Physical Wellness – Your general well-being is affected by physical activity, healthy nutrition, sleep pattern and much more.

Physical wellness involves making good choices

Observing what we put into our body, how much activity we get and maintaining a healthy weight are all important factors for keeping our bodies working properly. Positive physical health habits can all help to reduce stress, lower your risk of disease, and increase energy.

• Check in with your physical wellness
• Do you- Move your body on a daily basis?
• Are you-Able to keep a consistent sleep schedule and getting 8 hrs sleep a night?
• Do you – Consume foods that are healthy, stay hydrated through ought the day?
• Do you- Have habits of regularly washing your hands to prevent disease, and colds and flu?
• Are you- Practicing safer sex?
• Are you- Making sensible choices regarding alcohol, nicotine, other drugs that alien with your values?

Physical activity and body movement.

How well your body functions affect your ability to achieve your daily activities. Research has shown that sedentary behaviour (sitting or lying down whilst awake) has been connected to a shorter lifespan. When a person is inactive it can lead to a heart disease, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure.

The more movement you make the more your helping to maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints. As we age, aerobic capacity, muscle quality, as well as agility naturally decline. The total number of muscle fibre’s is considerably reduced with age, beginning at the age of 25 years and continuing at an accelerated rate thereafter. Elderly individuals often fall due to poor muscle strength and reduced balancing ability related to muscle aging.

Regular movement and activity maintain our skeletal muscles, so something as simple as a daily brisk walk can reduce age-related muscle loss and helps to support a healthier life. Exercise also helps to reduce feelings of anxiety, depression, and can help to prevent and manage stress. You can do activities/movements that you enjoy such as dancing, yoga, walking, basketball, biking, weights, etc. The key is to develop healthy lifestyle activities and habits. aim to be physically active every day, participate in activities that strengthen muscles and bones (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) at least 2 days a week. You should vary your activity to decrease boredom and keep your body guessing.

Sleep

A good night’s sleep is just as important as regular exercise and a healthy diet. Throughout the last few decades, both sleep quality and quantity has declined.

It’s the understanding that most people need at least 8 hrs sleep to stay healthy and alert. Our bodies crave a regular routine particularly when it comes to sleep. Whilst the connection between sleep and mental health is not completely understood, many scientists and researchers believe that having a good night’s sleep can improve emotional and mental resilience. Sleep deprivation can contribute to depression, negative thinking, emotional vulnerability, and anxiety as well as memory issues, sluggishness and increased sickness. Your body has a natural time-keeping clock known as your circadian rhythm it affects the brain, body, and hormones, helping you stay awake and tells the body when it’s time to sleep. Natural sunlight or bright light throughout the day assists in keeping your circadian rhythm healthy. This improves daytime energy as well as sleep quality at night and energy duration. Night time exposure to light has the opposite effect, again this is due to its effect on your circadian rhythm, tricking the brain into thinking it’s still day time. Intern this reduces melatonin, which you to relax and get to sleep. Blue light- which electronic devices like smartphones and computers emit in large amounts are the worst in this regard.

There are many methods you can use to reduce night time blue light exposure. These include:

• Block blue light glasses
• Download an app such as f.lux to block blue light on your laptop.
• Install an app that blocks blue light on your smartphone. These are available for both iPhones and Android models.
• Stop watching TV and turn off any bright lights 2 hours before heading to bed.

Eating well

Much like sleep, our bodies like consistency when it comes to what and when we eat. The foods we consume can affect our health of our brain and body in a number of ways. Eat an array of foods from various sources to ensure a balanced intake of nutrients. Try and include at least three calcium rich foods each day and don’t forget to focus on getting your fibre.

Benefits of eating the rainbow diet :

• Orange/yellow-Beta carotene results in improved immune system, healthy skin, and eyes.
• Green-Lutein and indoles. Results in lower risk of some cancers, improves eye health.
• Purple/blue-anthocyanins, flavonoids resulting in improves cognitive function, immune and bone health, urinary health.
• Vegetables, fruits, lean meats and whole grains will give you the nutrients that not only supports your body’s vital functions but can balance your mental health. Also making sure your drinking plenty of water as hydrating goes hand in hand with eating right. Eating too much or skipping meals can have metabolic consequences that upset your physical and mental health.

Diet plans for Brain power

• Mediterranean diet- Is rich in vegetables, olive oil, whole grains and fish.
• Zone diet- Encourages a heavy consumption of avocados, nuts and olive oil.
• Ketogenic- Avocados, nuts, fish, and olive oil is used liberally in the Ketogenic diet.
• Vegetarian – Many vegetarian diets allow for the consumption of eggs, fish, to go along with all vegetables, berries and nuts.
• South Beach- The south beach diet allows for fish, nuts, vegetables and avocados.

Alcohol – Physical Wellness

The majority of us enjoy a tipple now and again, but what do we know about the short- and long-term effects on our health? As alcohol momentarily boosts our mood, making us feel confident and sociable the long-term effects are linked to depression, anxiety, poor sleep and alcohol dependency. Originally, we may feel more relaxed and outgoing, continuous excessive drinking could magnify your mood, regular consumption can heighten feelings of anger, and sadness and can also decrease the level of serotonin (hormone that stabilizes our mood) leading to a more depressive state. Heavy drinking can also make us feel anxious about things we would not normally have worried about.  Long term effects of drinking to much alcohol can cause some serious health issues such as weight gain, sleep deprivation, skin conditions and illnesses such as liver, mouth and oesophageal cancer. Governments advice on low-risk drinking, Men and women are advised to drink no more than 14 units over a week.