In many cases, getting a few key areas of life together can yield massive boosts in mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Unfortunately, none of these things are generally prioritized in modern society. One or two of them receive attention at any given time, but the whole package never does. For everyone to have their best shot at a healthy life, major changes have to be made such that everyone can sufficiently pursue these. In the meantime, I’ve benefited tremendously from the changes I’ve made in these areas over the past several years. Without further ado, here are some things worth getting in order, keeping in order, and getting back in order when they go off track.
- Sleep: Everything I’ve learned about sleep from Matthew Walker’s wonderful book Why We Sleep has inspired me to put this at the top of the list. Even if you master everything below, a consistent lack of sufficient quality sleep will still wreck your health. That’s how important sleep is. While I haven’t mastered this one yet, I’m closer to it than I’ve been in about a decade.
- Stress relief: After sleep, this is the most important thing on this list. Effective stress relief is crucial for the proper digestion of food, quality sleep, civil communication, getting along with others, and effective action everywhere in life. I relieve stress as often as possible, especially before, during, and after majorly challenging events. I always feel better and do better when I stay on top of stress relief.
- Water: Going a few days without drinking any water will prove fatal. Not drinking enough water throughout the day, even when sedentary, can result in headaches, cloudy thinking, overheating, and poor decision making. Doing a lot of physical activities, having a few large reusable water bottles by my side for most of the day, and living in Florida have all increased my water intake. The difference between drinking too little water and drinking enough is astonishing, and, usually, I drink enough each day.
- Food: After I lost my dog Sawyer last year, I started eating only twice a day. That worked well enough for a while but eventually became problematic. I often would feel lightheaded and get a headache between meals, especially if I went out on a walk or did anything else physical. I’ve since made a point to eat at least two meals before I set out on most activities that use a lot of energy. Additionally, since I’ve gone back to eating three times a day and at least twice before going out to dance, walk for a while in nature, or do something else along similar lines, I’ve felt much better and haven’t noticed the aforementioned issues. That taught me the importance of eating a sufficient amount of food frequently enough. Although my nutrition is far from perfect, it’s pretty good, and I can see it improving even more as I continue working on this.