We often concentrate on bigger health habits like regular exercise, balanced diet, and enough sleep in our search for health improvement. However, several other habits that are just as important health-wise, if not more, tend to go unnoticed by people, thus many aspects of our well-being remain unattended. Next are five heath habits that you probably gave to light but they play an important role in keeping a hyper lifestyle.
1. Staying Hydrated
Drinking water is such a basic health habit that many people do not seem to realize that their overall health depends on water. Actually, water initiates nearly every bodily function such as digestion, circulation, and temperature regulation. A person with dehydration will encounter a headache, be tired, and have an affected cognitive function. So make yourself drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day, and as per physical activity or hot weather one must drink more. You can keep a bottle of water by your side the whole day to remember that you should always sip the water.
2. Maintaining Good Posture
Your posture being proper is not only a matter of not slouching; it is about the balance in your body that really matters, so that you protect your muscles and tendons from being overstrained. Bad posture makes you suffer plenty of health problems down your body’s structure like back pain, neck pain, and even digestive disorders. The new generation of sedentary lifestyle created by desk jobs and screen time causes many people to develop improper ways to sit. Aside from trying to regulate this take breaks for stretching out and considering modifying the position of your workspace to an ergonomic one, simple workout methods such as yoga and pilates can be useful in keeping good posture strong.
3. Regular Handwashing
Handwashing is a straightforward and yet mighty technique to safeguard oneself and others from infections and illnesses. It is a good hand practice, which the majority of us skip due to our negligence, busyness, or distraction. Hand scrubbing with soap and running water for at least twenty seconds, ensuring that all the hands, including the nails and the skin between the fingers, are covered is the right way to wash one’s hands. This practice is critical before meals as well as after using the bathroom and coughing or sneezing. If the soap and water are not easily available, keeping a small bottle of hand sanitizer in your bag or pocket can be of help.
4. Practicing Mindfulness and Stress Management
At this moment, humanity living in the modern world, where literally the time can be called as the main asset, embraces the healing power on the inside with not graspable quality. We usually ignore the preciousness of those few minutes in a day that can turn back the wheel of enduring self-improvement. Stress is a common trend in the modern world, but the problem is as great now as it was in the past if we think of the effects it has on our health. On the one hand, mindfulness activities such as concentration meditation, conscious breathing exercises, a few minutes for silence are helpful for stress reduction. On the other hand, being engaged in activities that are pleasurable and relaxing like reading, gardening, or listening to music will minimize stress from your life.
5. Protecting Skin from the Sun
The majority of those of us who are fond of the outdoor environment do not take care of protecting our skins against the harmful UV rays from the sun. Long periods of sun exposure can result in skin that is damaged, aging prematurely, and a higher risk of skin cancer. The prevention of your skin from the sun’s rays includes; applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of not less than 30, wearing protective clothing like hats and sunglasses, and staying in the shade during the sun’s peak hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In case, you are swimming or sweating, it is important to remember to reapply sunscreen every two hours or more frequently.
