Approaches to a Healthier New Year
A New Year is the most common time for people to start anew and make resolutions for a better year. Problem is, a lot of people will make those resolutions, but not stick to it and slowly stray off from their original plan. To start the year right, you should check in with some essential aspects of your life, make sure that you have strategies to improve your overall wellbeing; and you should focus on a few important aspects suggested by BodyandSoul.com.au: diet, rest, activity, and happiness.
Diet plays a vital role in a healthy state of body and mind. Avoid the intake of too many refined carbohydrates, preservatives and additives. You should also ensure that you are supplying your body with the correct amount of water. A dehydrated body and central nervous system can affect you both physically and emotionally. Donal Carr of the CHEK facility has provided a formula which suggests your required daily water intake: 0.033 x your body weight in kilograms = number of litres.
Rest also plays an important role in a healthy state of body and mind. Much like rechargeable batteries, we need the “charging” time in order to function well and properly the next day. Regular rest or “quiet time” helps our bodies and minds. Quiet time can be active, passive or total rest. Active is light activities such as yoga, passive requires no movement but the mind is conscious such as meditation, and total rest is sleep. Attempt to do one of these each day for 30 minutes extra.
The third is activity, meaning physical exercise. Only an active body can sustain a healthy mind, and you should try to include at least 30 minutes of physical exercise, including stretching, into your daily schedule. Do not however, start with heavy exercise right away as this could stress your body.
The final strategy is happiness. Unhappiness can lead to an increase in stress levels, and chronic levels of stress can present physically, such as gaining excess fat or showing fatigue and anxiety. It is important to not only have a healthy body, but also a healthy state of mind, and each of these strategies complement each other into becoming a healthier person. So set up a schedule and create a goal for yourself, such as losing a certain amount of weight by the end of the year, and work towards that goal.
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