How to Be Physically Healthy
A comprehensive overview of the ten most important things for a healthy body
In my essay entitled The Importance of Health, I explained why being healthy should be a priority in one's life and how one can achieve making it a priority; that is to say, how one can get rid of unhealthy habits and adopt what is good for one’s health. In this article, I provide a comprehensive overview of the ten most important things one should strive for in order to be physically healthy.
I. Introduction
There is no doubt that to be healthy demands more things than simply taking care of our body. What conventionally is called body health is certainly important, but this is only one aspect of total health. Mental health, emotional health, and sexual health are important aspects of total health too. In fact, they are all interconnected. I consider the usual separation between the body and the mind as outdated. The one affects the other. It is a fact, for instance, that high levels of stress have an impact on the body. In this article, however, I focus on body health. By prioritising and adopting the following habits, I am confident to say that you will see a big improvement in many aspects of your life.
“In general, nine-tenths of our happiness depends on our health alone.”
— Arthur Schopenhauer, The Wisdom of Life
II. Ten rules for a healthy body
To be physically healthy, primarily you have to sleep well, eat well, and exercise a bit (or more).
To sleep well means to sleep preferably during the night, for at least 7 hours, and without eating right before you go to bed. Try not to neglect sleep. Rest is literally a prerequisite to be able to function well.1
To eat well means to follow, more or less, a Mediterranean diet, with good-quality ingredients, as little processed food as possible, and in general healthy ways of cooking.
To exercise a bit means to work out at least 2-3 days per week, for at least 30 minutes each time. The point is, try to keep your body in motion: take the stairs instead of the elevator; walk throughout the day, bike, etc.
Extra Tips:
Besides sleeping well, eating well, and exercising, it will be beneficial for you to follow the following tips too.
Limit sugar. Try to limit added sugar. This is something that you will start doing anyway if you begin to follow a Mediterranean diet. Sugar is bad for your teeth, your brain, your general long-term mood, and it is addictive. Sadly, it exists in more and more things today, since a lot of producers use it both as a way to reduce the cost of production but also to keep the consumers hooked on their products.
Limit alcohol. Try to limit alcohol, particularly before you go to bed. Drinking a beer or glass of wine once in a while, and whenever you might feel like you need it, it is okay. But if you feel like you need it too often, then you should explore and get rid of the underlying causes that might make you need alcohol too often in the first place.
No Smoking. Smoking is a big no-no. If you love or care to begin loving your body and yourself, and you currently smoke, quitting smoking would be a great favour you could do to yourself.
Final Tips:
If you do all of the above, you will already start feeling much better and see big improvements in your life. Below, I mention four extra tips which are also very important.
Air. The quality of the air you breathe is important. Avoid places with air pollution. Keep your house ventilated. If the place you live in—your town, your city, your village—has bad air quality, consider moving to another place or becoming politically active to address the problem of air pollution in your place.
Water. We often forget to stay hydrated, but water is important for our body. Remember to drink enough water.
Sunlight. As soon as you wake up, open up the curtains so that you will get some sunlight. Ideally (unless it dawns very early where you live) sleep with the curtains open so that you will even wake up to natural light.
Vitamin D (for those living in the North). If you are living in the North and thus do not get too much sun (especially in the winter) it is very likely that you are vitamin D deficient. Therefore, consider taking some vitamin D. Of course, before you do, it would be a good idea to first confirm with your doctor that you do lack some vitamin D. Usually, this can be done simply by taking a blood test.
III. Conclusion
To be physically healthy is not very complicated. If one knows what to do, it is fairly simple. However, only because it is simple does not necessarily mean that it is easy too. My suggestion would be to save or print this article, and have it as a point of reference. It is, in my view, a complete overview of what you need to do to have a healthy body.
If there are other causes than mere lack of information that might make you indulge into habits that are bad for your health (such as stress, unfulfilled desires, anxiety, addiction, pain, etc.), then you should devote the necessary time and energy to figure out the precise causes which prevent you from being healthy as well as become aware of all the positive reasons that you would like to be physically healthy for. In fact, it is primarily the desire for all those positive reasons—what I call the benefits of change—that can inspire and motivate you to strive for being healthy and get rid of bad-for-your-health habits. Otherwise, you will find body health, and thus any relevant change, pointless and unnecessary.
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Footnotes
To read more about how to improve your sleep, I suggest you to read this comprehensive article on Przekrój Magazine, entitled Sleep Well: Twelve Tips for a Good Night’s Rest.
Some good tips here, though I may add one in particular: fasting.
I have found personally that eating healthy is not enough. There is something about denying oneself food for a period that is beneficial to our minds and bodies.
I will write an essay about this soon, but fasting, especially beyond 36 hours, allows our body to accelerate autophagy which may bring about health benefits.