Summary of What Is Balanced Health? (And How to Know If You’re on the Right Track):
The article discusses the importance of balanced health habits for long-term health and well-being. Balanced health involves evenly distributing lifestyle habits among the Four Pillars of Health, which include balanced nutrition, balanced movement, balanced sleep, and balanced restoration. Balanced nutrition involves eating minimally-processed whole foods and prioritizing protein, while balanced movement involves a mix of unstructured physical activity and structured exercise. Balanced sleep requires proper alignment of sleep cycles, brain activity, and metabolism, and balanced restoration involves finding ways to counteract chronic stress with leisure and relaxation. Signs of balanced health include stable weight or BMI, steady energy levels, lower resting heart rate, higher heart-rate variability, and improved biometrics.
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Achieving Balanced Health: Habits for Long-Term Wellness
Introduction:
We’ve all been there, motivated to get healthy and reaching for the latest crash diet or fitness apparatus. Unfortunately, these extreme health programs have a high rate of failure as they are designed for marketing success, not health and longevity. To achieve balanced health, we need to develop habits that stand the test of time. In this article, we’ll explore the Four Pillars of Health and how to achieve balanced nutrition, movement, sleep, and restoration.
Balanced Nutrition:
Balanced nutrition involves keeping your body upright and stable by providing it with the nutrients it needs to function optimally. It’s important to note that nutritional needs vary from person to person and will change throughout your life. To achieve balanced nutrition, aim for 80% of your diet to comprise whole foods that include a wide range of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and quality fats. Prioritize protein, condense your eating window to 12 hours or less per day, and practice mindful eating by slowing down and attending to your body’s hunger cues.
Signs Your Nutrition Is Balanced:
Steady energy levels throughout the day, stable weight or BMI within a healthy range, and healthy hair and nails are all indicators of balanced nutrition.
Balanced Movement:
Balanced movement requires a mix of unstructured physical activity and structured exercise. Research shows that you should do as much unstructured physical activity as possible each day. Structured exercise should fall into three broad categories: moderate-intensity, high-intensity, and resistance. To achieve balanced movement, choose the activities that you enjoy the most and that fit within your lifestyle.
Signs Your Movement Is Balanced:
A lower resting heart rate, greater endurance, and/or increased strength are all physiological markers of balanced movement. You should also notice that activities that were once challenging become easier for you.
Balanced Sleep:
Balanced sleep is more than just spending a specific number of hours in bed. It’s about achieving proper sleep cycles, brain activity, and metabolism alignment while you’re asleep. To achieve balanced sleep, eliminate exposure to bright artificial light for at least 1 hour prior to bed. Invest in room-darkening or blackout curtains, and keep your bedroom quiet and slightly cooler than the active living areas of your home.
Signs Your Sleep Is Balanced:
One clear sign that your sleep is balanced is that you are not fighting the urge to hit the snooze button every morning. If you are getting enough high-quality sleep most of the time, your body is repairing, recovering, and growing the way it needs to in order to promote metabolic health and longevity.
Balanced Restoration:
Restoration is essential to balanced health, but it’s often neglected. Prioritize taking a break from the daily grind to narrow your focus, rest your mind, and relax your body. Restoration practices like meditation, leisurely activity, socialization, and community involvement are all ways to counteract stress and create balance.
Signs Your Restoration Is Balanced:
Improved biometrics like lower resting heart rate and higher heart-rate variability are clear indicators that your restoration is balanced.
Conclusion:
Achieving balanced health requires developing habits that are sustainable and that stand the test of time. By focusing on the Four Pillars of Health, we can create a sturdy foundation that supports better health and a longer life. To achieve balanced nutrition, movement, sleep, and restoration, it’s important to focus on the habits that work for you and that fit within your lifestyle.
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