Your body and mind must be consistently in harmony and firing on all cylinders to optimize your vitality and energy throughout your life. A multifaceted, balanced approach to wellness is necessary to achieve this. Here’s a look at a few key components of a holistic approach to your overall wellness.
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Get Enough Sleep Regularly
There is a direct relationship between better sleep and your overall health. Getting a good night’s rest (7-9 hours) allows your body to repair at a cellular level, paving the way for a productive day ahead. It also helps boost your mental health and concentration levels.
Some effective strategies to improve your sleep quality include:
- Have a consistent sleep-wake schedule
- Avoid caffeinated beverages and alcohol in the evening
- Get professional help if you have sleep-related conditions such as snoring or apnea, or psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, or chronic stress
- Avoid extended afternoon naps
- Optimize your sleeping environment: no technology near the bed, cool temperature, blackout blinds or curtain, good quality bed
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Meditate
Meditation is a practice that helps optimize your mental and physical health. With about 15 minutes of daily practice, you can achieve significant calmness and clarity of mind. Meditation offers plenty of health benefits, including:
- Reduces negative feelings
- Boosts self-awareness, creativity, and imagination
- Reduces resting heart rate and respiration rate; helpful in achieving good deep and REM sleep
It can also help with the management of health conditions such as:
- anxiety, stress, or depression
- Chronic pain
- Sleep disorders
Yoga is a popular and therapeutic way to include meditation in your day. The practice encourages breathing exercises as you concentrate on the present moment. It helps calm your mind and improve your body’s flexibility.
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Eat Healthy
Eating healthy involves more than simply selecting a balanced diet every day. To get the maximum metabolic benefits of an optimal eating strategy, you must consider the caloric quantity and nutritional value of each meal. Equally important, you should get the timing right, which is achievable through intuitive eating, staying hydrated, and finding a balance of protein, fats, and carbohydrates.
When you’re eating intuitively, you only have a meal when hungry because your body calls for it. This way, you replenish your body with just enough nutrients and calories to sustain your health and energy. It is the opposite of stress or boredom eating, which can lead to unhealthy weight gain and a host of psychological disorders.
(call to action here? “if you need help navigating the confusing world of eating healthy, contact us and we will guide you to YOUR optimal eating strategy”. ??)
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Exercise Regularly
According to research, you need 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity workouts a week to get significant health outcomes. Potential benefits include:
- Reduce your risk of heart-related complications, diabetes, and stroke
- Improve your sleep quality
- Burn excess calories, preventing weight gain
- Gain lean muscle mass which has innumerable health benefits
- Reduce stress and chronic body pains
Therapeutic forms of exercise include:
- Lean muscle workouts: to replenish lost muscle mass, strengthen your bones, and maintain your vitality when you’re older. A mix of exercises like weight lifting, push-ups, squats, or planks can help you build strength, minimize the risk of physical injury, and achieve longevity.
- Cardio workouts: These exercises make your heart more efficient, optimizing the delivery of oxygen and nutrients throughout your body. Some options include jogging, swimming, water aerobics, and cycling.
- (again, call to action here? Help peep create the right exercise regimen? Customized to their lifestyle and goals. ??)
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Adopt Quality Social Interactions
One study showed that lonely people have a 50% higher risk of premature death than individuals with meaningful social relationships. Increased longevity comes from the happiness and better mental/physical health associated with stronger social connections. (maybe make reference to Blue Zones where life expectancy is much greater than the average to a large degree because of community and human connections they have)
Some useful positive interactions in the social scene include:
- Friends and family ties
- Local community engagements
- Social support networks
Are you ready to explore practical strategies to live better and optimize your vitality? If so, contact our experts at Genesis Performance today. We will help you adopt customizable holistic fitness and health plans in your daily life.
