10 Unique Ways to Foster a Healthier Lifestyle

Bolstering your health is an important aspect of staying satisfied on both a physical and mental level. However, health is about so much more than simply keeping yourself in physical shape and cutting back on processed sweets. To that end, learning how to cultivate a healthy lifestyle can lead anybody to improve their health as a whole. 

What Does Health Actually Mean?

There are a variety of different definitions for what health actually means, but as outlined in the Constitution of the World Health Organization, health refers to the complete mental and physical state of well-being, including factors such as social happiness. It has long since been disproved that health is solely the absence of disease. 

One of the best ways to improve this all-around view of health is to focus on developing a lifestyle that promotes healthier activity. To those unfamiliar with the term, lifestyle simply refers to the way in which a person acts on a day-to-day basis and what they do over that same timeframe. 

What is a Healthy Lifestyle? 

To the above point, learning how to develop a healthy lifestyle can allow a person to achieve true health. However, a healthy lifestyle varies from person to person, making it difficult to actually define. For the most part, a healthy lifestyle will include some of the following habits:

• Continuously monitoring nutrition intake to ensure you are getting all the necessary vitamins a person needs

• Ensuring both your mind and body are well rested

• Practicing mindfulness activities to focus on being more in the moment

• Fostering new friendships and managing old relationships alike

• Staying physically fit and active with activities that bring you joy

10 Ways to Develop a Healthy Lifestyle

The idea behind a healthy lifestyle is to integrate habits in your daily life that address both physical and mental health. To that end, use the following 10 methods for developing a lifestyle that promotes positive health:

1. Exercise regularly based on your interests 

Exercise needs vary on a person-to-person basis, but most experts recommend around 150 minutes of moderate to intense activity per week at a minimum. This means just about two and half house of moderate activity, which most people can squeeze into their busy schedules. 

Additionally, this doesn’t mean you need to go lift weights in a gym. Bike riding is a great source of cardio, although the risk of being in a bike accident may outweigh this activity for some people. Find what exercise activity makes you feel happy and take part in that. 

2. Watch what you eat, rather than how much you eat

Oftentimes, people become hung up on the idea that they are eating too much or too little and fail to look at what they are actually eating. For example, you could not eat the entire day only to have a 2,000-calorie fast food dinner. While this technically meets the recommended calories for an adult in a day, it’s not a healthy habit to get into. Watch what you eat more than how much you’re eating.

3. Reduce the amount of screen time you’re getting

Screens are everywhere in society in today’s day and age, but they place a great strain on your eyes and can even cause issues such as brain fog or vision problems over time. Take at least a 10-20 minute break for every hour you spend in front of a screen if possible. 

4. Make sure you’re getting an ample amount of rest

Adults need to get at least seven to eight hours of rest per night to stimulate muscle growth and all-around health. While life can certainly get busy, make time to rest your mind and body as opposed to burning the midnight oil. 

5. Drink water to stay hydrated

Water is a major necessity for the human body. Without enough water in your system, you will not feel as active, awake, or energetic. Always make sure you’re drinking at least eight cups of water a day at a minimum to maintain healthy levels in your body. 

6. Carve out time during the day for just yourself

Self-care is a majorly overlooked component of building a health lifestyle. At least once a day, even if it’s just for ten minutes, all people should take the time to slow down and do something they enjoy. Whether it’s catching up on a good book, listening to music, or something else, carve out some time for just you. 

7. Take the time to re-engage with friends or family 

Our social life is often put to the side in favor of work, but this shouldn’t be the case. Our relationships have a major impact on our overall well-being and can be a determining factor in how we feel daily. Take the time to reconnect with old friends who you have allowed a relationship to falter within the past. 

8. Take multivitamin supplements

With the rise of the fast food industry in the past few decades, the nutritional value of food gotten from these sources has declined greatly. If you seem to notice your vitamin levels are low, consider taking a multivitamin daily to ensure you get your allotted dose of vitamins. 

9. Take care of your hygiene daily

Hygiene isn’t often discussed when thinking about health, but it can play a major role in how someone feels. For example, picture how good it feels to shower off after an extremely long day. Something as simple as taking care of hygiene can impact how we feel on a daily basis. 

10. Set achievable goals for yourself

To keep your motivation going with the long-term goals you set, focus on developing smaller milestone goals that allow you to work towards your larger goal. This will help you celebrate small little wins which can bolster your overall motivation. 

Don’t settle for unhealthy lifestyle habits

Healthy habits can lead to a healthy lifestyle, which can bolster both your physical and mental health. Don’t settle for bad habits that you have become accustomed to, as this can result in feelings of just going through the motions. Identify which parts of your life you can bolster by identifying your own shortcoming, then take this information and use it to build out healthier habits.