My top recommendations for a healthy life!
If I had to recommend four things that you could do that would make an impact on your health and life, I would say adequate sleep, exercise, water and the right foods.
Sleep is so important for the body. Most people don’t realize that sleep is a keystone of health. When we are sleep-deprived, it is really hard to eat well or to have the energy to exercise. It is hard to think straight and hard to stay in a good mood or have a positive outlook on life. When you sleep there are two main cycles. The beginning of your sleep is usually when your brain regenerates. This is the restorative phase of sleep. The second cycle is when you dream or the REM phase where memories are solidified.
Every hour of sleep before midnight is equal to three hours of regenerative sleep after midnight, so try and get to bed before midnight. Make sure your room is dark with blackout curtains or you can wear a sleep mask. Make sure your room is cool as this puts you into a deeper sleep. Lighting in your room should be dim and warm and all electronics should be off one hour before you go to sleep. You can wear blue blocking glasses when watching tv or if you have to be on your phone. Try to keep a schedule for your sleep.
Exercise is a must. We were made to be moving. You do not have to be working out hard every day for an hour, a good brisk walk every day is great! Make sure that you have some flexibility exercise such as yoga or stretching and also as you get older, it is important to lift weights. As you age your muscle mass drops so lifting weights or using resistance of some sort can help build and keep your muscle mass. This also fuels your metabolism.
Water is what keeps us alive. You should be drinking half of your body weight in ounces of water. For example, if you weigh 200lbs, then you should be drinking 100 ounces or 12.5 cups of water per day. Remember for every caffeinated beverage you drink has to replaced with a cup of water. Water is what makes our brains work efficiently, if you don’t have enough water that is when you will experience brain fog. Water keeps our blood thinner so it can move easier throughout our body. Water plumps up your skin. There is so much that water does for our bodies, make sure it is filtered water. Tap water contains parasites, bacteria, pharmaceutical drugs, lead, pesticides, nitrates, hormones etc.
Eating the right foods is a bit of an adjustment for most people. If you give up sugar and grains you are doing a lot for your body. Eat colorful foods, very little carbs and grass fed beef and pastured or organic chicken. Fish should be the smaller ones, such as sardines, mackerel, anchovies, salmon and herring. Make sure it is sustainably sourced. Use good fats like olive, avocado, coconut and ghee.
Contact me for more information.
