We’ve heard it many times before, but do we really know what a healthy lifestyle means?
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,” which implies that this concept goes beyond the existence or lack of existence illnesses.
Consequently, more than just healthy living, we must talk about a healthy lifestyle that includes food, physical exercise, preventive healthcare, work, the relationship with the environment, and social activity.
How can we live a healthy lifestyle for fertility?
A healthy lifestyle is not achieved overnight, but we have to be consistent. You have to follow a good plan based on healthy habits. By doing this, our bodies and minds will get in to a rhythm that will eventually become second nature. It’s common for people to have routines that are only a little healthy, or not healthy at all. Maybe that’s the way it is, because it’s easier and more comfortable than doing it correctly (or at least that’s the popular belief).
Due to the great misinformation that “Dr. Google” provides, it can be difficult to know what are the best avenues to take to create a healthy lifestyle. In this blog, you will find everything you need to get you moving towards a much healthier lifestyle as soon as possible. if you are unsure where to start,you have come to the right place!
What are the components of a healthy lifestyle?
From the perspective mentioned previously, it can be determined that some of the habits necessary to lead a healthy lifestyle are the following:
Physical exercise
It’s generally recommended that you should get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. Walking at a rapid pace is enough – as long as it gets your heart rate up!
The NHS states: “One way to do your recommended 150 minutes of weekly physical activity is to do 30 minutes on 5 days every week.”
This allows you to not only burn excess calories and strengthen muscles and bones, but also helps to control blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose levels. In addition, this contributes to a decrease in stress levels and helps you sleep better. It also helps you acquire a state of relaxation, avoid mood changes, improve self-esteem, and attain a state of personal satisfaction. It can also be a good way to develop a healthy social activity when the exercise is practiced with others.
At Parla, we love practicing exercise and writing about it. We are especially fans of yoga since two of our co-founders are yoga teachers.
In our blog, you can discover an effective sequence of asanas in our blog post “Yoga poses for fertility” and learn more about the benefits of physical activity by reading “Exercise for fertility.”.
Balanced diet
A healthy diet is achieved by including all the foods that appear in MyPlate (which replaced the classic food pyramid in 2011), but in the right proportions and with the correct quantity. The main aim should be to maintain the nutritional needs of the body and give us enough energy for the day.
MyPlate is divided into four sections of approximately 30% grains, 40% vegetables, 10% fruits, and 20% protein, accompanied by a smaller circle representing dairy, such as a yogurt cup or glass of milk.
If you are interested in nutrition, you will find lots of nutritional facts and fertility boosting foods in our blog about the fertility diet plan.
Together with our nutritionist advisor, we have also written other blogs such as “vitamins for fertility” or “what is folic acid good for?”.
These blogs are not only important for those seeking help on their fertility journey, the information there also is useful as a general guideline for your overall health.
Social activity
Your social life is actually a fundamental aspect of your health . Social isolation can lead to a gradual and irreversible deterioration of physical and mental abilities, including physical disability and dementia.
Being happy with others is essential for you as an individual. If you are in a relationship you can check our blog on what makes a relationship good, but first make sure you are happy with yourself. These self-care tips may help you achieve your goals.
Mental balance
This does not only refer to the existence of mental illnesses, but to the state of emotional and psychological well-being. Good mental health is necessary to maintain and develop cognitive abilities, social relations, and for coping with the personal and professional challenges of daily life. Stress, fatigue, and anxiety are, among others, some of the signs that indicate that your mental state is not entirely healthy.
In our blog, we also wrote about the yoga benefits for mental health and mindfulness meditation. We warned you before, we are big yoga fans!
Enjoy your free time
You will be surprised to know the amount of people that live to work instead of working to live – or maybe not – maybe you are one of them! So, please enjoy your free time, and use it in an efficient and pleasant way.
If you like a good read, you can check our list of recommendations for the best women’s health books.
Exercise the mind
It’s not only your body that needs exercise! Exercising your mind will help keep it working well and avoid cognitive deterioration and the appearance of dementia.
Try to give your brain a regular workout with exercises that enhance memory, attention, ability to focus, and learning new topics. This will help you avoid, or at least delays these issues.
Enjoy healthy sex
Great news – sex is not only fun but also good for your health! It is great for your cardiovascular health and relaxes our minds. However, to protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea and syphilis, you should always practice safe sex, using condoms if you are having sex with multiple partners of a partner with a history of STDs.
