How Can You Optimize Your Physical Health

There's no question that a lot of people aspire to become physically healthy and in tip-top shape. It's what people want, and it is genuinely what they should strive for. You need to invest in quality and healthy life choices to remain in the best physical condition you possibly can no matter what your age is. After all, staying fit by exercising, healthy eating, quitting bad habits, etc. are all proven ways to live a longer, fuller, and more satisfying life with the capability of disease control through healthy eating and sleeping.

Sure, it isn't a one-day process, and neither are there any secrets or mystery health habits you can do to get fit overnight. Optimizing your health is akin to setting a series of different objectives all of which are pointed towards helping you become fitter and more in shape by the day. In light of this, we're going to talk about some of the best ways you can optimize your health and why you should abstain from living a sedentary lifestyle and aim for optimal health.

The Importance of Optimal Physical Health

There is nothing more important than taking care of your mental and physical health. Having optimal fitness levels and exercising regularly can also be a natural deterrent to a lot of diseases and ailments. Also, if you're currently suffering from chronic or acute illnesses, it's still not too late to adopt a more active and healthy lifestyle to manage and possibly decrease some of the symptoms associated with your medication condition.

In addition, some of the primary reasons why your physical health should always be important to you is because staying healthy can help lower the risk of harrowing medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, Type-2 diabetes, and other issues. Moreover, physical wellness also helps keep your mood swings in check, optimizing your mental health as well. A healthy body is also synonymous with a creative and innovative mind and can also help you boost your mental health.

Four Powerful Ways You Can Optimize Your Physical Health

1. Start a Healthy Diet and Aim for Balanced Nutrition

One of the most critical ways to optimize your physical health is to eat delicious but healthy food items. You need a well-balanced and nutritious diet plan that can help provide the necessary nutrients, proteins, healthy carbs and healthy fats, and vitamins to keep fuller for longer while also energizing you daily.

Add more healthy foods such as leafy greens and eat enough fruits. Another way to boost your health is to try and stop eating processed meats or junk food and items that are filled with sugar. More importantly, you also need to stay well-hydrated. According to national academies and research by the Mayo Clinic, you should drink around 3.5-5 litres of water every day along with sticking to a healthy diet. So, find the right balance between eating fruits and vegetables and ensure you get the right vitamins and minerals as well. Remember, a healthy diet is very important.

2. Dedicate Some Time to Regular Exercise

Eating vegetables and fruits is only half the battle. Another great way to optimize your physical health is to form an easy-going yet consistent exercise routine. Physical activity can be anything. From taking a 20-min brisk walk to jump rope, 15-20 push-ups, weightlifting, cycling, jogging, etc. Do what you think you will be more interested in rather than going for new trends. However, you should exercise regularly and form healthy habits.  

Forming a frequent physical activity routine such as doing a muscle-strengthening activity will provide you with loads of physical and mental health benefits. For instance, exercising will gradually help enhance your cognitive function, allowing you to think more clearly and improve your memory. Moreover, exercising is also great for alleviating stress and anxiety. But perhaps one of the best benefits of regular training is that it is going help boost your self-esteem and confidence.

 According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some of the best ways to sustaining a healthy lifestyle and improve your mental wellness include walking, recreational sports, and cycling. In addition, doing cardio is also a great way to increase your heart rate to lose weight. For example, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a popular weight-cutting exercise for adults.

3. Form a Good Sleep Cycle for Mental Wellness

So, how can you optimize your physical health? When it comes to living a healthy and fit lifestyle, one of the most misunderstood or neglected things includes an adequate sleep schedule and routine. You need to sleep at least 7-8 hours every night. Sleeping is the way to help your brain process everything that went on in the day and helps promote good physical health on a consistent basis.

It stores memories and processes information, helps repair your body, and much more. Getting a good night's sleep every day is going to help enhance your mood, reduce your anxiety, and form an optimized circadian rhythm. So, it is vital that you start getting adequate sleep. Plus, sleeping is also good for reducing weight.

Some of the ways to get quality sleep are to stop using your smartphone or other devices an hour before going to bed, making sure the room is dark, and adjusting the temperature to sleep more comfortably.  In addition, a good sleep cycle is also great for enhancing your emotional health and spiritual health, especially in adults.

4. Quit or Avoid Bad Things Such as Over-the-Top Drinking and/or Smoking

Aside from a good diet, exercising routinely, and having a good sleep pattern, one of the fundamental things for living a fit life is to quit or never go near things like alcoholism and/or smoking. If you like to drink, make sure you don't drink excessively. Stay away from smoking and vaping. Moreover, these habits can also make it harder for you to maintain a healthy weight.

Apart from adversely impacting your physical and mental health, these bad habits can give rise to other types of problems such as low self-esteem, poor social health, distress to your loved ones and family, emotional imbalances, and much more. Moreover, by living a more active lifestyle, there’s no question you might just be able to limit the number of time you have to visit your primary care physician. Sustaining healthy habits is the first step to optimizing your health.

Dangers of Living a Sedentary Lifestyle

A sedentary lifestyle involves little to no physical activity, sitting for hours hunched over your office laptop, sleeping for hours or having no sleep schedule, very little mobility, an unhealthy diet, etc. This can also easily translate into doing something normal as coming back from a long day at work, kicking your feet up on the couch, opening a tub of ice cream, and just unwinding.

While there's nothing wrong with this, being inactive and falling into a laid-back routine day in and out can be very detrimental to your health. If you do live a sedentary lifestyle and want to switch to a more recreational lifestyle, it is recommended that you first get a complete physical done to know where you start and the measures you need to take to get your health back on track. Remember, the absence of proper diet and exercise will continuously wreak havoc on your mental wellness as well.

Signs That Tell You To be more Active

Some important things to know that will help you understand whether you're living a very inactive and overly sedentary lifestyle.

It Gets Harder to Fall Asleep

If you're not doing anything at all, even if you're not moving that much during the day, your body doesn't have any reason to feel tired and signals the brain to stay awake. This eventually causes problems such as sleep deprivation and fatigue. Even moderate physical activity can help gradually improve your sleeping patterns and quality. In addition, a poor circadian rhythm can adversely impact your overall health and could even contribute to heart disease.

Constant Exhaustion

One of the primary causes of fatigue is sleeplessness. However, if you're not exercising frequently, your body will stop releasing endorphins (which the body's energy pick-me-ups). Plus, being active is also good for the mood and also helps your brain frequently release dopamine in your system (the feel-good chemical). Being active basically transforms you into a healthy adult!

Losing Focus

If you have a hard time focusing or concentrating on a task like you previously used to, it means you need to eat well and sleep on time. A sedentary lifestyle can easily wreak havoc on the nervous system and cause hormonal imbalances.  

Bodily Aches

If you experience frequent pain and discomfort in your neck, shoulders, and lower back, or if you get tension and stress headaches sitting at your desk for hours, you need to correct your posture and more importantly, head to the gym. Remember, every bit counts! Your well-being is precious, start working and maintaining it!

Bottom Line

All in all, to sustainably and consistently optimize your physical health, you need to form a healthy and active routine to not just stay fit, but to manage stress as well.  For example, you need to start exercising, improve your poor sleep patterns, start a healthy diet, and basically do everything in your power not to live a sedentary lifestyle.

While reducing stress and physically maintaining your health is easier said than done, especially because we tend to have very busy lives, it isn't impossible or unachievable. All you have to do is prioritize yourself and work towards finding the ability to live a more fulfilling life. So start improving your health today and live a happy life!