Staying healthy is a good idea, that’s a no-brainer. However, the world we live in today doesn’t make it easier for us to make it happen. There are various hazards that silently destroy our well-being, preventing us from feeling more mentally alert and energetic. We need to break our bad habits and learn how to make right choices regarding our lifestyle. To make these necessary changes, one needs a lot of persistence and willpower to persevere and reach the ultimate goal.
Nutrition
Packaged foods such as fruit juice, cereal, condiments, yogurt, and other similar products contain scads of salt and sugar, which are linked to cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. The amount of caloric sweeteners that people consume has greatly risen in the last 50 years, and a great amount of sodium intake comes from unhealthy, processed foods. In addition, nutrient depletion was a consequence of farmers trying to achieve greater yields. Thus, we may not be getting as many nutrients as our grandparents did from the same foods. Also, foods contain different contaminants and toxins due to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
What to do?
– Limit your sodium intake to 1,500 mg per day, while with sugar you should stick to no more than 200 calories per day. Read the labels for ingredient information to see how high sodium levels are or how much sugar a canned product contains.
– Cutting back on salt and sugar means changing your style of eating, and it will take about 6-8 weeks to adjust to it. It will be difficult for the first one or two weeks, but the cravings will disappear once you get the sugar or salt out of your system.
– Find out where your food comes from and how it is grown. Add some multivitamins to your diet to complement your natural stocks of minerals. Also, eat your foods raw whenever you can, because natural enzymes are not preserved in foods heated above 115 degrees. Go organic whenever you can, and purify water in order to filter out the problematic content (such as heavy metals).
Work Life
There are various drawbacks of the “office worker” lifestyle. These jobs require no physical activity, requiring people to sit for 9 hours per day (on average). This kind of sedentary lifestyle can have different health consequences, increasing risks of various illnesses – diabetes, cancer, joint pain, chronic eyestrains and migraines. Job stress is also on the rise due to high unemployment rates and bad work relationships, which raises cortisol levels in your blood.
What to do?
– Walk, because it can do a lot for you. It’s an opportunity to dedicate some time to yourself, so it’s a kind of urban meditation.
– Staring at the screen all day causes mood swings and pain, because the liver channel pathway ends in the eyes. Find a way to take a break once every 2 hours, shut your eyes and breathe. Work your way to keep them closed and rest for 10-15 minutes.
– Any kind of physical activity matters and adds up to your overall well-being. Simple things like walking around while on the phone, taking the stairs, or just parking your car a bit farther than usual would do.
– Sleep is affected by chronic stress. When your sleep cycle gets broken, it can make you more irritable. Have regular bed and wake times to balance your body’s circadian rhythm. Consider getting a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine, which can help with your sleep apnea.
Tech Overload
Technology is a double-edged sword. You can answer emails, shop for almost anything, and communicate with people from almost any place on Earth. However, this kind of multitasking contributes to shortened attention span, hinders your productivity, and makes you feel less creative and more stressed. Your senses also become weaker when you’re glued to the screen. Fatigue, sleep loss, depression, and sense of loneliness are all outcomes of excessive Smartphone use, especially social media.
What to do?
– You have to tune out, because it seems that we never do. Turn off all electric devices – phone, TV, and computer – and have a meal with your friends and family with no distractions, phone beeps, and notifications. Don’t talk about work while having lunch with your colleagues. Also, moderate physical exercise can do you good.
– Drink more water. Your performance at tasks that require immediate memory skills and attention can be impaired even by mild dehydration. Take a sip of water often or choose a good herbal tea.
The key thing to living healthy in an unhealthy world is slowing down. We forget to commit to ourselves and take some time for remembering what’s important. Modern lifestyle drains our life energy, while we remain unaware of it.
