Healthy habits you should practice to improve mental and physical health

Amidst the dizzying pace of modern life, ensuring good mental and physical health is not an easy task. However, there are still some healthy habits that are easy to follow to improve overall health. Let's see what those habits are with CHUS and practice them to maintain a healthy body and mind!

Getting enough sleep is the crucial for a good mental and physical health 

Getting enough sleep is a must to improve mental and physical health. While sleeping, our body begins to repair damages and replenish energy after a long tired day. Therefore, ensuring enough sleep is always top of the list for maintaining a decent condition of health both mentally and physically.

In addition, many scientific studies have talked about the harmful effects of sleep deprivation, such as memory loss, decreased cognitive function, immune system weakening, and an increased risk of heart disease and chronic illnesses. If the body does not have enough sleep, not only will the organs not recover well and lead to fatigue, but you will also become easily irritable and uncomfortable. This negatively affects both your own health and social relationships, as well as your productivity in studying and working. Therefore, try to get enough sleep from 7 to 9 hours every day.

Balanced meals

Besides sleeping, having a balanced diet is also essential to your mental and physical health. Humans need carbohydrates, proteins, and other nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, to survive and develop normally. For example, iron helps create blood cells, manganese is good for brain health, while vitamin C enhances immunity, etc.

If you lack any of those nutrients, the body will easily fall into an imbalanced state, making you easily tired and weak both physically and mentally. For example, an iron deficiency can cause fatigue, decreased immune function, hair loss, and nail weakening, and you may feel a decreased focus capacity. Meanwhile, vitamin C deficiency will weaken the immune barrier, making the body more susceptible to colds, flu, etc. Therefore, having a balanced diet is necessary to maintain good mental and physical health.

In addition to the usual carbohydrates, meat, and vegetables, you should also add to your diet some other food types, such as nuts or seeds, as they contain good protein and antioxidants. Additionally, don't forget fermented foods or drinks, the companion of a healthy digestive system, which also help keep the body healthy.

Proper water intake is also important for mental and physical health

Maintaining good hydration is vital to regulating body temperature. In addition, proper hydration aids digestion, maintains a well-balanced metabolism, and is essential for supple, beautiful skin. If you don't drink enough water, you may experience bad results from the outside, such as dry skin or chapped lips, and from the inside, such as fatigue and dizziness. Just like that, prolonged dehydration can lead to a decline in both physical and mental health.

On average, adults need about 2 liters of water a day, and the amount they need also depends on other factors such as the weather, their physical activity level, and their health condition. Besides drinking water directly, you can also increase your water intake through vegetables, soups, or other beverages.

For example, if you feel bored with only drinking plain water, you can try tea, kombucha (fermented tea), fruit juices, coffee, or cocoa. Changing the flavor every day not only makes you feel refreshed but also ensures a variety of nutrients for the body.

Regular exercise

Maybe it's common knowledge that regular exercise is good for physical health, but not everyone realizes that it's also great for mental well-being. When you engage in physical activity, your body releases many beneficial hormones, such as dopamine, serotonin, and especially endorphins. Those are all called happy hormones, and in particular, endorphins are produced a lot when your body exercises. This hormone not only helps reduce muscle pain but also helps reduce stress, making it great for both mental and physical health.

If you are a white-collar worker and often stay in the office, practice standing up and doing a few simple exercises to stretch your muscles every day instead of just sitting continuously.

Practicing yoga

Yogis often have good flexibility in their bodies and, of course, overall health. Yoga poses are very good for physical health in general, thanks to the muscles and bones being trained to be flexible, creating a good posture for the lungs, and helping you to breathe deeply.

Deep breathing helps stimulate better blood circulation and also stimulates the nervous system to create a feeling of relaxation and comfort. Therefore, through the mentioned benefits, yoga not only helps to make the body healthy but also helps to effectively reduce stress. And in some cases, regular yoga also takes a huge role in improving health conditions and treating diseases. 

Massage

Massage is great for both mental and physical health. When you are getting a massage, you will feel more relaxed and at ease thanks to better blood circulation. It also helps to reduce muscle soreness as well.

Specifically, massages can also help you sleep better, and the benefits of getting enough sleep at the right time are indisputable. So if you have enough time and money, why not go for a few massage sessions each month? This will definitely help your overall health a lot!

During the massage, you can use massage oils mixed with essential oils. This will help reduce friction on the skin, create a pleasant aroma to help relax the mind, and also provide great benefits for the skin thanks to the nutrients in the oil and essential oils.

Bottom lines about how to improve your mental and physical health

In general, the healthy habits mentioned above that help improve both mental and physical health are simple things we do every day. However, consistently maintaining those habits in a balanced way requires significant effort and high discipline on the part of each individual. To achieve this, start with small steps: create a schedule for yourself, try to follow it, and gradually turn that "activity" into a habit that is ingrained in yourself.