. It's how we respond to stress that negatively affects our lives.

WAYS TO RELAX & CALM OUR MIND 

Yoga: It is a moving meditation that helps reduce stress. 

Go outside: eat outside, sit on the balcony or go for a walk.

Music: Put on soft music to relax your body & is soothing.

Sleep: Get enough sleep. It helps you to be stress-free and have healthy skin as well. 

Take a break: A change of scene or pace is good for your mental health.

Enjoy yourself: Doing what you love helps you connect with your creative self.

Talk about it: Sharing your problems with a friend will help you to be more optimistic.

Stay hydrated: Staying hydrated reduces the risk of anxiety and depression and gives glowing skin too.

3. Social Health

We're all UNIQUE and it's healthier to accept yourself for who you are. Feeling good about yourself will boost your confidence to learn new skills, visit new places and make new friends. Good self-esteem helps you cope when life takes a difficult turn.

Social health is important for your quality of life. It is based on our ability to maintain and form strong, meaningful relationships with others. Strong relationships are linked to lower rates of anxiety and depression, higher self-esteem, a stronger immune system, and greater longevity. On the flip side, loneliness can have a greater impact on health than obesity and smoking.

What social anxiety can look like?

- Making excuses to skip meetings.

- Avoiding asking people for help.

- Being extremely aware of how you behave.

- feeling extreme stress and fear in social situations.

- avoiding spaces where you can't easily hide.

- reliving social expressions you feel ashamed about.

WAYS TO IMPROVE SOCIAL HEALTH

1. Surround yourself with good people. Good people tend to give off positive vibes and thereby giving you a positive influence o your overall well-being.

2. Practise self-care every day by eating fruit or rewarding yourself after a job well done and taking time to recharge. Me-time can help one have healthy relationships with others as well. 

3. Develop good communication skills like maintaining eye contact when talking to an individual and practice proper body language.

4. Be a good listener! Don't respond right away, but take some time to develop a thoughtful response.

5. Being active with people in your community can have a positive impact on your health and create ample opportunities to connect.

6. Show appreciation in verbal and non-verbal ways.

7. Don't compete. Be happy and supportive of your friend.

In this era of non-face-to-face digital social networking, people are getting more isolated than ever. The health risks of isolation have been proven to be comparable to those of smoking cigarettes, high blood pressure, and obesity.

Connect with your family and friends more often!