It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. Your mental, physical, and emotional well-being form your A grade in your health report. It seems like a cliche now, we have heard it over and over again. But alas, staying healthy is here to stay.
Here are a few tips to help:
1. Eat a healthy diet
An old English proverb says ‘Don’t dig your grave with your own knife and fork’. You are what you eat. Whatever goes inside of you is portrayed on the external.
One of the simplest and most effective ways to stay healthy is to eat a balanced diet. Eat a great combination of different foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts, oh! Take a lot of water.
In this era and time, people, especially teenagers, just want to grab ‘fast foods’ and junk but they are not helpful in any way.
However, eating healthy does not mean starving yourself ever. So, keep it down with the dieting.
A great formula says ‘Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper’.
It is beneficial to eat healthily. It reduces your risk of malnutrition and diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases amongst others.
2. Get enough sleep
Sleep is an essential function that allows your body and mind to be restored, leaving you recharged and alert when you awake. Without enough sleep, the brain cannot function properly.
You can never really get anything solved within a day (problem no dey finish), so get quality sleep.
The average adult is expected to have at least 7 hours of sleep.
Getting enough sleep improves your health in more ways than you can imagine, both physically and mentally. It cancels out sleep disorders like insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep talking amongst others.
Sleep deprivation harms one’s health.
A good night’s sleep is not a luxury – it’s a necessity.
3. Stay away from stress
Stress can be defined as any type of change that causes physical, emotional, or psychological strain.
Stress is your body’s reaction to anything that requires action or adequate attention.
Does everyone undergo stress?
Yes, we all do. However, the basic difference is the way you respond to it. We experience stress in different degrees. It’s not the load that weighs you down, it’s the way you carry it.
It’s sometimes herculean combining life, academics, work, family and every other thing but nonetheless, a messed up mind will help no further.
Learn to take deep breaths, set priorities, avoid multitasking, develop a balance. Stress is not the right way to lead life.
Stress is caused by being ‘here’ but wanting to be ‘there’.
Eckhart Tolle.
{Read: Stress: A Way of Life Or Fact of Life?}
4. Exercise often
There is a myth a lot of people believe about exercise. Exercise is not just for weight loss but rather about staying fit. It is not a way to punish your body for what you have eaten. The exercise involves physical activity, exerting the body with movement and increasing the heart rate.
Exercise is relaxing. There are a lot of studies that show that if you do some exercises in the morning, you will be in a better mood all day long.
According to New York Times, scientists have established that exercise boosts your brainpower.
{Read: Why Mental Health is a Big Deal}
The bone of contention here will be that there is no time to exercise, right?
Walking is a form of exercise, take strolls.
Do a few push-ups, lunges, crunches, squats.
Exercise will go a long way to help you stay healthier now and later on in life.
5. Avoid toxic substances
Stay away from toxic substances like drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, trans fat, etc.
Do not burn the tree you planted.
Toxic Substances increase the rate of terminal diseases.
6. Regular check-ups
Health issues can be diagnosed early by professionals. There is a tendency of being on the safe side when your chances for treatment and cure are better.
Stay healthy, stay fit!
Oh! Don’t forget to smile, life is not that hard.
What are you doing this month to ensure your health doesn’t decline?
Teens Meet Outreach 