Get good quality sleep
It is necessary to sleep well and for an adequate number of hours – at least 8 hours a night. This will help you rest and generate energy for the next day. Insomnia is a cause of high blood pressure, heart disease, and mental, metabolic and endocrine diseases, so try and switch off before heading to bed
What negative lifestyles affect health and quality of life?
Not sticking to all of the above will obviously have negative effects on you. One of the key areas of an unhealthy lifestyle are making choices that involve toxic products.
Toxic habits and products
Tobacco, alcohol, and drugs have a very negative impact on health. There was a popular belief until recent years that one daily drink of wine or beer was totally fine, but new studies have proven that even this can influence our health in a negative way.
There are many products to which exposure, occasionally or continuous, can result in a serious risk to our health. The environmental pollution of cities is considered one of the most important risk factors for health.
What is the relationship between quality of life and healthy lifestyles?
Quality of life is related to the following aspects:
- Satisfaction in daily activities.
- Satisfaction of needs.
- Achievement of goals in life.
- Self-image and attitude towards life.
- Involvement of personal and socio-environmental factors.
Benefits of a healthy lifestyle
The benefits of a living healthy lifestyle are almost limitless. Having healthy habits and routines will allow us to stay active and achieve our goals. In doing this, our internal satisfaction will increase and will remain at the highest level.
We must not forget that if we are not healthy, our chances of doing activities that we like are drastically reduced.
With healthy habits, we will only see benefits, both for ourselves and for the society that surrounds us.
Benefits of living a healthy lifestyle for yourself
- Overall, you will feel better! Your body and mind will have more freedom and you will be able to do things that you could not before.
- Your fatigue will be reduced when doing any physical activity, since you will gain strength.
- When you feel good about yourself, you will express it on the outside, and those closest to will feel it too. In this sense, your social relationships will improve.
- You will rest properly, which will make you full of energy every morning.
- You will make decisions correctly thanks to the mental balance you have.
- This mental balance will help you avoid falling into the consumption of toxic substances.
- You will be active, minimising the risk of injury.
- You will have a varied and balanced diet that will make your body and mind stay strong and healthy.
Benefits of living a healthy lifestyle for society
- You will enjoy helping others to get started with their healthy habits routine. You will also share with them all of the benefits that you have received from following your own healthy routine!.
- Expenses to the health system will be reduced, since you will fall sick less often thanks to the strengthening of your immune system.
- Last but not least, you will be respectful with the environment that surrounds you and as a consequence you will contribute to keeping the planet clean and in good condition for future generations.
Importance of a healthy lifestyle
If you had to choose between living a healthy lifestyle or a life that is not healthy, you would probably choose the first one. This is because we all like to feel our best. Many people confuse living a healthy life with being a slave to a diet or exercise routine. To think of it like that is a big mistake. Don’t think about it in this way, because you will feel put yourself under unnecessary pressure and will want to avoid a healthy lifestyle due to fear.
Healthy lifestyle habits do not consist of extreme diets to lose weight, but instead help you make healthy, daily meals. If you take up a diet to lose weight, it will often consist of eating less than your body needs. With this option, you will also be banned from many foods. On the other hand, if you follow a healthy and balanced diet, you will not have to discard any food from your diet or feel hungry from skipping any meals during the day.
As for the physical exercise that you do, you have on one side the extreme fitness routines and on the other healthy physical activity. The first one can be difficult to maintain and can actually have adverse effects on your health.. Diseases in the form of muscle and joint injuries can appear in your body. They could even be more serious if you perform these activities at a pace that is not appropriate for your fitness level. On the other hand, if you practice physical exercise according to your current condition, you will improve your health.
A healthy lifestyle improves your chances of conceiving
If your goal in the short term or in the near future is to get pregnant, you must live a healthy lifestyle. For women, it can help improve ovulation and uterus health, both important for conception. For men, a healthy lifestyle will help increase the quality of their sperm.
You can read more about sperm quality and motility in our blog about “How to increase sperm count.”
Once you become pregnant, you should continue taking care of yourself. Inside your body, your baby will live for nine months. During that time, it will feed on what you transfer through the placenta. Therefore, if you eat badly, the baby will eat badly. If you smoke, the baby smokes. If you sleep little, the baby will not rest as it should.
The best option is to have a series of healthy habits before, during, and after pregnancy. In this way, you will achieve a healthy family environment for the baby and future child to develop correctly. In addition, you will instill in them, and educate them about a healthy lifestyle that will serve them forever. It is proven that if healthy habits are started from an early age it’s easier to continue them. Therefore, you will be leaving your son or daughter a very beneficial legacy for the rest of their life.
