A healthy body is a resilient body. And a resilient body takes consistent daily practices to stay that way. Here are a few foundations of health that should be nurtured daily in order to create a resilient, harder-to-kill body.
Start With Your Mindset
Our minds are powerful creators and the chronic stress patterns we create in our minds can literally kill us. When we think negative thoughts, it creates a stress response in our body that is identical to the stress response we would have if we were in physical danger. Short term, the stress response is a healthy adaptation to get us out of dangerous situations. However, chronic stress response from negative thoughts about your annoying co-worker will begin to breakdown the body and create sickness and dis-ease.
As Dr. Joe Dispenza says: ‘If your thoughts can make you sick, it makes sense then that your thoughts can make you well.’ While this point that our thoughts can make us well is less researched scientifically, we need only to look at basic physiology to see that meditation, gratitude, and mindfulness practices can create a healthier body through a series of complex physiological changes. Set yourself up for a successful mindset day every morning by taking 15-60 minutes to get your mind right. If you are currently dealing with a health condition, it takes a strong will (mind) to keep up with the lifestyle habits that need to change to heal from any condition. This mindset practice will help build the will to make these changes.
Neurological Health
Your brain controls EVERYTHING that happens in your body. It has a connection with every single cell, muscle and organ through the spinal cord and individual nerves. And, your brain is plastic, meaning it is able to change. There are many things that can interfere with your brain’s ability to communicate with the rest of your body. They can be summed up in three words: toxins, trauma, and thoughts. In order to make sure your brain is changing for the better and not for the worse, these three stressors need to be minimized.
Remove toxins from food, water, medications, cleaning and beauty products, toxic people, jobs, and relationships from your life as much as possible. When you have a fall, accident, or other physical injury, make sure to get your nervous system and spine checked by a chiropractor. Like we talked about in the mindset section, make sure you are addressing the negative thought pattern that is playing in your head.
Muscle Health
Muscle is medicine. The quantity and quality of muscle we have on our bodies can make us harder to kill, or be our demise. Imagine this, you are 70 years old and walking with your partner and dog when you trip on uneven ground. You fall and are unable to catch yourself. Statistically 1 in 5 people will break their hip and need surgery. Falls are also the number one cause of traumatic brain injury in the elderly.
Now imagine you have spent your life building muscle as medicine. You are 70 years old and walking with your partner when you trip on uneven ground. But, because you have been training your whole life, you are quicker to react and catch yourself. You don’t break your hip, suffer a traumatic brain injury, or end up needing surgery. This is only one way building muscle can make you more resilient.
Sleep Is Underrated
Sleep is one of the best things we can do for your health, and sadly one of the first to be sacrificed. It is a time when the body detoxes, build memories, rebuilds muscles after you’ve worked out, goes through healing processes, etc.
The average adult requires 7-9 hours of sleep nightly. Statistically, 32.5% of adults report getting fewer than 7 hours of sleep each night. Drowsy driving causes more than 6,000 fatal car crashes yearly. Roughly 75% of people with depression have insomnia. Reduced sleep can also increase your risk of heart disease and obesity. While there are many reasons why someone’s sleep can be impaired, it is important to take steps to figure out how you can get 7-9 hours of nightly rest.
Don’t Overlook Your Hydration
Water is an essential nutrient. Basic physiology requires water requirements to be met in order to perform numerous roles in the body. It acts as a building block, a carrier for nutrients and waste products, temperature regulation, a shock absorber and protector for vital organs, just to name a few. Dehydration can cause balance issues, speech incoherence, brain fog, weakness, headaches, blood pressure changes, nutrient absorption issues, toxicity buildup, and effect consciousness. You should aim to drink half your body weight in ounces daily.
The wellness world is saturated with tips and tricks to keep you healthy or hack your biology. I believe in returning to the basics. Mindset, neurology, muscle, sleep, and hydration are 5 areas where you can make small changes and see drastic results. If it seems like a lot, focus on one area at a time until it becomes second nature. Small changes are sustainable changes and consistency is key when it comes to resiliency.
Sources:
* https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/sleep-facts-statistics
