With health news dominating the headlines for the past year, many of us are on a mission to look after ourselves. If you’re eager to boost health and wellbeing, here are some golden rules to live by.

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-running-2824020/

Embrace a more active lifestyle

More than 60% of US adults don’t do enough exercise, according to the CDC. Inactivity increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, some forms of cancer, heart disease and depression. Being active can help you lower physical health risks and improve your mental wellbeing. Experts recommend 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. This can include everything from dance and yoga classes and cycling and walking to playing team sports, jogging and outdoor pursuits, such as climbing and kayaking. If you’re new to exercise, it’s an excellent idea to start out by setting a daily steps target or aiming to hit a weekly active minutes goal. Once you feel fitter and stronger, you can increase the intensity or clock up more active hours. Try to introduce exercise into your daily routine. Even if you only have time for a brisk stroll at lunchtime or a 30-minute bike ride in the evening after work, you’ll notice a difference. 

Keep up to date with routine health checks

Keeping up to date with routine health checks is one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce the risk of problems and complications. From cancer screening and dental checks provided by experts like those at Bright Choice Dental to blood pressure monitoring and vision and hearing assessments, it’s crucial to respond to invitations and schedule appointments regularly. Routine checks are designed to enable health professionals to identify any changes or abnormalities as early as possible to maximize the chances of successful treatment.

Eat well

We have developed a tendency to talk about diet as a means of losing weight. While changing your diet can aid weight loss, the most important consideration when planning your weekly menu should be nutrition. Your diet provides your body with fuel and it should also ensure that you get all the nutrients you need. Simple changes like swapping white bread and pasta for whole grains, increasing your intake of fruit and vegetables, and cutting down on sugar, salt and saturated fat can help to supercharge nutrition. 

Rest and recovery

Do you ever feel like you’re whizzing around all the time and you never have a moment to just rest and relax? Many of us lead hectic lives and the days seem to blur into each other. If you have a packed schedule, there is a risk of burnout and stress levels may increase. Manage your time, allow enough hours in the day for rest and recovery and try to get into the habit of going to bed at a time that enables you to get the sleep you need. Ideally, adults should sleep for around 7 hours per night. Use your evenings to wind down, avoid triggers that make you feel anxious or stressed before bed and learn to say no. All too often, we feel pressure to work longer hours or accept every invitation, but nobody is capable of being in two places at once. 

Picture via https://pixabay.com/photos/tea-cup-rest-calm-afternoon-381235/

It’s essential to look after yourself and to get into the habit of putting your health and wellbeing first. These simple rules will help you boost your health and happiness.