What does it even mean to be healthy? Google that, and you’ll be consumed with conflicting information talking about everything from diet to sex life. The more you read, the more you wonder what it actually means to be healthy. Should you spend your time in the gym? Should you be completing 10,000 steps per day? Should you be calorie counting? The lists of should’s are endless, so let’s delve into the modern, holistic, and easiest-to-follow definitions of what it means to be healthy.
Holistic Health
Holistic health incorporates the mind, body, and soul – it doesn’t focus on running 10ks or hitting the gym. Thinking holistically, people should explore the treatments, lifestyles, and activities that nurture the body and mind. Are you struggling with pain? Steer away from pharmaceuticals and explore holistic treatments like chiropractor Downers Grove IL. Do you struggle to have the energy to complete a ‘traditional workout’? Find a YouTube tutorial of an easy 10-minute yoga flow. Do you struggle to eat clean consistently? Nurture your body with a balanced diet that includes treat days of your favorite foods.
Health is very much tailored to the individual, with one concept not reigning supreme above them all. Even focusing on simple ideas like focusing on good sleep hygiene can improve your body, mind, and social lifestyle. Getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep per day – the recommended amount of hours for an adult – can improve your mood, digestion, cognitive ability, heart health, and much more.
The Modern Definition
According to WHO, the modern definition of being healthy is – ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’. Note how the definition doesn’t focus on physical health but incorporates everything that makes us feel good about ourselves. There’s less of a focus on what our bodies look like and more on how we feel and function internally, with a close relationship between the body and the mind.
There’s less emphasis on strict physical exercise and how much you’re working out to achieve a toned figure and more on nurturing your body with the nutrition and movement it needs to function.
Find Your Own Balance
It’s essential to find what works for you. Step away from the idea that you should wake up at 7 am, work out, eat a healthy breakfast, and do your 10,000 steps each day. Focus more on what makes you feel good while sticking to the obvious facts. Don’t fill your diet with processed and fatty foods, don’t sit all day, every day, without moving your body, and don’t neglect healthy living basics like drinking enough water – use squash if you dislike water – to fuel your body and mind. Those are some of the fundamentals that will never change about health and well-being.
The modern definition of health is constantly changing. The definition that really matters is your own. What makes you feel good, and what nurtures your body and mind? Find your own healthy routines, and don’t focus on outdated healthy living norms.
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