Top 8 Important Wellness Habits That You Must Follow

Modern Life and Wellness Habits

We, the Homo Sapiens, first appeared on the planes of Africa some 200,000 to 300,000 years ago. There were many other human-like species, but natural selection and some other yet unexplained reasons got us through to the encounter with the ‘survival of the fittest‘ rule of nature. At that time we humans only cared about survivability. There was no need or scope for wellness habits. The only habit we needed at that time was the habit of staying alive.

Since then we have come a long way. We have become the dominant species on the planet Earth. We have changed our surroundings and altered our environment to fit our needs. With our intelligence and with science & technology we have created tools that have increased the quality of our lives. We have also invented various medical tools which have prolonged our lives. According to scientists, in the middle ages, the average life expectancy of humans used to be around 30-35 years. While, currently, our life expectancy has increased to around 70-72 years.

However, with modern life came new and different kinds of perils and it is the perils of modern life that necessitated the need for wellness habits. We, humans, have come a long way from being cave dueling and hunting species. We learned to use fire & tools and they made our life a lot easier. Then we domesticated wild animals for our use. Slowly we learned cultivation. With agriculture, humans are able to produce more food for themselves. Then with the advent of science and technology, we have perfected our farming systems. Slowly science and technology have made our lives comfortable.

However, with comfort came lifestyle diseases. Even though our lives changed, our bodies and our genes still retained the survival instincts of our cave-dueling lives. So we became prone to various lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, high blood pressure, stroke, and many more. We needed a tool that could fight with these modern perils and hence, came the wellness habits. These wellness habits will restore balance in our lifestyle and will change the basic structure of our lives. If followed properly, these wellness habits can cure most of our lifestyle diseases. There are many wellness habits that are beneficial to us but here we are going to talk about 8 of the most important wellness habits.

1. Sleeping On-Time

Before we even start the day, we have to end it properly – that is by sleeping on time. Sleeping on time regularly is one of the most important wellness habits. Without sleeping on time, we will not be able to have quality sleep. Without quality sleep, we won’t be able to wake up on time and even if we do wake up on time, we will not have the physical or mental strength to carry out our daily tasks properly and our entire day will have extremely low productivity It is because sleep comes in various phases or cycles.

For us, proper and quality sleep seems like it starts and ends in an instant. But the truth is far from that. Our sleep comes in stages. Scientists have categorized our sleep cycle into two phases – Non Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) and Rapid Eye Movement (REM). We start our sleep cycle with the first NREM stage. It is the most lightest of the stages.

Then we move to a relatively deeper second NREM stage. After that comes the third NREM stage which is more deeper than the previous ones. After this, we enter into the REM stage. In the REM stage, we don’t have any eye movement beneath our eyelid and at this time we have considerable brain activity. This is the stage in which we dream. We repeat all these cycles 3-4 times in an 8-hour sleep.

If we sleep on time regularly, our body and brain remember the time and follow the sleep cycle every day the same way. But if we change our sleeping time often, then the body and the brain get disrupted and can not follow the same cycle every day. Each day our brain will have different sleep patterns and it will ultimately mess with our sleep cycle. So we must sleep on time every day for a healthy lifestyle. Without this important wellness habit, all our other wellness habits will amount to nothing.

2. Wake Up Early and On Time

Waking up early and on time is another important wellness habit that is related to the sleep cycle. As mentioned earlier, maintaining a regular and proper sleep cycle is part of a healthy lifestyle. For this, we need to sleep on time and then wake up early and on time. Waking up early and on time helps us maintain a proper sleep cycle and gives us enough time to complete all our daily tasks.

The outside environment of early morning is pristine and less polluted. There is also less traffic activity and less noise pollution. Waking up early in the morning will allow us to be in the early morning environment. Early morning is perfect for another great wellness habit which is physical activity. Waking up early and going outside early morning will build physical fitness and enhance cognitive capabilities.

Waking up early also gives us ample amount of time to carry out our daily chores. It also helps us maintain proper eating habits starting with having a proper breakfast which is another important wellness habit (Discussed later). Waking up early also helps us prepare early and set off for our work on time, avoiding rush hour and traffic jams. By waking up early, we get more time for self-development. We can spend quality time with our families. Overall, the wellness habit of waking up early sets our day in the right direction.

3. Doing Regular Exercises and Yoga

One of the most important wellness habits for any age group is exercising and doing yoga regularly. Interestingly, this wellness habit is not only applicable to us humans but also to our pets – especially dogs and cats. Alongside humans, our pets sometimes face health-related issues pertaining to inactive lifestyles. Although doing exercise or yoga is not practical for dogs or cats, it is still a good habit for dog and cat owners to take their pets for a walk to maintain their longevity. It is also a good wellness habit for dogs to go outside in open fields and run or play with their human or dog friends.

