Checklist: 10 Signs That You Are Healthier Than You Think
Olga Lukinskaya
We often say that you should not scold yourself for spaces in a healthy lifestyle - and that a fanatical passion for them can deprive us of other important things, everyday joys and social life. Trying to take care of our body, but not making a cult out of it, we sometimes underestimate the reality: we believe that we eat healthier than in reality, or criticize ourselves for the alleged lack of activity. This checklist will help to check yourself - perhaps you lead a healthier lifestyle than it seems.
1
You move a lot
Physical activity is often taken as a visit to the gym - but in fact a person who does not work out specifically may well be more active than those who visit a fitness center three times a week after sedentary work. If you walk to the supermarket, go upstairs in the office, walk a couple of times a day with a dog, or just go out after work to walk - most likely you are an active person.
WHO recommends that adults not less than 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week is five half-hour walks. If you walk twice as much and do strength training a couple of times a week, then you follow the already extended, rather than the minimum WHO recommendations.
2
You sleep well
The need for sleep is different for everyone - but on average it is about eight hours of uninterrupted, comfortable sleep. If you lie down when you want to sleep (and not when the spectacular series ends), and you can afford to get up without an alarm clock - there’s nothing to worry about.
Otherwise, it makes sense to work on your habits - for example, put off all the gadgets and cancel all things an hour before sleep - and sleep hygiene. Dark curtains, a comfortable bed, fresh air and pleasant bedding will help you fall asleep quickly and sleep soundly. If you sleep soundly and sufficiently in time, but still feel tired - perhaps it’s not a dream, but an overload of work.
3
You eat varied
For a person to get all the right substances from food in the right quantities, the diet should contain fruits and vegetables, fish, cereals, olive oil, a small amount of meat - or, for vegetarians, such protein sources as legumes.
If you eat chaotically and, as it seems to you, completely wrong, try a few days to register all the foods eaten in a special application - it may turn out that you actually eat the right amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates.
4
You do not abuse alcohol
A healthy lifestyle does not contradict the moderate use of alcohol - and even the Mediterranean diet includes dry red wine in reasonable quantities. If you do not notice signs of addiction - do not tie all social life to alcohol, do not increase its quantity, do not drink secretly from others - then you can not worry about a glass of wine at dinner.
Drink plenty of water and remember that the key word in alcohol use is moderation.
5
You don't smoke
Smoking, as is known, causes a number of diseases and is one of the most important indirect causes of death throughout the world - and, by the way, electronic cigarettes are not much better than regular ones.
Even if you smoke one or two cigarettes a day and do not experience physical dependence - unfortunately, you are a smoker. It can be hard to quit, and everyone does it in different ways - but those who really could give up this habit often do not regret anything.
6
You are not dependent on gadgets
If you cannot take out the garbage without a phone in your hand, and when you come home from work, immediately rush to your computer to check Facebook - until you adjust your habits. The abuse of luminous screens tires your eyes, and an endless stream of information makes it difficult to sleep well.
Try to remove the optional applications from the phone and do not take it with you to the bedroom. Perhaps it is time to acquire new rituals: read a paper or e-book before going to bed or abandon social networks for a while.
7
You harmoniously share your time.
Even the most beloved and fascinating work should not take all the hours of wakefulness - if this is so, then you are either overloaded or have a lot of color, but in the end you finish the work instead of meeting with friends or going to a spa.
A healthy lifestyle is also a healthy mind, for which it is important to harmoniously divide the time between work, friends, family and being alone. Harmoniously - does not mean equally: one is important to relax in the company, the other has time to recover, having a walk in the lunch break alone with his thoughts.
Of course, life in a big city makes its own adjustments to the schedule, but a long trip in the subway can be accompanied by an audiobook, and standing in traffic jams combined with communication with family - call parents. If time is difficult to balance, try writing a daily routine.
8
Your house is clean
Chaos distracts from the tasks, and the dust and lack of fresh air also harm health. Regular cleaning, no matter how lazy to do it, is also part of a healthy lifestyle and investing time in yourself.
If you air the room every day, wipe the dust once a week and wash the floors, you have green plants, and the windows isolate the street noise - congratulations, you live in a healthy environment, and that's enough. A humidifier and furniture made of eco-materials will not interfere - but this is already from the realm of dreams.
9
You are undergoing professional examination
Healthy people also need to go to the doctor regularly, because it is easier to prevent many diseases than to cure them - and it is also easier to cure at an early stage compared to a neglected one.
You shouldn’t do an “MRI of everything” or donate blood “for all hormones” - but professional dental hygiene every six months, annual gynecological examination and flu vaccination help to be healthier and feel that everything is under control.
10
You protect your skin from the sun
Every year, doctors are increasingly confident that the sun's rays are dangerous: the risk of melanoma far exceeds the benefits of vitamin D production under the influence of ultraviolet radiation - therefore it is better to protect yourself from the sun, and vitamin D to be taken extra.
Abuse of tan leads to rapid aging of the skin, and cosmetologists often say that a truly effective anti-aging remedy is only sunscreen. The use of SPF products should become a habit - and, fortunately, many care products already include a decent sun protection factor.
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