Your Physical Health
Physical health is often defined as the absence of disease or serious illness and possessing the ability to perform daily activities without extreme difficulty. Your overall physical health can be affected by a variety of things such as your diet, level of daily physical activity, and behaviors.
Adopting healthy habits can prevent numerous health issues such as heart disease, type II diabetes, obesity and more. Listed below 9 lifestyle changes you can start making today to help you prevent or manage a variety of health concerns!
9 Healthy Habits for Optimal Physical Health
- Get active! It is recommended to perform at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of intense exercise per week.
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet. Focus on including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish, and nuts and limit your intake of processed foods and sugar.
- Get quality sleep. Sleep restores us and has a huge effect on our physical health. Establish a night time routine and aim for 7-8 hours of sleep each night.
- Never smoke or stop smoking. After just one year of not smoking, your risk of heart disease is already lower.
- Maintain a healthy body weight. Your doctor can help you figure out your BMI and let you know if you are at a healthy weight. The above tips can help you get to a healthy weight and maintain it!
- Manage your blood sugar levels. Avoid foods that cause blood sugar spikes such as soda, candy and sugary desserts and try to not skip meals to avoid a blood sugar crash. This can help prevent type II diabetes down the road.
- Monitor your blood pressure. Roughly 45% of adults in the United States have hypertension. During each doctor’s visit, take note of your blood pressure and ask questions if you are not sure. Catching high blood pressure early and making lifestyle changes is key.
- Get your cholesterol levels checked. It’s crucial to get your cholesterol checked because your doctor will be able to advise you on how to maintain healthy levels, which in turn lowers your chances of getting heart disease and stroke.
- Don’t miss appointments and screenings. Check out our past blog posts to learn about the importance of preventative screenings and annual exams.
Visit the CDC, Mayo Clinic, The American Heart Association or the Cleveland Clinic to learn more about optimal physical health!
