What is meant by health?
Health and physical
Physical health is a crucial component of maintaining overall wellbeing and well-being. If we live our lives in a hurry and don’t remember to take care of our physical health, it can be a negative influence not just upon our overall health but also our overall health and mental wellbeing.
The care we give to the health of our bodies is an essential component of our overall strategy to maintain our health throughout the day.
Health doesn’t need to be difficult.
It is important to know three main factors that we can concentrate on each day in order to ensure that our bodies have the best chance to remain healthy, active, and fit to achieve the goals we’d like to achieve in our lives.
1. Rest and sleep.
Sleep is crucial for many of the body’s functions. It helps us recharge, replenish, and repair.
It is suggested that we have between 7 and 9 hours of rest each night.
If we don’t sleep enough, it can impact many things, such as our ability to concentrate as well as our mood, our appetite as well and the way we interact with others.
Sleeping insufficiently over a prolonged period of time may also affect our mental health and resilience mechanisms, and can result in long-term effects on the body’s ability to function properly.
Many of us have difficulties sleeping or have trouble sleeping. This could be because of anxiety, stress, consuming alcohol or caffeine, or any other cause. To learn more about this, check out this guide. NHS Every Mind Matters guide to sleep problems and insomnia.
It’s not only about sleeping. A good night’s rest is vital to physical well-being. It’s about the balance.
How can we accomplish this?
In making our routines more conscious by recognizing how we might be doing to ourselves without taking breaks and taking a moment to rest, we can improve our overall health. It also allows the body time to heal and avoid injuries.
2. Eating and drinking with caution.
Our bodies require fuel to function.
The food we consume and staying hydrated play a major impact on our overall well-being.
The way we eat is based on our choices.
The UK healthy eating model, The Eatwell Guide, outlines how to create a balanced and healthy diet using:
1. At least five portions of vegetables and fruits each day.
2. Starchy food items (carbohydrates) ought to make up approximately 1/3 of our meals a day.
3. Consuming protein-rich foods that are good for you.
4. Choose unsaturated fats and use them in small quantities.
5. Consume less of the foods that are high in sugar, salt, and fat.
Keep hydrated by drinking 6-8 glasses of fluids daily.
3. Moving
It is also crucial to move.
Ensuring that we have enough regular physical activity as part of our daily routines is essential to our overall health. The best part is, it won’t cost you anything.
The NHS states that exercising is able to “reduce your risk of major illnesses, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer, and lower your risk of early death by up to 30%”.
The guidance suggests that adults try to include some form of exercise in their daily lives.
This includes:
2 days per week (min) Exercises to strengthen for major muscles
One hour of moderate-intensity exercise every week, or
The time for vigorous workout every week, spread out evenly over each week, or just a little every day.
For example, in the course of seven days, this could comprise:
- Yoga, pilates, tai-chi, lifting weights, using resistance bands two times a week, and
- 20 minutes daily of moderate exercise like cycling, walking briskly on bicycle, dancing, or walking. or
- Ten minutes of daily active exercise, like swimming, running, and riding bikes to the top of the hill, walking up the stairs, or engaging in a sport or martial art.
- or a mix of both.
Check out the NHS Exercise Guide for more details.
There are no cost tools and guides like “Couch to 5k” to help you get back to running. If you’re not a fan of running, start by adding a walk to your daily routine by using the no-cost Active10 application.
Do you need some help? Join an existing local group, such as Parkrun, and join a group of colleagues to walk.
Start with exploring London’s green spaces, such as wandering through Regent’s Park, or climbing to the summit of Primrose Hill (both accessible via the Academy)?
Visit Royal Parks for further ideas.
Mental well-being.
Fantastic news! Take care of your physical health by:
- Rest and sleep
- Good nutrition, drinking, and eating, and
- Moving
Additionally, it helps your mental well-being and health.
For more information, visit what is considered mental health? And how do I take care of my health?
Health and Welfare
The WHO defines well-being as:
There are five steps for establishing and maintaining well-being:
- Connecting with other people: Relationships are important to feel secure and valued by sharing experiences and giving emotional support to one another.
- Physical activity is essential: As we’ve mentioned, being active is beneficial for health, and it also aids in self-esteem, reaching goals, and increasing positive mood.
- The process of learning new techniques: Experimenting with something new can improve connecting, establishing an understanding of what is important, and boosting self-esteem and confidence.
- Giving back to other people: Engaging in your local community and dedicating your time and energy to help others, even in the smallest acts of kindness, will help you feel more connected. It also provides a sense of satisfaction and meaning and increases self-esteem.
- Be aware of the present moment: Practicing mindfulness will help you to be more resilient, manage your thoughts and emotions, and also how you relate to the world.
What is social well-being?
Social well-being is about being part of a community. It’s about connecting, sharing, and establishing strong and healthy relationships with people in your life, with your family, and how we contribute to society.
Helping others begins with helping ourselves.
We are able to give back to others only if we’ve taken good care of ourselves. When we take care of our mental and physical well-being and overall health, while also establishing our social standing by taking the necessary actions to support not just ourselves but also the people who are around us.