Staying healthy can seem to be a very complicated feat when you look at all the supposed health products.
In reality, keeping your mind and body healthy is very simple. If you can consistently practice five daily habits, you will be successful.
What are these habits, you ask?
Keep reading to learn more.
1. Eat Fuel, Not Sludge
It is essential that you start looking at food in the right light.
Many people consider food a recreation. Although you should always enjoy your food, you need to keep food in its rightful place.
You should eat to give your mind and body fuel to function at their best. This involves making wise decisions about what quality of food you eat and when.
Avoid eating for emotional purposes. Many of us have the bad habit of using food for comfort; if that sounds like you, work on getting this habit under control.
Realistically, you can’t expect to be entirely successful in this regard but do your best. One of the main reasons why emotional eating is so bad is that the type of food we reach for when seeking comfort is anything but healthy.
Next, you need to cut out junk food. Processed junk food is like sludge to your mind and body, slowing it down.
To give your body and mind the most energy, you should try to eat the brightest and deepest colored fruits and veggies. The more color in your produce means the more antioxidants they contain.
This article helps you correlate which colors provide which antioxidants.
Along with your rainbow-colored plants, your diet should include healthy fats, a high amount of lean protein, and complex carbs.
Don’t forget to hydrate! A dehydrated body and mind will suffer in many ways.
2. Circuit Exercises
There are so many different ways to exercise, and they are all good, so long as they aren’t extreme or dangerous. Yet, one type of exercise helps to keep both your body and mind engaged, giving them both a workout.
We are talking about circuit exercises, specifically.
Try circuits that use bodyweight exercises switching from upper to lower body or from left to right in a pattern. This setup forces you to keep your mind involved to remember which exercise to do when.
Circuit exercises combine two or more moves in succession. You can create an unlimited amount of workouts by using this technique, so you never get bored.
What if bodyweight exercises aren’t currently accessible due to physical limitations?
You can walk while practicing breathing meditation as an alternative.
3. Restorative Sleep
Everyone sleeps, but good sleep seems to be harder to achieve. There are several stages to the sleep process. When you reach deep sleep, that is when your body and mind heal from the day.
Sometimes you can go all night with very little restorative sleep, and then you wake up still feeling tired. There are steps that you can take to try to improve the quality of your sleep.
Follow these tips from the Sleep Foundation to get your best sleep each night.
4. Make Time for Play
We always have responsibilities to handle, but all work and no play make for an unhealthy body and mind.
Between work hours, household chores, and family responsibilities, sneak in time for creativity. This scheduled time might look different for everyone.
Einstein says that creativity is just intelligence having fun, so don’t consider it a waste of time. Creative play helps to keep your mind fresh.
Make time for fun a priority.
What do you genuinely enjoy? What hobby gives you the most satisfaction?
Try new things. Meet new people. Get out of your comfort zone.
Your responsibilities won’t go away, but when you come back to them, you’ll be more efficient in caring for them. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, you’ll find joy and balance in your life.
Along with fun, you should make time for relaxation. Prolonged exposure to excessive stress is hazardous to your health. Don’t wait for stress to cause you to get sick. Focus on periodic moments of relaxation.
5. Keep Good Company
The people you surround yourself with can have a significant effect on your mental health. If you truly want to keep your mind healthy, you must cut out toxic people from your life.
Of course, you don’t want to remain alone. Replace those unhealthy relationships with good ones.
Search out those with healthy habits that will support your endeavors to become the best version of yourself, mind and body. You can not only learn from them but feel validated in your life goals.
Feeling loved is a human necessity. Don’t underestimate the power of a good friend and trusted colleague.
When a person inspires you, makes you feel safe to be yourself, and is there for you when you need them, cherish and cultivate that relationship.
Conclusion
The mind and body are very closely related. What is good for one is generally good for the other. These five habits are an excellent example of this fact.
It can seem difficult to accomplish all these at once in our busy lives. Try to succeed in getting one habit down at a time, then move on to the next.
Just one of these healthy habits can drastically improve the strength of your body and mind. Remember — any effort is better than no effort.
[Author bio]
Kelsey is from Greenville, NC, and is an East Carolina University Alum. She’s a dedicated cat mom of two and has been with Grove at Auburn since July 2019. Since moving to Alabama, Kelsey has fallen in love with Auburn and the SEC life!