A happy mind and body are a crucial component of a happier life. Your health, both mental and physical, should always be one of your top priorities. However, life gets busy and it’s easy to neglect some of the smaller health and wellness maintenance items on a daily basis.
Though, there is a unique relationship between both health and wellness that connects with your overall satisfaction in life. To that end, learning how to take positive steps towards improving your overall health, even on a daily basis, can help you lead a more fulfilled lifestyle.
What is Health?
While everybody probably believes they could define health without a definition, the actual meaning of the word is more complex than most people think. As discussed by the National Library of Medicine (NIH), there are three main definitions of health:
- Health is the absence of any disease or impairment
- Health is a state of being that allows an individual to cope with all the demands of their daily life
- Health is a state of balance or equilibrium that an individual has established within themselves and their social and physical environment
When examined by the NIH, they found that the second definition tended to be the most holistic for health. This is due to the fact that it is assumed that being able to deal with the demands of daily life also implies that you are free of disease or impairment. The third definition doesn’t imply this same truth, rather it only implies that a person could be considered healthy if they have a disease, yet they’ve come to terms with it.
Therefore, for the purposes of considering your own health, the second definition is the most applicable. With that being said, the third variation of health is important in its own right as it represents a state of mental and physical peace. That’s where wellness enters the equation.
What is Wellness?
Wellness is more action-based as opposed to a state of being. It refers to the practice of performing healthy habits daily for the purpose of attaining better physical and mental health outcomes. The goal is to reach a state where you’re not simply going through the motions of life, rather you’re living. If this definition seems similar to the third definition of health, you would be onto something.
A positive state of wellness revolves around satisfaction in social connectedness, exercise, nutrition, sleep, and mindfulness. By finding satisfaction in these areas, you can actually reduce the likelihood of developing diseases, both mental and physical, later down the line in your life.
Are Health and Wellness Connected?
In short, health and wellness are very much connected. The best way to think of their interaction is that wellness is the daily steps you take to achieve a better state of mental and physical health. If you neglect your wellness, it’s very possible that you could see negative effects on your health in the future.
By connecting health and wellness in your mind, you can start to build a proactive health strategy as opposed to a reactive strategy.
10 Steps to Improve Overall Health and Wellness
With the importance of the connection between health and wellness covered, let’s look at some keyways you can start to improve your overall health today:
1. Find a certified PCP in your area
First and foremost, it’s important that everybody has a primary care physician who they can trust. By visiting your PCP on a yearly basis, you can stay physically healthy and spot any issues before they become a problem. Additionally, if you’re in need of toxicology testing in Houston, New York, Los Angeles, or other major cities due to previous health issues, a PCP can help.
2. Don’t neglect recommended testing for your age
As you reach certain milestones in your age, there will be specific health factors that you should be testing for. Just because you feel perfectly healthy doesn’t mean that there isn’t something going on internally. Always get your required tests done.
3. Take time for self-care on a consistent basis
An important aspect to your overall health is taking care of your mind. Set one-day a month, at a minimum, aside to be a self-care day. Only do what you want to do on these days, so long as it makes you happy.
4. Limit consumption of alcohol
It should come as no surprise that excessive alcohol intake can lead to a number of health complications including: heart disease, stroke, digestive problems, liver disease, and more. Cut out alcohol as much as possible to lead a healthier lifestyle.
5. Eat a balanced diet
The saying of you are what you eat is completely accurate. A balanced diet can lead to a healthier life due to improved nutrition. However, if you load your body with food that is full of processed ingredients and unnecessary sugars, you could do damage in the long-term.
6. Get your daily dose of Vitamin D
It’s recommended that to see the most health benefits and to maintain healthy blood levels, you should aim to get at least 10-30 minutes of midday sunlight several times per week. If you have darker skin, you may need to get more than this recommended amount to see the same health benefits.
7. Cultivate your social life
Finally, a strong social life is important to overall health and wellness. Humans are social creatures and social interaction helps with continued social development along with simply helping to achieve higher levels of dopamine and a sense of safety and belonging.
Start improving your health and wellness today
If you’ve ever felt like you’ve let your health and wellness slip due to the stresses of daily life, you’re not alone. There are many people out there who have felt the same way at one point or another. What’s important is that you start actively taking steps to reverse this effect by placing a renewed priority on improving both health and wellness on a daily basis.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
