When it comes to our health, we’re being bombarded with a lot of information from left and right and sometimes it’s hard to keep pace with all of it. Especially when we’re reading our Facebook, favorite blogs, listen to friends and watch YouTube tutorials, making a decision becomes a bit of a challenge.
Here, at 9to5hacks, we’re focused on filtering out the noise and focusing on the essentials. This being said, I want to cover today the most basic 3 things, as per backed by science that anyone should do in order to extend their lives and be healthier. Here they come.
1. Get quality and enough sleep every night
This is a fundamental condition for a long, healthy life. Sleeps allows your brain and body to fully recover, flush all the toxins and reset completely for a new day to come. Do not neglect sleep as it’s the only chance you’re giving your body to prepare, grow and recover. Make sure you get at least 7 hours of sleep a night.
2. Eat well and make sure you have a healthy gut
I’m pretty sure you’ve heard about probiotics (and prebiotics). Do yourself a favor and Google what these friendly bacteria are and how much good they’re doing to your body and mind. They’re usually found in fermented food such as yoghurt, kombucha, sauerkraut and miso.
I want to emphasize the latter as recent research has shown a clear connection between how healthy your gut is and how your brain feels. Not only that, but also negative emotions might originate from an inflamed gut which can be easily fixed through diet or supplementation. I personally use both, keeping supplements for when I travel or when I don’t have fermented food in my house. The brand I use is Garden of Life, and you can find it on Amazon.
3. Physical activity and meditation
These are obvious. Make sure you move whenever it’s possible, use the stairs and favor walking to buy groceries instead of driving. Even if you don’t go to a gym, find an exercise opportunity every single day by keeping yourself active. The more we move, the happier we are!
Also, meditation should be part of your routine. Our busy lives keep us from having silent moments where we disconnect from the daily stress, focus on ourselves and empty our minds to allow them to restart at full capacity. I personally use HeadSpace for meditation – it’s a cool app that runs on both iPhones and Android and is highly rated by psychologists and regular users like you and me.
Wrap up
In a nutshell, keep it simple folks. Sleep well, eat well and move. Also, adding meditation to your lives, focusing on family and friends is instrumental for a long, happy and healthy life!