back to basics: Health.

Healthy. Def: in a good physical or mental condition; in good health.

Starting with healthy is all we need to do. We don’t need to set our sights on huge goals that are unachievable, we just need to take steps towards being healthier. It doesn’t matter how perfect we look on Instagram, whether we can pull up our own body-weight, or run faster than Paula Radcliffe on a bad day – we just need to move our bodies enough, eat well, sleep enough and more for our minds and bodies to achieve good health.

The benefits of a healthy lifestyle are plentiful: improved physical health, improved mental health, more energy, boosted mood, prevention of diseases and health issues, it saves money, and more.

Unfortunately a lot of adults simply don’t move their bodies enough due to busy lives and sedentary jobs, sleep enough due to stress, or eat well enough due to LIFE. But this needn’t be the case with proper planning, making small changes one step at a time, and trying to seek out the things you love. So what does this all mean?

Exercise

The evidence tells us that adults need 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week, 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per week, or a combination thereof. It is also advised that adults “do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) on at least 2 days a week” (NHS). I urge you to hop on over to the NHS Physical Activity Guidelines for adults aged 19-64 and see how you can go back to basics with your exercise and discover what you need. And remember that making small changes one by one will lead to big changes in the long run. Start small, develop habits that become part of life, and then layer more on. Also, consider how you can inject more everyday exercise into your life – do you take the bus to work? Switch it to a walk a couple of times a week. Love running? Consider a run-commute. And always, always, use the stairs if you can. The strength benefits from stair-walking are quite surprising, even in small doses!

DIET

Again, I refer you to the brilliant NHS who have created the Eatwell Guide. This details hows how much of what we eat overall should come from each food group to achieve a healthy, balanced diet. Have a look at the recommendations and see how you might alter your diet to make it healthier. Perhaps keeping a food diary might help, so that you can start to notice patterns and make adjustments? And remember, over at Play we are all about moderation – you are allowed a treat now and then! Oh, and I need to be clear that diet means “the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats”. I’m not an advocate of fad diets, but more on that another day.

SLEEP

It’s a fact – most of us don’t get enough sleep. Adults need 7-9 hours per night, and the rewards of getting enough are plentiful: reduced risk of disease, improved brain function, healthy weight management, improved mood, and much more. Consider whether you are getting enough sleep and try to make changes to your sleep hygiene if you think it could be improved. And, I’ll be the first to say this is rich coming from me after years of insomnia! But I am working on it. A weighted blanket helps enormously…starting a new business does not!

Fresh Air

The more the better. If you are feeling stuck at work, go for a brisk walk. If you are fretting about the never-ending list of things on your Christmas to-do list, get out and walk around the block. Then come back and attack it afresh – the movement and fresh air will have helped, and your list and life will seem less frightening.

Meditation/yoga/wild swimming/read a book/do what you love

Make time for YOU. Make time to do something that you love, something that refreshes the mind and soul and nourishes you in ways that only you fully understand.

Friends

Hang out with them because they are the best. Tell them how you are. Listen to how they are. Gather up!

Water

Rather like sleep, most adults don’t drink enough water, me included. The Eatwell Guide says we should drink 6 to 8 cups or glasses of fluid a day. Water, lower-fat milk and sugar-free drinks, including tea and coffee, all count. I bought a really good water bottle that had the times written on it which prompted me to drink more regularly…but then I lost it (hopeless) so I tried an alarm on my phone…BOY that was annoying! See what works for you, but remember that if you get thirsty it’s too late and you are already dehydrated. Try to drink regularly enough that you don’t feel thirsty – that’s a win.

Healthy. Now doesn’t that sound good?