For humans, exercising or yoga has far-reaching long-term individual, familial, and social benefits that go far beyond just another wellness habit. Exercising or doing yoga regularly needs sound sleep. Sleeping early and waking up early is essential for exercising as the morning environment is beneficial for physical activity. Also, there is no need to get into a gym or heavy machinery for exercising. Simple walking, jogging. running, skipping rope, and free-hand exercise can give amazing health benefits. One does not even need to go out to exercise. Doing yoga in the confines of a room will provide astonishing health improvements. The benefits of Yoga are enormous and it would require a separate article.

Exercising and doing yoga regularly helps us maintain a healthy weight, balances our hormones, helps our digestion system, increases our blood flow, cleans our blood, helps remove the clogs from our arteries, improves our mental state, decreases our stress levels, strengthens our muscles and bones, and builds our immune system. The benefits of this wellness habit will require an entire article.

Due to our lifestyle choices, non-communicable diseases are alarmingly on the rise. Some of these diseases have become endemic in many societies. Even though there are treatments for these diseases, the costs of treatment are extremely high. Many of the patients and their families just could not afford the cost. Many families go bankrupt due to high medical costs. Many are left in dire economic conditions due to huge hospital bills. The premium of insurance is high and many can’t afford them. Also, insurance may not cover everything and during economic downturns or during layoffs, laid-off individuals may not be able to carry on with the premium.

Medical costs have also become a headache for the companies and even for the Governments. Companies need to pay high insurance premiums for their employees. Governments all around the world, especially in less developed countries, do not have the sound medical infrastructure to deal with these types of diseases as their most of resources are spent on dealing with infectious diseases which have wider implications and challenges.

So if people exercise or do yoga regularly, they remain fit and healthy and there is less possibility of getting sick with non-communicable diseases. This lessens the financial burden on individuals, organizations, societies, and even on the Governments. Various private organizations and even government departments have programs and schemes that encourage people to exercise regularly. Many societies and neighborhoods have also taken various initiatives to instill the habit of regular exercising among their members. All in all, exercising and doing yoga is not just a wellness habit but a tool to make a harmonizing, happy, healthy, and safe society.

4. Taking Regular Bath

After having a good workout, it will be time to take a bath. This wellness habit comes with loads of benefits and can prove to be extremely important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. First, taking a bath after the morning routine refreshes one’s body and mind. The hot or cold shower awakens our muscles and recharges our brain cells. Whatever lethargies or laziness we have in the morning haze, goes away completely due to the bath.

Taking regular baths also has some major health benefits. It regulates the temperature of our bodies and keeps them at a level that is optimal for our functioning. Proper regulation of body temperature is also very necessary for the hormonal balance of our body. Taking regular baths also increases the flow of blood in our body which helps the removal of cellular waste of our body. Taking regular baths also cleans our body from pollution, dust, dead cells, bacteria, and other malicious organism which may take temporary shelter in our body, create bad odor, and cause various skin infections. Taking regular baths also makes us look good and sociable.

Taking a shower a second time or before going to bed can also be beneficiary depending on place, weather, and individual needs. A person who lives in a wet/humid condition or hot/dry weather may take multiple cold showers to keep the body healthy and maintain the body’s temperature. If someone works in a polluted environment or does strenuous physical activities, then the person could take a shower a second time to keep himself/herself healthy. Taking a hot bath before going to bed may also help with the sleep cycle.

5. Having Proper & Healthy Breakfast

After waking up early, doing physical activities, and taking a shower, it is time to have a proper, healthy, and balanced breakfast. Having a proper and healthy breakfast is an extremely important wellness habit as it readies our bodies for the heavy workload of the entire day. Without a proper and healthy breakfast, we will not get the necessary energy to complete our daily tasks. Then, if the work requires physically strenuous activities, then having a proper and healthy breakfast is absolutely necessary.

But even for those who do a desk job, eating a fulfilling breakfast will provide loads of energy. After all, one-fifth of everything we eat, goes to the brain as it is a complicated organ that does some of the most stressful activities. Eating proper breakfast also helps us maintain our weight and is essential for those who are looking to lose weight. Not eating breakfast will make us feel more hungry and in a rush of hunger we may end up eating unhealthy junk food which will laden our bodies with unnecessary & extra calories.

Eating a proper and healthy breakfast also helps us with our digestion. If we skip breakfast, then we may end up eating at unusual times which in turn will mess up the timing for our next meals (lunch and dinner) and will jeopardize our digestive pattern. This will harm our long-term health as our bodies will create excessive waste and will not be able to get rid of it.

In the long term, many lifestyle diseases have their roots in messed-up eating habits. A messed up digestive system will also be detrimental to our sleep cycle and will compromise our hormonal balance in our bodies. So, eating a healthy and proper breakfast is an absolutely necessary wellness habit for all of us if we want to live a healthy, happy, and long life.

