This is the first in a 3-part series of articles where I will be covering my top five best health tips for body, mind, and soul. In this article, we’re covering physical health.
The other 2 articles in this series are here:
Top 5 Best Spiritual Health Tips
So now I’ll be giving you five of my best physical health tips that you can do quickly, easily, and inexpensively. They don’t require a lot of money, time, or willpower. If you are busy, overwhelmed, or confused, these are the best things to start with.
Audio/podcast version:
Everyone knows that physical health is important, and that exercise is good for you. But it’s still hard for most people to start an exercise program or a diet, and even if you are able to start, it’s very hard to stick with it long enough to see the benefits.
The health benefits of exercise and eating healthy are far too great to let yourself succumb to laziness, busyness, or lack of motivation. So, I like to make health simple and easy, even for lazy people, even for busy people, even for people who have a hard time staying active.
I myself am guilty of being lazy, lacking in motivation, and being so busy with work that I let my health slip. These 5 tips worked for me and now I’ll share them with you!
Table of Contents
Avoid Sitting Down
Sitting too much has been shown to contribute to chronic health issues. Sitting for long periods of time is not only bad for your physical health, but it’s bad for your mental health.
When you’re on your feet, you are burning calories, keeping your blood circulating, helping your posture, and keeping yourself moving. It’s easier to keep moving when you are standing, so you are less likely to let minutes of inactivity turn to hours. Getting into the habit of walking every day will do wonders for your health.
A body at motion stays in motion and a body at rest stays at rest. If you eliminate the temptation to sit for hours, you will be leaps and bounds ahead of the couch potatoes.
Even moving water is healthier than sitting water. This is one example where we can learn from nature and keep the energy flowing.
There is one time when sitting IS recommended, however; when you eat! Three times a day; breakfast, lunch, and dinner, be sure to sit. If you do this, you will be sitting for a good hour ½-two hours a day at intervals which is enough to keep your legs from getting tired.
The longer you are on your feet, the more your leg muscles will adapt and soon you will have calves of steel and you’ll have no problem standing for 3-4 hours at one time.
I once had a job where I worked 12 hour shifts with only two breaks. At first, the 2nd half of my day was pretty miserable. But after a few weeks, I was used to it and I noticed my leg muscles were firmer than they’d ever been in my life!
Eat Whole Foods
If you can only change one thing about your diet, make it be this! Eating only whole foods will ensure that you aren’t eating anything processed. Processed foods are one of the main causes of poor health.
Eating whole foods will be cheaper and healthier in the long run. Many whole foods can be eaten raw, as well, so a lot of cooking isn’t required.
I have an article that helps you determine how to know if a food is healthy or not, you can read that here.
Adjust Your Sleeping Habits
Most people have struggled at least once in their life with not sleeping well, having trouble sleeping, and having trouble staying asleep.
Sleep standards are usually between seven and nine hours a night for adults and healthy people. Babies, of course, need more than anyone, followed by kids and teenagers. Elderly people may need less sleep. If you are sick, more sleep is needed.
Sleep is when your body heals, rejuvenates, and processes toxins. So regardless of your age or your health, it’s a good goal to shoot for to get about eight hours of sleep a night (give or take an hour).
There are a lot of factors that contribute to poor sleep quality, including stress, depression, and anxiety. By living a holistic lifestyle, you’ll be able to cut down on these things. But your average case of insomnia can be fixed by applying these tips. It’s all about resetting the circadian rhythm.
I wrote an entire article on how to get a good night’s sleep which you can read here.
Get Out in Nature
Humans are part of nature, and I think it’s a travesty that most people spend most of their days indoors. I am not saying this is by choice, but society has evolved in such a way that we have to put in effort if we want to be out in nature, whereas in our ancestors time, being outside was unavoidable.
Our ancestors had something we don’t; a true connection to nature. Without grocery stores, they had no choice but to spend all day outside growing and harvesting their own foods. And of course, this also kept them active all day.
Working within nature is healing in so many ways. Not only does gardening provide us with the healthiest food, regularly being in touch with the dirt grounds us and provides us with healthy microbes.
Being so connected to our natural home gives our spiritual health a boost, too. It’s hard to feel disconnected from ourselves, the planet, and the Universe when you are so immersed in it on a regular basis.
There is a practice in Japan called “forest bathing”. The point is to immerse yourself in the sights, sounds, smells, and textures of nature. Touching the trees, looking at the blue sky, listening to bird song, smelling the dampness of the dirt; it all adds to the experience.
To get an extra boost, you can take off your shoes and go barefoot, which is called Earthing or grounding. This is the best way to immerse yourself in nature and absorb all of the healing energy and negative ions from the Earth.
Getting adequate sunlight is a by-product of being in nature. As I mentioned when talking about sleep, getting sunlight as early in the day as possible is crucial for good sleep, and it is also crucial for our happiness.
So being out in nature has many benefits for the body, mind, and soul. Nature Deficit Disorder is real, so you will go a long way towards improving your physical, mental, and spiritual health by just spending more time in nature.
Proper Hydration
Humans are mostly water, so it is crucial to our health to get enough water every day, about 8 glasses (give or take, depending on your body weight and climate).
Getting the right kind of water is also crucial. Tap water is notoriously bad for you, although if that’s all you have, don’t let that stop you. If you can, get purified or spring water in glass jugs or bottles, or better yet, directly from a spring.
Using a filter is the next best thing, preferably reverse osmosis. If you use that, be sure to replace the minerals because reverse osmosis takes everything out. Expensive water purifiers are nice, but most people can’t afford them. So just sprinkle a tiny bit of Himalayan pink salt into your water, or you can buy liquid mineral drops. One bottle lasts me for months.
One helpful tip to remember is that light and heat can break down the quality of water, especially if it is stored in plastic. There is nothing worse than drinking water from a plastic bottle that’s been sitting in a hot bright environment. So if you store water, try to do it in glass jugs or bottles and keep it in a dark space.
In Conclusion
These are my top five best physical health tips; if you do anything for better physical health, start with these as a bare minimum. Your efforts to achieve optimal health will go much further if they include these.
If you still want more information on how to improve your physical health, I have a few related articles here:
The Foundations of Physical Health
Best Things You Can Do Every Day For Better Health
And the other two articles in this series are here:
Top 5 Best Spiritual Health Tips
If you prefer to learn from videos, I have a YouTube channel where I make videos about all the topics I cover on my blog. There are many different playlists including this one all about living a healthy lifestyle.
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