A healthy lifestyle improves all areas of your life. It helps prevent physical and mental health conditions, and when healthy on the inside, your external relationships and skills will flourish.

What does it mean to live a healthy life?

Contrary to what you may have previously been told, living a healthy life doesn’t mean your habits must always be perfect. However, the more often you have healthy tendencies, the better you will feel. Listening to your body and providing it with the nutrients it needs to thrive and feel strong has a lasting impact on your mood and stress levels. Regular exercise brightens your mood and decreases the risk of chronic conditions. A healthy diet decreases inflammation and ensures that the brain is supplied with proper nourishment.

Importance of a Healthy Mindset

A healthy mind leads to a healthy body. When creating a healthy headspace and a positive mindset, your body will feel the effects. To create a healthy mindset, engage in activities that will provide a sense of balance and perspective. For example, take part in activities of self-discovery and find opportunities to add pleasure into your life. When you add small acts of wellness into your daily routine, you are actively preventing disease. Chronic stress can be decreased through a connection to spirituality and understanding your emotions. Mental stimulation is a creative way to “exercise” your brain and helps to create new mental pathways and networks, which decreases feelings of fatigue and depression.

The Bigger Picture – a Healthy Lifestyle Impacts Decision Making and Vice Versa

The better we feel, the more beneficial decisions we will make. These positive decisions will come full circle and help us feel content with our healthy lives.

As you can tell, there are plenty of ways to start living a healthier life, you just have to keep the bigger picture in mind and prioritize the concept of health when combating unhealthy behaviors.

References

  • Loureiro, Y. K., Bayuk, J., Tignor, S. M., Nenkov, G. Y., Baskentli, S., & Webb, D. (2016). The Case for Moral Consumption: Examining and Expanding the Domain of Moral Behavior to Promote Individual and Collective Well-Being. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 35(2), 305–322. http://www.jstor.org/stable/ 44164860
  • Nussbaum, P. D. (2015). Brain Health for the Self-Empowered Person. Generations: Journal of  the American Society on Aging, 39(1), 30–36. https://www.jstor.org/stable/ 26556094
  • World Health Organization. (2019). How to promote mental health and prevent mental health conditions. In mhGAP Community Toolkit: Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) (pp. 38–62). World Health Organization. http://www.jstor.org/stable/ resrep27898.12

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