Optimizing your physical health is a complex process as it involves several variables that must be managed simultaneously.
Not only do you have to engage in exercise and physical activity, but you also have to ensure you have the mental health to be able to follow through on your plans.
Here are 5 great tips for maintaining optimal physical health:
- Manage stress
- Maintain a healthy diet
- Get proper sleep
- Exercise daily
- Keep yourself happy
Keep reading for details on each of these healthy habits.
5 Ways to Optimize Physical Health
This section will go over 2 crucial aspects of 5 different ways to optimize your health: why they’re important for your physical health and how you can implement them in your daily life.
1. Manage Stress
In today’s competitive and constantly active world, we’re all bombarded with stress with no coping mechanisms to deal with it.
This leads to physical effects like aches, pains, exhaustion, and digestive problems.
Most importantly, stress leads to fatigue and trouble sleeping. Both are especially harmful to your physical health and can stop you from exercising, going to work, or doing other productive and healthy activities.
Here are 3 ways to manage your stress:
- Yoga
- Deep breathing
- CBD
Let’s take an in-depth look at each of these effective coping mechanisms:
• Yoga
Research shows that yoga can help reduce stress and anxiety while enhancing your overall sense of well-being.
Some of the many techniques used in this activity that help provide this benefit include meditation, physical movement, stretching, and controlled breathing.
• Deep Breathing
Deep breathing is a practice that allows more air to flow to your body.
It calms your nerves and reduces both stress and anxiety. The increased oxygen supply stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system, which simulates a feeling of calmness.
Some additional benefits include lowered pain levels and a better attention span.
• CBD
CBD or cannabidiol relieves stress symptoms.
They have THC compounds that calm your mind and allow you to relax. There are 3 main types: full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and CBD isolate.
They have decreasing amounts of cannabis plants as you go down the list. So pick based on how stressed you are.
2. Maintain A Healthy Diet
In the short term, a healthy diet can lead to reduced stress, more energy to be productive, and increased motivation to be productive.
Over the long term, it can prevent illnesses like high blood pressure, tooth decay, diabetes, and obesity.
Here are some tips regarding healthy eating to keep in mind:
- Never skip breakfast.
- Don’t stay thirsty for long; ensure proper hydration.
- Eat less than 6 grams of salt a day.
- Include fish in your daily diet.
- Consume large portions of fruits and vegetables.
- Limit snacking on unhealthy and junk food.
Healthy foods are integral to physical health.
3. Get Proper Sleep
Sleep impacts almost every tissue in the human body.
It affects your hormones, blood pressure, cardiovascular health, immune system, and growth. Research shows that lack of sleep increases the risk for infections, heart disease, and obesity.
Here are 4 ways to ensure you’re getting proper sleep:
- Stick to a sleep schedule.
- Limit daytime naps.
- Create a peaceful environment when you’re sleeping.
- Don’t go to bed hungry.
Let’s take an in-depth look at each of the following:
• Stick to A Sleep Schedule
Irrespective of whether you sleep 8 pm to 6 am or 3 am to 11 am, you need to have a strict sleeping schedule. Your body clock needs to know what is going on and be able to adjust accordingly.
You don’t just have to get adequate sleep; it also needs to be at the same time every day.
• Moderate Daytime Naps
Too many daytime naps can lead to health conditions like metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and other illnesses.
Research shows that naps lasting more than 60 minutes can increase the likelihood of getting type 2 diabetes by 50%.
On the other hand, short naps can improve many things like stamina, motor skills, perception, and alertness. They can also reduce the risk of heart attacks and boost memory.
• Create A Peaceful Environment When You’re Sleeping
Peaceful sleep allows your mind to rest properly.
Sleep isn’t worth much if you’re waking up a lot or being disturbed by loud noises. Peaceful sleep is important because it means you won’t be tired when you wake up.
The lack of fatigue goes a long way in allowing you to think clearly, make proper decisions, and process memories.
• Don’t Go to Bed Hungry
Going to bed hungry can increase your risk of asthma, obesity, and other health problems. So eat a light snack before you sleep.
Not eating before you sleep will help you lose weight in the short term, but it can be harmful in the long term, especially for your physical health. So it is unadvised.
4. Exercise Daily
First, exercising daily reduces the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and stroke. So it is integral to physical wellbeing.
Irrespective of age, there is strong scientific research proving that being physically active can help improve your quality of life. You will be happier and healthier.
Exercise strengthens your heart and improves blood circulation. This increases the rate of oxygen flow in your body, reducing the likelihood of heart-related illnesses like heart attacks, high cholesterol, etc.
Second, exercising daily helps skin health. Increased blood flow leads to skin cell adaptation which helps delay aging.
Also, regular exercise produces natural antioxidants which keep skin cells safe from oxidative stress produced by free radical damage. This threat can alter skin cell structures and have a severe negative impact on your skin.
So sustaining health habits like going on walks or jogging can do a lot for you.
5. Keep Yourself Happy
Poor mental health can have a huge impact on your physical health. Avoiding stress and finding ways to cope with it (helpful techniques are listed above) is only half the battle; you need to be able to find ways to be happy.
Staying happy and anxiety-free allows you to engage in activities that wouldn’t be possible if you were sad and tired.
So a huge chunk of optimizing your physical health is preparing your mind with the tools necessary to go through the tips listed above.
Some ways to keep yourself happy include:
- Regular exercise
- Set and review goals at least once a week.
Let’s look at how each of these tips is linked to happiness.
• Regular Exercise
Exercise produces the happy hormone serotonin. You don’t have to engage in a super intense workout to trigger its production. Even going on a walk can get the job done. So grab a pair of joggers and get out of the house!
• Set and Review Goals At Least Once A Week
Being productive and completing goals is another source of happiness.
Set goals at the start of your day or week, and then review them at the end of the designated time period.
Crossing out completed tasks gives you a sense of fulfillment and happiness. This keeps you content and motivated to do more and aim for better results.
Conclusion
Optimizing your health means looking at every aspect of your life, from your sleeping routine to how much water you’re drinking and how your mental health is.
Each part of your life impacts your physical health. So if you want to take care of it, you must take care of everything else.
The guide above divides all these areas into 5 different categories: stress, diet, sleep, exercise, and happiness. If you can optimize these aspects of your life, you’re likely to avoid several diseases and remain fit.
FAQ Section
How do you optimize your physical health?
Commit to a healthy diet, drink a lot of water, and be active. Engage in some form of exercise daily. It doesn’t need to be super intense; even basic cardio like a walk or jog will do. Make an active effort to reduce stress and try your best to keep yourself happy.
What are 2 things you can do to maintain optimal health?
Eat healthily and stay on top of your mental health. These things will ensure you have the motivation and drive to engage in activities like exercise. They will also protect you from several physical illnesses, especially cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
What are examples of physical health?
Physical health is a general term used to refer to your bodily well-being. This includes things like having good immunity against illnesses, being physically fit, etc. It involves everything from your fitness level to the absence of disease.
Why is good physical health important?
Physical health is important because it ensures the quality of life.
A healthy lifestyle means you can engage in activities like pursuing your career, taking care of family, and spending time with friends. It also increases life expectancy. So, sustaining healthy habits is a great idea.
