Lifestyle
Our health and well-being significantly depend on how we live daily, often shaped by our habits and choices. We live healthier and happier with careful choices and healthy habits. Negligence and bad habits do the opposite. Even when we know this simple equation, we neglect our mental, physical, and emotional health and well-being.
But sometimes, we need a moment to understand how our way of living shapes or affects our health and well-being. While you might deem insurance sufficient to prepare for medical emergencies, the reality can differ. Health insurance might prove beneficial in times of accidents, but warding off chronic illnesses requires lifestyle changes. Still, various cities across the US see a substantial chunk of the population having health insurance. Take the example of Cullman, Alabama, with only 13.4% of the population without health insurance, the rest having full or basic health insurance coverage. While health insurance is crucial, so is making changes to one’s way of living.
So, what you will explore below is not something novel. It’s a reminder to pause and reevaluate your lifestyle. While health experts reemphasize several health and lifestyle tips, some remain crucial to know about at every stage of life.
For this purpose, we’ll discuss essential health and lifestyle tips everyone should know about regardless of their health status and age:
Keep A First Aid Kit for Emergencies
Since health and well-being issues can emerge out of the blue, timely treatment is necessary to prevent them from progressing and worsening. It’s better to consult a healthcare specialist whenever you fall sick or encounter any health issue. But a first aid kit can be lifesaving in many situations. You can treat minor injuries and health issues, such as headaches, colds, stomachaches, diarrhea, sprain, skin burns, cuts, or bruises.
In this regard, pharmacists can help you prepare a more advanced first aid kit to manage emergencies or chronic health issues. So, look for reliable and trustworthy pharmacists in your city. If you’re searching for a pharmacy in Cullman AL, Village Discount Drugs should be your go-to option. They offer services ranging from immunizations, diabetes care, Medicare reviews, medication therapy management, and whatnot.
Maintain A Good Night’s Sleep
We often compromise sleep for non-essential and less urgent activities. But sleep is a non-tradeable activity. It is essential for our sustenance, health, well-being, and longevity. Without sleep, our mind and body cannot function well. Even minor sleep deprivation can jeopardize our health in several ways, including weaker immunity, cognitive impairment, irregular heartbeat, constipation, and loss of appetite.
In the long run, sleep deprivation can increase the risk for hormonal fluctuations, irregular menstrual cycles, diabetes, weight gain, depression, hypertension, stroke, kidney disease, cardiovascular diseases, and multiple cancers. And with compromised immunity, the body takes longer to heal, and we are susceptible to infections and several cancers.
Monitor Weight
Being overweight or underweight is a health risk. Obesity makes you prone to hypertension, heart diseases, type-2 diabetes, gallstones, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties, stroke, mental disorders, and several types of cancer. Underweight can cause nutritional deficiency, weakened immunity, bone and muscle mass loss, osteoporosis, irregular periods, and reproductive health issues. So, maintain a healthy weight.
You can maintain a healthy weight per the Body Mass Index (BMI) guidelines. Experts recommend a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is a healthy range for adults. And if your BMI is over or under this range, you are obese or underweight. BMI is an appropriate tool to monitor and maintain a healthy weight. But it is a rough estimate of body fatness concerning height. Blood tests can give an accurate measure of cholesterol levels.
Reduce Sitting Time
An inactive or idle lifestyle is a leading risk factor for numerous health issues. Prolonged sitting slows the metabolism and affects our blood glucose level, blood pressure, and cholesterol. These changes can further increase our risk for diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, cancer, dementia, depression, and other health complications. Lack of physical activity also weakens muscles and bones and increases the risk of aging and osteoporosis.
Prolonged sitting in a specific position or with inappropriate postures puts more pressure on the spine and intervertebral spaces. It can cause short-term and long-term complications, including neck, shoulder, and back pain and deformities in the skeletal frame. In short, sitting is riskier than its comforting impact. So, sit less and move more. Take walking breaks after every thirty minutes of prolonged stationary work.
Eat Fresh Veggies and Fruits
Veggies and fruits are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Lentils, grains, seeds, and other plant-based foods are rich in protein and fatty acids. And these nutrients are essential requirements for the body to function. For instance, minerals and vitamins boost the immune system and healing, strengthen bones and muscles, and regulate hormones. Fiber augments the metabolic and digestive system functions. Protein is an energy source and building block of our body. It helps build or make muscles, bones, enzymes, and hormones and restore wear and tear.
Likewise, fatty acids are energy sources. But they also perform other crucial functions in the body. They help make hormones that regulate inflammation, blood clotting, and muscles in arteries. And for these reasons, fatty acids help reduce risks of heart disease, sudden cardiac death, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and other conditions. So, eat more veggies and fruits to get these nutrients daily.
Reduce Processed Food Intake
Since our lives are packed with day-to-day chores, we prefer convenience wherever possible. For instance, doing groceries and choosing and cooking recipes are time-consuming and challenging for many. As such, processed or pre-cooked foods are a convenient alternative. We can satiate our hunger and satisfy our taste buds with a diverse palatable range. Name a food, and you have it in the market. But processed foods pose many health risks due to excessive use of fats, sugar, salt, spices, and additives, with little nutritional value and higher caloric count.
And regular intake of these foods can increase risks for malnutrition, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, etc. Hence, use fresh produce and cook your food. Or make healthy choices when you are in a hurry.
Conclusion
Nothing poses more harm to our health and well-being than our negligence and ignorance. So, you’re your health a priority. Observe and understand your mental, physical, and emotional health cues, and take preemptive measures to remedy issues timely. Take time to reflect on your lifestyle and habits. Withdraw from unhealthy habits and develop healthy habits to heal and feel good about yourself.
