Be responsible and get into these simple habits
Are you living in an urban area, an apartment? Working or studying from home? Have you been spending hours sitting in front of your computer or mobile device or TV? With how convenient modern technology and the Internet have made our life easier, it also turns us into lazy consumers. With many delivery services available, people will order online and have their food or product shipped to their door, with little to no reason to get out of their home.
This is clearly an unhealthy behavior; we are all aware that a sedentary lifestyle is bad for us. So perhaps you decided to be active and workout at home, subscribing to remote training channels or programs? That will keep you sweating but will you maintain the consistency required to keep a steady schedule and ripe the long term benefits? And is working out as hard as you can, to cause your heart pumping and breathing hard the solution to a healthy life? Our body and mind are a complex system, yet there are simple and effective ways accessible to everyone, right now.
Take a walk
We all agree it is imperative to exercise to ensure the biomechanics of our body can keep functioning properly in the long term. In recent years, the surge in gym subscriptions, group yoga, crossfit training and race registration are indications of growing awareness to balance our sedentary lifestyle. All these activities require commitments and could be intimidating to newcomers or too challenging for others. Without consistently maintaining those habits, any benefits will be lost.
Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Walking | Livestrong.com
Walking is such a natural movement, yet we fail to realize how beneficial it is. Unlike running or other intense exercise, it has minimal impact on the joints and the risk of injury is nearly non-existent. Just increase pacing to make it more challenging. Walking also has the benefit to improve digestion, so what better than to schedule your walks right after your meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner? No specific gear is needed, just take a steady walk, and over time you will see improvement in your breathing and blood stream flow.
Breathe fresh air
Most modern apartments have very permeable windows, doors and walls, while older buildings lack proper air exchange. As you breathe in and out, the bits of fluids you expel will linger longer in the air for minutes or hours contributing to build up the mini-ecosystem favoring airborne transmission of droplets and whatever they may carry, between all the residents.
Americans, on average, spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, where the concentrations of some pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations.
Indoor Air Quality | EPA’s Report on the Environment (ROE) | US EPA
If you are living in a building with poor ventilation, consider briefly opening your windows. Standalone ventilator units may not be sufficient as they simply displace the same air around your rooms.
In a major city, surrounded by dust and pollution, these will tax your respiratory system. It is imperative to give it a break by visiting nature-rich environments, either national parks or natural reserves, with added benefit to relax your sense and help you connect with nature. If that is not possible, go to a local park with enough trees. Cities are getting more aware of the positive impact of greens in urban areas, hopefully yours as well.
Soak up the Sun
Sunlight helps release serotonin hormones to the brain, boosting mood and helping feel calm and focus. Low serotonin is associated with higher risk of depression. Cities with high population density will have high skylines that tend to block sunlight. If you live in such an apartment, you will experience an impact to your hormonal balance contributing to the seasonal depression that many of us experienced during winter. Another reason to go outdoors.
Vitamin D is a type of steroid that increases intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, phosphate and many other biological effects. Vitamin D is synthesized in our body when sufficiently exposed to sunlight. Calcitriol is the active form of Vitamin D and regulates cell growth and changes. It also affects our immune system but Vitamin D receptors decrease over time with age, in relation to muscle mass and athletic performance. Essentially, vitamin D is a key element to our immune functions and to reduce inflammation.
The vast majority of the population living in the Northern hemisphere suffer from vitamin D deficiency, due to lack of sun exposure and inadequate diet. Older people are commonly affected, as they tend to stay indoor and inactive.
8 Signs and Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency (healthline.com)
Insufficient sun exposure is exacerbated by the intense marketing on skin cancer, spreading fear of sun exposure and contributing to the heavy application of sunscreen. Not to undermine the risk of UV lights on our skins, on the contrary; overexposure to the UV lights is known to cause skin cancer, however steps can be taken to benefit from sunlight and minimize risk.
Most weather forecast apps or websites provide measures on the UV intensity in your area. Avoid long and unprotected exposure when the UV rating is high, typically during midday in summer. Otherwise, ripe the benefits of the sun.
Your diet can also contribute to your vitamin D level. Food high in vitamin D includes fish liver oil, salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines, egg yolk, mushrooms and fortified milk, such as cow milk with added vitamin D. Because vitamin D is almost exclusively found in animal based products, vegetarians and vegans are at particular risk of deficiency. Consider fortified food, but try to avoid vitamin supplements as you risk overdose and you should always consult a doctor before self-diagnosing and self-prescribing any supplement.
Get enough sleep
Every living creature with a nervous system sleeps, it is an essential part of our lifecycle. During this period, the brain gets to process every bit of new information it has acquired to organize, store and cleanse. Without doing so, it would get confused and serious consequences will happen, as it struggles to coordinate the basic activities, from organ function to thinking.
Lack of sleep will have dire consequences, especially upon continuous deprivation; such as memory issues, weakened immune system, increased blood pressure, weight gain, and much more. Every functional part of our body is connected through our nervous system, messing with it will naturally affect our entire body.
Babies spend most of their time sleeping, that is because their senses are on overdrive due to the amount of new stimuli they receive, and the learning they need to process. As we grow older, the world around us gets more familiar and less stimulating. We spend less time learning new things, so less sleep time is needed for adults. Newborns typically spend 15 to 18 hours a day sleeping in chunks of 4 to 5 hours. For adults, the experts recommend 7 to 9 hours of continuous sleep per night. To be effective, we need to reach the deep sleep stage, also called the healing stage. It is the most important stage where cellular repair occurs and hormones perform their job.
It all comes down to this
Make your health a priority by taking preventive meatures on a daily basis.
Take frequent walks outdoors in nature, to get your body moving and breathe fresh air, then have a good night sleep. In between, make sure to have a balanced diet. Everyone of us can take these simple actions. It is for the good of your health and those around you. I am doing it, will you?
