Living better and living well should be a priority in your life, and while most people will respond to that statement positively, the reality is that most don’t do what’s necessary to live well.
There are four cornerstones, or pillars, that make up the foundation to living well and better. Taking together, these pillars make up a holistic approach for wellness and should be seen as essential components for your life.
These four pillars that make up the foundation for a better living are:
• Regular Checkups
• Exercise
• Diet and Nutrition
• Time Outs For Yourself
Regular Health Checkups
Regular health screenings are central to maintaining your overall health and catching any possible underlying health issues before they can grow and become worrisome.
Regular health screenings are the objective of what is termed preventive care, a process of trying to catch and diagnose severe health issues before they can become catastrophic.
Your screenings should look for possible heart attack and stroke risks, degenerative diseases such as diabetes cancers,and should include dental exams.
For routine checkups, most screenings and health checkups won’t require you to be in person unless blood work is needed or a physical exam needs to be performed. However, when you do need to go in for lab work, there are a variety of regulatory agencies and services that you can research for the quality of the lab.
For example, did you know that blood banks are an easy way for you to get your blood screened? And if you’re concerned about the quality and safety of blood banks, check this out about how blood banks are regulated before you donate your blood and plasma.
If you are uncomfortable with in-person screenings, these days you can always request health and dental exams virtually first to determine the status and need of your in-person visit.
Regular Exercise
Exercise provides numerous benefits to the body and overall health. On top of burning off excess calories and making the body perform more efficiently in waste production, exercise offers:
• Appetite Control
• Weight Management
• Strengthens Bones And Muscles
• Improved Cardiovascular And Respiratory Function
• Bolstered Immune System
• Enhanced Moods And Cognitive Function
• Slowing The Effects Of Aging
• Maintain Flexibility
Exercise can be any activity that raises the heart rate and breathing of the person performing the movements. They can include high-impact activities such as running and weight training to low-impact movements like walking, swimming, yoga, or tai chi.
The World Health Organization recommends that anyone over 18 years old engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activities per week.
Diet Right
Nowadays, we eat processed, easy-to-find foods that offer little nutritional value. As a result, there are more fast-food restaurants on city corners than healthy grocery stores. A recent study showed that the ratio of fast-food restaurants to healthy grocery stores was nearly 5:1.
This is such a concern because the prevalence of easy-to-get foods that lack nutritional value is severely impacting overall eating habits and, as such, impacting overall health.
Dieting is a word that’s bandied around but lacks true meaning.
Dieting isn’t cutting food quantity down, though in some cases that is a part of it, instead of dieting is the process of eating nutritionally and avoiding foods that lack any actual nutritional value. In other words, it’s the idea of eating with intention.
Taking Time For Yourself
Resetting yourself is slang for taking time out in the busy hustle-bustle of our modern lives to relax, destress, and reinvigorate yourself.
It’s one of the most overlooked yet critical aspects of wellness.
Too often, people are overwhelmed with demands on their time and energy, which can cause stress in their lives. Stress has some benefits, such as when we exercise, but too much stress can cause long-term health issues from high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, sleep deprivation, and more.
The key then is to learn to value slowing down, taking a “time out” for yourself to relax and rejuvenate. There’s power in saying no and setting boundaries for your health.
Taking time to reset yourself, calm down, lower your blood pressure, and enjoy things around you benefits your moods and physical health.
Finding little habits and hobbies that you enjoy, or even combining those with exercise such as yoga, are great suggestions for relaxing. Even sleeping more is an excellent way to rejuvenate and reinvigorate you with numerous upsides and benefits.
And a relaxed version of you is a happier, healthier version as well.
Living well is built on the four pillars that, taken together, create a whole picture of health. Exercise, regular health screenings, diet nutrition, and taking care of your mental health will make the holistic experience for better living and wellness.
