- Mental Health + Healthy practices to inc. into your everyday life -> meditation working out, staying hydrated.
Staying healthy goes far beyond eating well, working out and practices of “self care”. There are numerous healthy practices that we leave out of our daily lives, but are imperative to our well being functionality as humans.
Getting enough sleep
One major healthy practice that we fail to do on a daily basis (me as well), is sleeping enough. On average, adults need around 7h of sleep, on a regular schedule, each night. Your body sets your biological clock based on daylight patterns, in order for you to feel alert and energized throughout the day.
You may be asking “what happens when I don’t sleep enough?”. To put it short, long term sleep deficiency is linked with various chronic diseases, including diabetes, depression, and heart disease.
On the contrary, good sleep is linked with increased focus when performing daily tasks, heightened memory, maintenance of a healthy weight, and getting sick less often. To say the least, sleeping well also helps you maintain a good mood and get along with people better; as well as increasing your ability to make better decisions.
Meditation is simply taking time to be aware of things. Rather than judging them or giving an opinion, meditation allows us to look at things from an objective, outside perspective. Meaning that you simply observe.
This practice is associated with the concept of mindfulness; being fully engaged in the present. During meditation, you streamline your mind, and eliminate the traffic of thoughts, causing stress that we are all preoccupied with throughout our daily activities.
Meditation gives you a sense of calm, and balance. You can use it as a vessel for relaxation and coping with stress by simply refocusing your attention. There are no solid conclusions about the medical benefits of practicing meditation, however research has shown a clear link with treating anxiety, depression, heart disease, asthma, cancer, tension and sleeping disorders.
*Please note: Be sure to talk to a healthcare professional about incorporating meditation if you have any of the above conditions. Additionally, meditation is not a replacement for conventional medicine, however it may be used as a supplement to it.