Take These 10 Easy Steps to Prioritize Health Living
A healthy lifestyle can increase your lifespan, boost your self-confidence, help you perform better at work, and make you feel better about your relationships. As someone living in a fast-paced urban area, you might find yourself using excuses like:
you don't have time
you aren't sure what to do
changes take too much effort
it's too hard to do it on your own
Taking a more serious approach to your health can help you make the changes that you need without those excuses getting in your way. Integrative health is a type of holistic healing that that takes account of the whole person- mind, body and spirit.
Taking the following integrative health steps will help you prioritize your health and live a more productive life:
Get More Sleep
Though you may find it impossible to get a full eight hours or more of sleep every night, you should aim to get at least six. The more sleep you get, the more time you give your brain to reset itself. Sleep also helps your body shut down and recover from the stresses you experience throughout the day and any minor injuries you sustained.
See an Integrative Doctor
Booking an appointment with an integrative physician who specializes in integrative functional health is one of the best ways to kick start your new healthy lifestyle. The integrative doctor will examine the impact your lifestyle is having on your health and can suggest a treatment plan to help make healthy living a priority.
Get Out of the House
Far too many people suffer from poor health because they spend too much time at home. Though you may feel tempted to spend the weekends at home after a long work week, you should still make attempts to get out and about, even if you just take a trip to the store or visit the park. The fresh air and sunshine can help you relax and improve your mood, which will help improve your health.
Cut Back on Bad Relationships
If you have a negative or bad relationship with someone in your life, it's nearly impossible to improve your health. You may not realize that the emotions you feel over that relationship can lead to physical symptoms. Those recovering from abusive relationships often suffer from anxiety and depression. Even if you just have someone in your life who you fight with regularly or worry about, you need to cut back on the time you spend with that person and focus more on yourself.
Become a Home Cook
Whether you live on your own or have a family, you might spend more time at restaurants and in the fast food drive-thru than you do cooking at home. No matter how little time you think you have, you can still become a home cook and gain control over what you put into your body. If you work 40 hours or more during the week, you can use your days off to prepare meals in advance. Another ideas is to use a slow cooker, which lets you throw together ingredients in the morning and have a delicious dinner cooked and ready that night.
Take Supplements
Regardless of the types of food that you eat, you may not get all the daily recommended vitamins and minerals that your body needs. A multivitamin that contains all those vitamins and minerals will improve your health. An integrative doctor can also suggest supplements that will help you sleep better at night, handle stressful situations in the workplace, and get the energy needed during a long day.
Get Some Exercise
Working out for 30 minutes at a time just three days a week will be an immediate boost to your health. Aim for workouts that involve more cardio to burn more calories. If time is an issue, you can skip the gym and invest in one of the latest apps that show you how to do exercises at home. Some apps will even pair you with a personal trainer for a low monthly fee. Find other opportunities to exercise, too, like doing stretches between commercials while watching your favorite show and parking your car further away in the lot when shopping or heading into work.
Spend Time with Loved Ones
Spending more time with loved ones is another healthy living tip that you can incorporate into your lifestyle. One of the reasons why you feel so refreshed and energetic when heading back to work after a weekend away is because you had the chance to rest and catch up with those you love. You can spend time with those loved ones in the middle of the week, too. Have a girls' or guys' night out and eat dinner together on a Wednesday night, surprise your kids with a family trip to the playground on a Tuesday afternoon or just sit down and eat a meal together with some family and friends.
Take a Vacation
Taking a vacation gives you the chance to recharge your internal battery and take a big step back from the stress and negative encounters that you have throughout the week. While you might think that you don't have the time or money to travel, there are always affordable ways to get away from it all. You can rent a cabin in a state park, plan a camping trip with friends or spend a few days in a bed and breakfast one town over with your significant other. For more affordable options, simply spending the day in a local park or taking a warm bath will help you relax and recharge.
Eat Fresh Ingredients
The problem with eating out is that you do not know what is in your food. Even a salad that looks healthy can contain hundreds of calories in the dressing alone. Eating fresh ingredients lets you cut down on calories and eat foods rich in the vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Look for farmers' markets in your area. These markets often feature fresh produce grown on local farms, but you may find stands selling snacks and full meals that are healthy for you too.
Book An Appointment with an Integrative medicine Physician
Some people think it's impossible to put their own needs first. You might feel like your family and work comes first in your life and that you come in last place. Making an appointment with an integrative physician is just one way to prioritize your health needs. That appointment with an integrative doctor serves as a constant reminder that you need to deal with your body and needs first. You can use any of these 10 healthy living to prioritize and improve your health too.
AUTHOR
Dr. Payal Bhandari M.D. is one of U.S.'s top leading integrative functional medical physicians and the founder of SF Advanced Health. She combines the best in Eastern and Western Medicine to understand the root causes of diseases and provide patients with personalized treatment plans that quickly deliver effective results. Dr. Bhandari specializes in cell function to understand how the whole body works. Dr. Bhandari received her Bachelor of Arts degree in biology in 1997 and Doctor of Medicine degree in 2001 from West Virginia University. She the completed her Family Medicine residency in 2004 from the University of Massachusetts and joined a family medicine practice in 2005 which was eventually nationally recognized as San Francisco’s 1st patient-centered medical home. To learn more, go to www.sfadvancedhealth.com.