'When it comes to supporting our health and wellbeing we cannot focus on only one supportive technique'
When it comes to supporting our health and wellbeing we cannot focus on only one supportive technique. For example, exercising without adequate nutrition or socialising while neglecting our sleep.
Instead, it is important to support our health and wellbeing by focusing on multiple areas from nutrition and sleep to reducing our toxic load and finding a supportive community.
At The Health Puzzle we believe that to reach optimal health you need to find support in each of the areas below:
Nutrition
Our bodies and minds require a certain amount of nutrients to survive (e.g. water, protein, vitamins and antioxidants). It needs even more of these essential nutrients, in the right balance to thrive. Knowing how to nourish our bodies is one of the best way to support our health and wellbeing.
Sleep
Sleep is vital for our health and wellbeing. Achieving an optimal amount of sleep, tailored to our individual needs based on factors such as age, health status, and activity levels, requires continuous adjustment. However, when we make sleep a priority and find the right balance, it can profoundly impact our health and wellbeing.
Movement & Exercise
It is well-known that movement and exercise are important for your mental and physical health. However, our understanding of the type, amount and intensity of movement and exercise that we should be doing each day is poorly understood. Many people do too much or too little based on their health status, nutrient levels and priorities. It is important to find the right balance for you.
Rest & Relaxation
The type and length of your rest and relaxation practices/techniques need to be frequently adapted to meet the needs of your body and mind. Illness, poor sleep quality, high stress, increased exercise levels, etc, all require a higher quality and duration of rest and relaxation. There are so many practices and techniques available, you just have to find the ones that work for you.
Rejuvenation
While we need to eat, sleep, move and rest if you want to reach optimal health you need to consider incorporating daily practices that help to rejuvenate you. These are activities that can help to rebalance the body, increase your energy levels and enable the body to heal. This will look different to everyone but it can include things like spending time in nature, cold water therapy, meditation, and barefoot walking on the sand.
Play
While we need to eat and sleep we also need to find time to enjoy ourselves. It is important that we all have a little fun, get creative and feel free for at least some of our day/week. Take time to think about what you enjoy doing, if you were a child again on your summer holidays but with no rules what would you like to do. Painting, pottery, gardening, the cinema, playing on a games console, going to a local comedy night, visiting a good friend, throwing leaves up into the air, the list is endless. Next time you think I would love to do that but it's for kids...think again!
Purpose
Purpose can provide us with a sense of direction, meaning, and fulfilment in our lives. Each individual will see their life's purpose differently. Some might see their life's purpose is strongly linked to a religious or spiritual path while others might see their purpose as being a parent or doing a specific job. When we feel we or what we are doing has no purpose it can have a negative effect on our health and wellbeing.
Toxic Load
Every minute of every day our bodies are processing and eliminating toxins. Toxins come from both internal sources (e.g. gut microbes, damaged tissue, waste products) and external sources (e.g. perfumes, flame retardants, heavy metals, and pesticides). We can help to support our bodies to process and eliminate these toxins while also helping to reduce those that might be overwhelming our bodily systems.
Community
We have not evolved very far from our tribal ancestors, where community was important of our survival and fulfilment. While we might not live in a tribal community today it is important for our health and wellbeing to find aspects of it within our modern world. Family, friends, work colleagues, social clubs, religious groups, counsellors, personal trainers and more can all help to form our modern day communities.
Mental Health
While all of the other pillars are vital for supporting our mental health it is important that it has a pillar all of its own. This is because even if someone was able to follow all of the other pillars perfectly they could still struggle with their mental health. Sometimes we need additional support from professionals in their field to help manage and support our mental health and wellbeing.
Physical Health
Physical health can refer to a wide variety of things from the health of each tiny cell in our bodies to our ability to perform physical tasks. While all of the other pillars are vital for physical health, it requires a pillar of its own. Sometimes like our mental health we need professional support.
Building Your Health Puzzle
It may feel very overwhelming when you are at the start of your own health puzzle building journey. The best advice is to start where you feel most comfortable and your are ready to start making changes.
If you would like to start building your health puzzle faster or would like support on where to begin then be sure to check out our upcoming online courses.
Happy puzzling!