6. Eating a Proper Lunch

Another essential wellness habit is eating proper lunch on time. Lunch is the most important meal for us as it provides us with the most important nutrients and ingredients that enrich our bodies, build our muscles, strengthen our bones, boost our immunity, create new cells including blood cells, and heal our bodies. Eating a proper lunch also provides us with most of our calories and fibers which helps our digestive system. There should be a gap of 5-6 hours between breakfast and lunch.

Neglecting lunch will leave us lethargic as we will not have enough strength to operate our daily routine. Our stomachs will stay empty and we will have the urge to fill our belly. In that rush, we will turn to calorie-laden foods such as junk food, sweetened carbonated drinks, foods with too much sugar, food with excessive cholesterol, etc. Eating junk food or food laden with calories during lunch will give our bodies more calories than we will need which in turn will increase our weight, mess up our digestive system, and make us vulnerable to various lifestyle diseases such as high blood sugar, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, kidney failure, heart diseases, and many more etc.

It is a good wellness habit to include more fiber such as whole grain bread, brown/black rice, whole grain noodles, oats, etc. We should also include lots of vegetables, especially green and colored ones, such as spinach, broccoli, peas, cabbages, carrots, kale, etc. Other vegetables such as carrots, beat roots, cauliflower, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, etc., and various types of fruits give us necessary dietary fibers, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. We also must include protein. It builds our muscles and allows our body to recoup from daily work and hardship. We could get protein from animal sources such as eggs, meat, and fish. For vegetarians, tofu, dairy products, soya products, beans, and lentils could provide the necessary amount of protein.

People may have slightly different views about the foods that should be included in our lunch. However, the important thing is to have a wholesome and balanced lunch mixed with calories, fibers, vitamins, minerals, and proteins. The wellness habit of having a proper lunch allows us to carry on with the rest of the day.

7. Hydrate Throughout the Day

Human bodies are 60%-70% water. We can live without food for 2-3 weeks but we will not be able to survive more than 3 days without water. So, the wellness habit of proper hydration of our body is not just essential for a healthy life but it is essential to stay alive. However, we also must remember not to drink too much water because sometimes too much hydration can be fatal as it could lead to water intoxication which in turn could lead to death due to excessive water in the body. So it is important to drink plenty of water not at a stretch but instead in intervals.

The wellness habit of staying hydrated keeps the fluid balance in our body. Water is essential for our cells to carry out osmosis and diffusion which is a process through which our cells’ membranes allow certain materials (nutrients, minerals, etc.) to get inside our cells and remove certain materials (such as cell wastes) from the cell. Water helps with the absorption of the food that we eat.

The constituent parts of food get delivered into the cells through blood which is 50% water. The hemoglobin, which gives our blood red, carries the essential oxygen and delivers it to the cells and it needs water to move through the circulatory system. Water in our body also carries various minerals, such as sodium, potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, etc., into our cells which maintains the blood pressure in our body.

The wellness habit of regular hydration also helps us get rid of bodily toxins. The waste materials, created in our cells, are removed through our urine and sweat. Without the proper removal of cellular waste, we will succumb to various life-threatening diseases. Water also helps us maintain the temperature of our body. In hot weather, our body releases sweat which, as mentioned earlier, carries cell wastes and also keeps our body cool.

8. Meditation

Meditation is a powerful wellness habit that not only endows us with a healthy body but also graces us with a sound mind. Meditation is best done during peaceful morning time. However, it can easily be done at any time of the day. Those who do meditation regularly, show better productivity in personal and work lives.

Meditation lowers our stress hormones and relieves us from our daily anxieties. It soothes us from our day-to-day tensions and strains. It helps us gather our thoughts and focus our minds on our tasks. Through this extremely important wellness habit, we can strive even in extremely strenuous situations and can stay calm even in difficult conditions. Meditation helps us make quick and better decisions which, in some dangerous situations, can be the difference between life and death.

The wellness habit of meditation also helps our hormonal balance by regulating stress hormones and increasing the release of stress-relieving hormones (such as Endorphins). The release of stress-relieving hormones provides us with mental balance and peace of mind. If properly done, meditation can increase blood circulation and increase the amount of oxygen in our blood. It can also help us from chest congestion by regulating our inhaling and exhaling. All in all, meditation can instill calmness in our lives and help us live a balanced life.

Many of these wellness habits and their benefits have been well-known to humans since ancient times. However, in modern times we need these wellness habits more than ever to fight off the perils that come with the comforts and convenience of modern life.

* This article is only meant to be informative. Do not make your important decision based solely on the information provided in this article.

**For medical emergencies consult medical professionals and doctors.

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