Staying Healthy Tips For You And Those You Care For Encompass Body, Mind, And Spiritual Wellness
Pegasus in-home caregivers in Ventura and elsewhere use their skills to keep themselves and their senior clientele in good health. They know that well-being is multi-faceted. Career home health care nurses offer these comprehensive tips for staying healthy for you and those you care for.
Good Nutrition Is Essential For Staying Healthy
The adage “you are what you eat” has stood the test of time because it has merit. Staying healthy starts with diet. The basics of eating well include:
- Adding more nuts and seeds – although they are high in fat, they’re packed with nutrition.
- Abstaining from food and drinks with added sugar – added sugars increase the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
- Avoiding highly processed foods and refined carbs – processing and refining adds artificial or modified ingredients that can increase susceptibility to chronic diseases and obesity.
- Consuming coffee – up to four cups a day is beneficial if sugary additives aren’t added.
- Eating fish, eggs, fruits, and vegetables – provide needed protein, healthy fats, and fiber.
- Replacing sugar and salt with herbs and spices – these add flavor, and many contain antioxidant or anti-inflammatory properties.
- Using monounsaturated oils rather than artificial trans fats – small amounts of unsaturated fats also provide antioxidants.
Guidelines such as the above are part of the Mediterranean Diet and the DASH diet. A combination of those is known as the MIND diet, which maximizes cognitive and cardiovascular functioning.
Good Lifestyle Habits Are Part Of Staying Healthy
Eating well is essential for providing your body with the nutrients it needs to function. It also helps to control weight in a healthy way. Maintaining your ideal weight is crucial to your overall physical health.
Other tools in your physical wellness toolkit include:
- Developing good lifestyle habits – quit smoking or consuming excessive amounts of alcohol. Stay hydrated. Get adequate sleep. Practice stress management.
- Movement – you don’t have to exercise yourself to exhaustion. Research shows that as little as two and one/half hours weekly is beneficial.
- Strength training – increasing muscle mass helps keep bones strong and reduces injuries from falls.
Get regular physical, vision, and dental checkups. Follow relevant treatment plans to control medical conditions.
Mens Sana In Corpore Sano (A Healthy Mind In A Healthy Body)
Mental health encompasses a positive outlook on life. A significant part of that is establishing healthy relationships with others. Try to interact with others in-person as much as possible.
Consider joining a group that shares your hobby or special interest. Make new friends. Greet strangers with a hello and a smile when you’re out and about.
Other techniques for staying mentally healthy include:
- Choosing meaningful work
- Developing an attitude of gratitude
- Learning coping skills
- Taking time to relax
- Volunteering
Taking care of yourself physically is an essential part of mental health. And, as with physical conditions, seek professional help for your mental health when needed.
Staying spiritually healthy is another component of your well-being. Although spirituality can include your religious beliefs, it is more than that for most individuals. It’s usually defined as “belief in something beyond yourself.”
If you haven’t already, explore your values. These are personal but may include characteristics like honesty or loyalty. Your values determine how you interact with others.
Knowing your values serves to increase your self-awareness. That, in turn, leads to understanding your strengths and helps you set achievable goals for your life, including staying healthy. You also become better able to manage your emotions and reactions to others.
Journaling can be a significant part of understanding yourself. It’s a way to discover the deeper meanings of how you think and feel. Other tips for developing your spirituality include:
- Doing a good deed
- Expressing your creativity through activities such as crafts, hobbies, art, or cooking
- Focusing on the here and now, rather than the past or the future
- Meditating
- Spending time in nature
- Taking a break from phones, computers, and television
Staying mentally and spiritually healthy has common elements that include volunteering. Developing your attitude of gratitude also benefits all aspects of your health.
Staying Healthy Incorporates All Parts Of Your Life
Staying healthy includes your body, your mind, and your inner being as described above. But there’s more. In fact, researchers have established eight components of well-being, as follows:
- Emotional – coping skills and satisfying relationships
- Environmental – pleasant and safe surroundings, enjoying nature
- Financial – expertise and abilities to handle finances, planning for retirement
- Intellectual – expanding knowledge and creativity
- Physical – good lifestyle habits such as exercise and good nutrition
- Spiritual – knowing your purpose and finding meaning in life
- Social – connecting with others, volunteering
- Vocational – job satisfaction
Other sources use slightly different labels, such as community and mind. Regardless of the terminology, all the facets of staying healthy are interrelated and interdependent. There are also many overlapping elements within the categories.
Pegasus is a licensed Home Care Organization and a Joint Commission Accredited Home Health Care organization. Our skilled in-home caregivers in Ventura and our other locations provide individualized care for individuals of all ages. Our career home health care nurses know that staying healthy encompasses all parts of an individual’s life.
