Five Areas that can Throw off Our Wellness
Hi Friends, Welcome back! Today we are going to dive into five areas in our life that can throw off wellness, balance, energy, and health. These are everyday things that we as humans tend to neglect or cut corners on. Our busy lives make it easy to abandon our basic care and that can have profound impacts on our functioning. If your mental wellness is suffering or not as crisp as you would like, do a little self-evaluation of these areas to see if you might be able to make small changes that will result in big outcomes for your health. None of these will probably be a huge surprise to you, they are the things that we talk about, and think about all the time.
When was the last time you got 7-9 hours of restful sleep in a night? Sleep is one of the most important things we can do to improve our overall health and well-being. Lack of sleep can cause a myriad of difficulties including lethargy, memory issues, mood changes, lowered immunity, poor balance, and several serious chronic health issues including high blood pressure, risk of diabetes and weight gain. Going too long without sleep can also lead to serious mental health symptoms including psychosis. Psychosis is a condition of some serious mental illness that result in experiencing things that other around you do not, including seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not present. (This is a highly simplified explanation of psychosis.) Another experience of psychosis could be paranoia, and fear. Most people aren’t going 3 or 4 days without sleep, but the long-term effects on our brain and body can be profound.
What about our nutrition? In America there has never been a time where it is easier to obtain and consume things that are processed, quick and terrible for our bodies. Think about the difference between grocery stores 50 years ago and how they look today. You only have to look at the local Walmart to see rows and rows of shelves that contain all the quick and easy food you can imagine. Obesity is at an all-time high and our physical and mental health are paying a price for this mindset. Think for a moment about the last time you consumed more than one or two servings of fruits and vegetables in your day. This practice can deprive our bodies of vital nutrients and the fuel needed to do the things we love each day. If your eating and nutrition has been on your mind, look at the food pyramid you learned about years ago and see if you can shift your eating to include a little more real (not processed) food.
Humans are not meant to be sedentary, now more than ever in our history we spend much of our time sitting in one place. Even our smart watches tell us we should get up and move around on a regular basis. Intentional movement and exercise are very important parts of our overall wellness, both physically and mentally. I am not saying that we all should run down to the local cross fit gym or start training for a marathon, but can we carve out a bit of time each day to move our bodies? (Hey, if you are dreaming of cross fit or marathons, I say go for it.) This commitment to you can result in so many benefits. Here are a few of the many benefits of 30 mins of daily exercise: boosted creativity, improved mental health (lower anxiety, improve depression), improved circulation, lung and heart health, increased productivity and lowered stress, just to name a few. Believe me, I know it isn’t easy to do and often by the time we get home and hit our couch or bed, it can be incredibly difficult to make it happen. What would it look like if you made a commitment to you to try it for a period of time?
Next up, screen time. What an amazing and helpful tool we all have in the palm of our hands. For a moment, think about the time you spend looking at a screen in a day. Count your phone, count your computer, and count your tablet, TV or any other device that plugs in to the wall to be charged or run. The electronic revolution has brought us so many helpful things including instant information, ability to connect to others and incredible amounts of efficiency. We have been hearing about the unintentional consequences of screens in recent years and I think many people try to be aware of how much time they are spending on it. Here are a few of the draw backs; physical impact to eyes and body, loss of sleep, loss of brain power, increased risk of obesity, impaired mental focus and judgement, and delayed learning in children. Do you have a screen routine? Do you create intentional boundaries with when you log off and leave it alone? What ways can you create a healthier balance with your screens?
The last of the big 5 areas to look at is substance miss use. I want to clarify here that there is a big difference between enjoying a few drinks with friends or family and the pain and disruption that can occur with a substance use disorder. My point here is that using substances to escape or cope with your life impacts your physical and mental health. Moderate use can impact your body systems and make them less able to perform optimally. This is a bit of a touchy topic and only you can decide if your relationship with alcohol, tobacco or any other substances are negatively impacting your life. If this is an area that you are concerned about there are professionals that can help you decide if you need more help.
There you have it, a super quick rundown of 5 things that can throw off your physical and mental wellness. No one is perfect in this life, but we all have the ability to influence things that can increase our overall satisfaction and contentment. If one or more of these spoke to you and you felt that slight twitch of motivation to find out more. I encourage you to find one area to focus on. Pick the easiest one for you. Many times, making a small change in one area can lead to changes in others. Intention and practice are key. I hope you find this helpful, but most importantly I hope you are in pursuit of the things that matter most to you. Be Well!!
