Good health isn’t a destination. It’s a lifelong mindful journey of tuning into your body, keeping current with the latest research and making sensible choices that promote positive outcomes.
How can you encourage healthy behaviors at any stage in the game?
Fitness doesn’t only matter between the ages of 18 to 64.
Many activities children love also keep adults healthy, but we start to regard them as chores — why?
After all, it feels good to feel good — who wants to waste precious hours plagued by physical complaints?
Furthermore, exercise isn’t the only thing lacking in modern life.
It’s also the enjoyment of nourishing meals surrounded by loved ones and balancing meaningful work with play.
Like it or not, the responsibility falls on your shoulders to make choices that improve your well-being.
What are some good general rules to follow? Here are five ways to encourage health at all ages.
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Table of Contents
Keep Bodies in Motion
Your body is made to move, and doing so is crucial for your health.
Regular exercise reduces your risk of everything from heart disease to certain cancers to anxiety — it’s that powerful and important.
However, people make various excuses for not working out. “I don’t have time” reigns supreme.
Hey, the modern world is unfairly demanding, so you must put your foot down with as much force when insisting on self-care.
You can always divvy your activity into several 10-minute segments, getting in your 30 minutes a day on your work breaks with a cool-down stretch at bedtime.
Another reason people use to justify inactivity is that fitness hurts.
Everyone experiences some mild soreness when they move certain muscles for the first time, but it gets easier the more you do it.
Those with health conditions like arthritis might find solace in water workouts that take it easy on joints and bones while elevating your heart rate.
Furthermore, there’s a form of yoga for everyone, including free chair-based routines for those with mobility issues — search YouTube.
Slow Down at Suppertime
What if you could manage your weight without ever picking up another diet book? Mindful cooking and eating are the ticket.
What is mindful cooking? It includes asking questions like the following:
- How do these ingredients help or hinder my wider health goals?
- How can I ensure a healthy balance of nutrients to meet my specific needs?
- How do these flavors mesh? What can I add to enhance the taste and enjoyment of my meal?
You might be familiar with mindful eating exercises, such as the chocolate exercise, but you can do the same with anything you eat.
Slow down, allowing yourself to savor the flavor combinations.
Put your fork down between bites to focus on your enjoyment of the meal and the company of your companions.
Locate and Connect with Resources
Perhaps the most urgent health crisis in America is the difficulty millions of people have meeting their basic needs.
Limited resources is a condition that exists, but there’s no universal directory — you must do the legwork.
For example, if you’re among the millions of gig workers or your employer doesn’t offer benefits, Healthcare.gov should be your first stop.
You might qualify for Medicaid or subsidies — and kids often qualify for CHIP, even if parents go uncovered. However, this system doesn’t work for everyone.
What are your other choices?
- Call around: Many physicians, therapists and dentists occasionally offer sliding-scale services, but you must ask. Calling 211 may connect you with some resources. Otherwise, you may need to phone individual practitioners, explain your situation and hope for the best.
- Look overseas: Healthcare is often less costly nearly anywhere else. If you live near the border, talk to others who are happy with the treatment they get abroad and ask for recommendations.
Embrace Work-Life Balance
Here’s the deal: you need time to practice self-care.
Americans as a collective whole would benefit from slowing down, but it falls on each of us individually to say “hold, enough” when outside demands become too burdensome.
Democracy requires everyone’s participation to work.
What can you do as an individual? Change starts with each of us, so be assertive about communicating your boundaries at work.
A proactive chat with your boss about a more realistic work-life balance is healthier than quiet quitting and doesn’t risk negative career repercussions.
If they deny reasonable requests, dust off that resume.
Furthermore, advocate! The Congressional switchboard number is 202-224-3121.
Program that puppy in your phone and become as annoying as Andy Dufresne requesting library books in “The Shawshank Redemption.”
Call daily and remind your representatives they work for you and should prioritize improving American working conditions.
Adopt Stress Reducing Hobbies
Health isn’t entirely an active pursuit.
For your muscles — and mind to heal and function optimally between work periods, they require rest.
Sleep matters, but so does participating in relaxing hobbies.
Schedule time at least a few days a week to engage in activities for no other reason than they make you smile.
Some healthy habits include:
- Gardening
- Woodworking
- Playing mental games like chess
- Hiking
- Gourmet cooking
Some of these also double as healthy activities.
However, imbue these words in your soul: there’s nothing wrong with the occasional Netflix binge or gaming weekend.
If you need that time to step back, take it — but also mindfully tune into your body’s signals of when it’s ready to move again.
Encourage Health at All Ages
You can’t store good health. It’s a lifelong pursuit you actively engage in at every life stage.
Follow the above five tips to encourage health at all ages.
Changing the world begins with little improvements in how you live, spreading that goodness to others.
