Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is nearly impossible when trying to meet the demands of modern life, career, and family. In May 2023, YouGov conducted an online poll of 2,086 adults about what prevented them from making healthy changes to their diet and being more physically active1. Of the 2,086 adults polled, the main issue was exhaustion across all demographics.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that a third of U.S. adults report getting less than the recommended amount of sleep2. Despite these survey results, there are ways you can regain control over your health starting today. With gradual changes, you can benefit from better health and set a foundation for a healthier lifestyle.
At Hoag Compass, we recommend starting where you are today and making simple changes to develop healthy habits. Using our “daily health interventions” approach, we have set a list of recommendations for creating a health baseline.
Daily recommendations for optimal health
Balance Your Nutrition: As a basis, we suggest aligning your diet with seasonal and local produce. This approach will help you build a diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods. Avoid potentially toxic sources such as processed foods and soy, which hinder natural hormone production and compromise energy. Consider Ayurvedic or traditional Chinese medicine for a more tailored approach to choosing foods that balance your unique constitution.
Prioritize Emotional and Social Well-being: Social activities and therapies benefit introverts and extroverts. Counseling, art therapy, community involvement, and spending time with friends and family provide support, socialization, and relaxation opportunities. Humans need these activities to promote resilience and mental well-being.
Get Adequate Rest: Developing a pre-bedtime ritual helps promote deep sleep habits. Drinking herbal teas, reducing screen time one hour before bed, and self-massaging with essential oils (lavender, chamomile) can help. Understanding your daily rhythm to optimize your bedtime and wake-up time can improve energy production, gut function, and the immune system.
Hydrate and Infuse: According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), dehydration is a common cause of hospitalization in the United States. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated3. Drinking plenty of filtered or spring water and incorporating herbal infusions supports hydration and provides therapeutic benefits.
Invest In Water Purification: Our water system contains some contaminants. Therefore, it’s essential to remineralize your body with mineral water and nutrients like trace minerals. You can purchase a high-quality water purifier that eliminates harmful “forever chemicals.” These chemicals, such as lead, nitrites, and nitrates, build up in our bloodstream and can affect organ function.
Move Regularly: Spending hours in the gym or taking part in long hikes is unnecessary to raise your endorphins. Find a form of exercise that makes you feel good and is sustainable, such as swimming, dancing, walking, or hiking. Maintaining a consistent schedule of activity will enhance your circulation and vitality.
Setting realistic goals and integrating them into your daily life is essential. Remain consistent over ninety days to develop a “habit stacking” approach to build more habits once basic ones are mastered. For example, focusing on nutrition as your baseline health approach helps your brain function and provides adequate sleep. To kickstart your nutrition plan, speak to someone on our care team at Hoag Compass.
1 “Too tired” to be healthy? You’re not alone. (2023, May 18). https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2023/05/18/lifestyle-changes
2 Sleep and sleep disorders. (2023, March 23). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/index.html
3 Taylor, K., & Jones, E. B. (2022, October 3). Adult dehydration. StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK555956/
