Everyone wants to be healthier, but not everyone wants to put the hard work in that they think is necessary to improve their quality of life. Fortunately, it actually isn’t all that hard to improve your general health and to make your life much better.
There are many simple tricks that you can easily incorporate into your life to try and reduce your risk of serious disease or illness, many of which are extremely basic. Our favorite choices that will instantly make you a healthier person include:
Choose to exercise daily.
Exercise is the cornerstone and most important thing (along with a decent diet) when it comes to leading a healthy, carefree life. Regular exercise reduces your risk of a wide range of serious diseases, including heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Fortunately for you, regular exercise is not as hard as it may seem. There are many little things which you can do which all count towards the recommended 30 minutes of exercise per day. If you enjoy getting outside and being active then you probably already get plenty of exercise. If not, then you may need to be a little more creative. Start walking to work instead of driving. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. It really doesn’t have to be that hard!
Choose to drink at least two liters of water every day.
Drinking enough water is essential. Water is one of the most important nutrients for human life. Without it, we will die from dehydration within a few days. It is recommended that the average person drinks at least two liters of water per day. However, this number may increase if you work in a physical job or if you live in a hot environment.
Choose to reduce your sugar intake.
Highly processed carbohydrates and white sugars are nothing more than poison. They destroy human health, reducing your mental capacity and leading to tooth decay and toxic fat build-ups around the essential organs. This can lead to a greatly increased risk of potentially fatal diseases including heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
Reducing your sugar intake is as simple as cutting back on the amount of unhealthy snacks that you consume. Substitute them for healthier alternatives like fruit or nuts. Instead of eating highly processed, sugar filled breakfast cereals go for something like baked beans and eggs on toast – your body will thank you later!
Choose not to smoke.
Smoking is terrible for your health and that of those around you. Fortunately, people seem to be smoking less and less in the modern world. However, there are still millions and millions of people who smoke every single day. If you are one of these people then you will probably find that your lung-capacity is reduced, that you lose your breath performing even the simplest physical activity, and that you lack energy and motivation to do things.
While quitting the smokes can be hard, it is worth it. Your lung capacity and cardiovascular health will improve in next to no time. Your risk of serious illness will decrease dramatically from the day that you quit, and you will feel better all round.
Choose to reduce your intake of salty foods.
Salty foods increase your risk of heart disease. Things like chips, processed snacks, and fried fast foods are all high in sodium (the harmful component of salt), and should be avoided if possible. If you manage to eliminate extremely salty foods from your diet then you should find your mental and physical health improving dramatically.
Choose to avoid activities which will harm your body.
There are certain activities which you may participate in from time to time which are extremely harmful to your physical and mental health. One of the most common in modern society is binge drinking. Drinking until you pass out is unfortunately a relatively frequent occurrence, especially among younger people.
However, consuming this much alcohol – which is essentially a toxin – will have huge negative effects on your body. These effects will range from making you feel depressed and negative towards life to sapping you of energy and leaving you with a killer hangover for anything up to two or three days. Is it really worth it?
Choose to get enough sleep.
Sleep is very important. It is the time during which your body is able to repair, revitalize, and regenerate itself. However, many people don’t get anywhere near enough sleep. They tend to stay out late at night, but have to get up early in the morning for work. This is terrible for your body. Focus on getting enough good quality sleep – you will find that it makes a world of difference to your health!
Choose to educate yourself about your health.
Understanding your body and how it works is one of the keys to living a healthier life. When you know what makes you healthy and what makes you feel terrible it suddenly becomes much easier to do the right thing more often.
Choose to visit a doctor for a check-up.
If you haven’t had a check-up recently then it could be time to visit your doctor. They will be able to tell you if you are at risk of any sort of serious illness or disease, and will be able to recommend lifestyle changes to make sure that you stay in peak health.
Choose to spend time outside every day.
Spending time outside helps to maintain your physical and mental health, especially when the weather is good. Sitting in the sun for a few hours will make sure that you have enough Vitamin D in your body – an essential nutrient which is synthesized in sunlight.
Choose to eat a healthy breakfast.
A healthy breakfast will kickstart your day and will make sure that you are in a position to get the most out of your life. Healthy breakfasts will make sure that you are getting the nutrients that you need for proper body function, and will help you maintain your physical and mental health.
So you can see here how a healthy lifestyle is pretty easy to get into and not at all difficult to maintain. All you need to do is focus on the things that are easiest to accomplish like setting an alarm to go off just before bedtime signalling you to wind down on activities or parking your car a bit further away from office. Once you begin to do this, you’ll find that other fitness endeavors automatically fall into place.