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Breaking Down the Seven Areas of Wellness

I have been traveling quite a bit over the last month and throughout the month I have seen many friends, family members, and colleagues. As I have seen the different people from the different areas of my life, there has been a similar theme. Many people are exhausted and on the verge of burnout. Our lives are often so fast paced and it is easy to forget ourselves in the process. I know that I myself am guilty of that as well. I often do not listen to my mind or body until it gets to the point of exhaustion, fatigue, burnout, or honestly even depression. Over the last few years I have been diving into learning more about taking care of my mind and body and learning to help others do the same. As I learn ways to improve my own life, I want to share with others too. Over the next few weeks we are going to be diving into the seven areas of wellness as defined by Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith in the book Sacred Rest. Each week we will go over the area of wellness and small little habits that can help improve that area of wellness.

Physical wellness encompasses how our body physically feels and ways to improve that. This includes making sure our basic physical needs are taken care of including sufficient water intake, good nutrition, physical activity, getting enough sleep, and deep breathing. This doesn’t mean that in order to be well that you have to completely overhaul your life but find a handful of small daily things that you can do to improve your physical health. Some of the ideas below are good for both adults and children.

Daily habits and ideas to improve your physical well-being. Chose a few that mean the most to you or would mean the most to you in your physical health journey:

1. Getting adequate sleep: According to the Sleep Foundation, our age determines how much sleep we should get. Sleep is the time where our body recovers and rejuvenates itself. Sleep impacts all areas of our mental and physical health. Do you need to improve your sleep routine or habits? Are there things you can do to ensure more restful sleep?

2. Drinking enough water: Water keeps our bodies functioning and hydrated. It allows the systems in our body to function, recover and process nutrients the way that it needs to. Without proper hydration, we can get headaches, body aches, feel more fatigued, and cannot properly process food or supplements. Age also impacts how much water we should drink. There are water bottles that help you track how much water you should drink or even making a game out of it to challenge yourself to drink enough water.

3. Physical activity: People of all ages can benefit from physical activity. Physical activity benefits all systems of our body and helps us keep a healthy weight as well. It is important to build in some level of activity daily even if it is just walking around. Children and teenagers also need activity to regulate energy and behavior.

4. Nutrition: Food feeds our bodies and gives it the vitamin, nutrients, and protein to build muscle and have the needed building blocks for a healthy body. A balanced diet from early on is important. As hard as it may be, try to avoid overly sugary or processed foods, they offer little to no nutritional value to the body. They also can become addictive to the body.

5. Deep breathing: Deep breathing allows you to slow down your heart rate, thoughts, and release tension. The next time that you find yourself nervous, anxious, or frustrated, take 60 seconds to breathe in as deeply as possible. Breathe out and see the change in your body and mind.

What are a couple ideas you have to improve those small daily habits? I personally have been working on my eating and activity levels. I work to get 45-60 minutes of activity each day even if its just walking my dogs. I also track my calories and macronutrients every day to ensure I am eating enough protein and fiber and keeping my sugars and fats down.

Next week we will be going over mental wellness.

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