Easy Wellness: 10 Tips for a Longer Life
Easy wellness is real and is even easier than you think.
JOB STRESS IS A FACT OF LIFE. There is a correlation between workplace stress and obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, gastrointestinal problems, asthma. It’s no surprise that people are more likely to suffer a heart attack on Monday than on the other days of the week.
So, what can you do to ease the pressure and experience easy wellness? Easy wellness techniques you can adopt are easier than you might think.
Go for a walk on your lunch hour.
Take your phone calls while standing up and moving around.
Play relaxing music.
Skip happy hour and go to the gym instead.
Wash your hands at least five times each day with soap and warm water.
Keep your bedroom clutter and electronics free.
Change your sheets weekly.
EASY WELLNESS EQUALS HEALTHY WEIGHT. Being overweight increases your risk for all illnesses and chronic conditions. Being underweight prevents the body from functioning at peak performance.
GET YOUR ANNUAL FLU SHOT. AND, AS YOU AGE, GET YOUR ANNUAL PNEUMONIA SHOT AND SHINGLES SHOT. It’s estimated that over 40,000 people die annually from the flu. An annual shot can prevent at least some of these deaths.
GET NAKED! Occasionally, inspect your body from head to toe. Look for blemishes, lesions, rashes, and other body oddities that are new on the scene. Your skin reflects the state of your entire body. If you will pay attention to your skin, you can catch the signs of underlying internal disease. Your body will tell you how well you are aging through skin tone, wrinkles, and color.
Expand the skin care routine you devote to your face and neck to include a skin care routine for your entire body.
GET OFF YOUR SEAT AND ON YOUR FEET. Easy wellness can go beyond the gym. Is your job physically intense? Or do you spend most of your time at a desk? Find ways to keep yourself moving throughout your day. Your body will love you for this!
DISCONNECT! At least twice a week give yourself a time out. It needn’t be too long. Try for 20 minutes at a time. Cut off your phone, your computer, your TV, your radio, your doorbell. Spend a few minutes enjoying your surroundings without interruptions. Your body, your mind, your spirit will thank you!
QUIT SMOKING – Okay, this may not be easy to do but, once you’ve done it, you’ll be healthier, more alert, richer, live longer. If you can get yourself down to 5 cigarettes a day, it’s easier to quit the habit completely.
GET YOUR HEART RATE UP FOR AT LEAST 20 MINUTES A DAY. This can be real easy wellness. One way to do this is to move your body and force your lungs and heart to work harder for 20 minutes every day. Your entire body will appreciate this effort – including your brain!
COFFEE CAN BE GOOD FOR YOU. Coffee goes in and out of fashion. I recommend a reasonable amount of coffee, especially in the morning. Both coffee and tea have antioxidants which we all need. Your coffee does not need to include the modern energy concoctions which are overloaded with too much coffee and sugar. Nor does it need to include any of the fashionable flavors being added these days.
GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF A DNA TEST. This is easy wellness in action. You’ll be fascinated by the information and you’ll also know yourself better. Results of your DNA test can point you in the right direction for wellness habits.
Results of your DNA test can also point you in a right direction for good nutritional habits. Through your DNA test, you’ll discover where you came from. Eating food in the style of your ancestors can help you nutritionally. I’ll give you an example. One of my clients wanted to know what to eat. He had a DNA test which confirmed that most of his heritage was Jewish. He had his answer right there!
Another client wanted to know what to eat. His DNA test confirmed that most of his heritage was Mediterranean. Well, the Mediterranean diet was a good direction for him to follow. Sticking with the Mediterranean diet food and cutting out all the other food clutter eliminated a few pounds which he needed to lose.
Thank you for reading this easy wellness article! Please share it with your favorite social media network.
Thurman Greco
Woodstock, New York
Healthy Sleep-
SLEEP WELL
Some of us sleep well. Some of us wish we could sleep well. And, some of us battle sleep and try to improve it. And, for some, this is a lifelong endeavor. Sleep simply eludes us .
Even though I sleep well, I fall in the category of those who try to improve my sleep. Through the years, I’ve developed some techniques that give me a successful night’s sleep not just once in awhile…but most nights.
Sleep is a priority with me. And not just a decent sleep, either. I want and need a good night’s sleep every night.
An important step I take each evening before I get into bed is establish a sleep intention. I do this every evening because I want my sleep to be restful and serene. I want to sleep throughout the night because my goal is to wake up rested and ready for the coming day. This is the intention I set each evening before I get in my bed.
CAFFEINE…OR NOT
I begin preparing for sleep each evening in the morning before I leave home. My caffeinated drinks are exclusively early day beverages and I taper off the caffeine as the day goes on.
One way I do this is limit my coffee to no more than five cups a day. Even though five cups is my limit, often I never even get to five cups. I enjoy unsweetened iced tea so I may drink more tea than coffee.
As midday rolls around, I switch to a latte. I may occasionally have a decaffeinated coffee in the afternoon. But, not often.
Most of the time, my afternoon drink is a large unsweetened iced tea.
TV TIME
When I’m home relaxing, I resist the temptation to watch “just one more program”. And, I limit my email time after dinner. And, neither my TV nor my computer can be found in my bedroom because they can interfere with my sleep.
A SLEEP SCHEDULE
I try to maintain a sleep schedule so that I go to bed pretty much the same time every evening and I get up about the same time on weekdays.
A PERFECT BEDROOM
My bedroom is the most serene room in the house. The walls are a pale cream color. The carpet is a quiet brown. I have several pieces of art on the walls which make me feel calm and positive. Sleep comes easy in this room.
And, my bed is perfect! I love it. The mattress is sooo comforting.
Are your sheets comfortable? Some people love cotton sheets. Others prefer flannel sheets. I’m on the flannel sheet side of the argument. I love the feel of the flannel sheets every night of the year.
When you buy sheets, carefully check the labels to be sure that you get what you pay for. Be sure your sheets are good enough quality that you can wash them in hot water and put them in the dryer.
Is the sheet fabric tightly woven enough to keep away dust mites, pet dander, and other allergens.
Whatever you choose, make sure you have sheets and blankets that you like. You need to like the color. You need to like how the fabric feels when you touch it.
And finally, you need to feel your bedding is inviting.
THE TEMPERATURE
Is your bedroom too hot or is it too cool? The last thing you want is to sweat or shiver throughout the night because when you’re shivering or sweating, you are not sleeping.
YOUR APPLIANCES
Your sleep doesn’t need to be disturbed with computer, smartphone, TV, and other appliances beep. So, they don’t belong in your bedroom.
CLEAR OUT THE CLUTTER
Clearing out the clutter in your bedroom really helps. An uncluttered space is calming, inviting, serene. Go for it! Try clearing out the clutter about fifteen minutes a day until the room is all cleaned out. You’ll feel better and sleep better for it.
When I started clearing out the clutter, I felt things would look better in my bedroom but I was unprepared for the wonderful difference an uncluttered space made in my sleep.
MOVE YOUR HOME OFFICE TO SOMEWHERE ELSE
Ban your office from your bedroom. When you bring your work to your bedroom, you make it harder to unwind as you think about tomorrow’s problems before you try to go to sleep.
There are a kazillion other things you can do to improve your sleep. I’ll be discussing them over time. Some of the suggestions I’ll bring up may not interest you. Try what seems good to you. As you discover what improves your better sleep, you’ll benefit from the changes.
You may find you look better, feel better, and think better. It’s worth the effort to change your habits and environment.
Thanks for reading this article! Please refer it to your favorite social media network.
Thurman Greco
