Practice These Simple Daily Goals for Optimum Whole Body Health By Jennifer McGregor

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Practice These Simple Daily Goals for Optimum Whole Body Health

You may have started working out to lose weight, gain energy, or improve your overall health. Those are all excellent reasons to exercise, but one more reason is for the mental health boost you get from fitness. Now that you’ve taken that first step toward better health, you can do even more to keep your whole body and mind healthy with simple daily goals that complement what you’re already doing.

Be Food Savvy Being savvy about how we eat isn’t always about weight loss. Nutritious foods fuel your body for ultimate health and energy. The good news is that even small choices that you make daily can lead to a healthier approach to eating. One simple idea from Self is to plate your meals backwards. Instead of starting with carbs, adding protein, and choosing vegetables last, reverse that order. Give veggies the most room on your plate, then add in lean protein and a complex carbohydrate last.

Another thing to keep in mind is that food choices do more than impact our physical health. Eating certain nutrients, especially omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins and vitamin D, promote good mental health and can even help combat depression. At the same time, foods that are high in sugar and saturated fat are associated with negative effects on your mood. This is yet another reason to start making simple swaps, like choosing salmon over a burger, to care for your overall wellness.

Rid Your Home of Allergens and Toxins Our bodies are impacted by everything in our environment. This means we have to do more than just exercise and eat right to make sure we’re maintaining optimal health. While you may immediately think about pollution produced outdoors, cleaning up your indoor air is vital too. One easy way to do this is to change your home’s air filters regularly to remove smoke, pollen, dust, dander, and mold, all of which can cause respiratory problems. We recommend a MERV 13 filter because it traps 98 percent of airborne particles. If you live in an allergy capital, consider also adding an air purifier and changing your clothes as soon as you get home during the spring season.

You can also make simple changes throughout your home to promote better air quality. Many people are now more conscientious about how cleaning products and chemicals like VOCs (often found in house paint) are detrimental to your health. Thankfully, natural cleaners are readily available, so it’s easy to swap out traditional products for formulas that don’t pollute your home’s air. If there’s just not enough time during the week to clean, you can hire a cleaning service for the job. Maid services in St. Joseph charge an average of $118 per cleaning; make sure to insist that they use eco-friendly cleaning products.

Try CBD for Your Symptoms

With all the potential side effects that come with prescription medications, many people have turned to natural medicine to treat their health problems. One example is cannabidiol (CBD), which is derived from the cannabis plant. A growing number of research demonstrates that CBD can be used to help treat a variety of physical and mental health issues, including seizures, anxiety, pain, and acne.

Don’t Skimp on Sleep

You may not think of sleep as a wellness strategy, but getting enough rest is actually one of your body’s most basic needs. Sleep is necessary to lower inflammation, keep your immune system strong, and maintain a healthy metabolism.

Start by making adequate sleep a high priority. Even when we commit to getting to bed earlier, stress still keeps many of us tossing and turning at night. When this happens, try adding a few simple tricks to your bedtime routine to calm your mind. The National Sleep Foundation recommends taking a few minutes to have a cup of chamomile tea (organic tea can be purchased on Amazon for around $5) or take a warm shower or bath to relax before bed.

Practice Mental Fitness Caring for your physical health is good for your mental health too, but you should also devote some time specifically to caring for your emotional well-being. Pick one activity to do each day that is dedicated to mental fitness - take a social media break, read a book, watch TV, or go outside for some fresh air. Whatever you do doesn’t have to be time-consuming. It just needs to be something you do for you!

This self-care time is just as important to your health as diet, exercise, and everything else you do daily. The key is to start with simple daily goals that are easy to accomplish. This is how you make big improvements to your overall health one small step at a time.

Author: Jennifer McGregor

mcgregor_jennifer@publichealthlibrary.org

PublicHealthLibrary.org

Photo credit: Pixabay