Preventing illness

There was a time when I could stay up all night, watch the sunrise, and fall into bed and sleep, or stay up all day without a glitch and not even feel it. Those days and habits are slipping away for most of us I believe as we get older. I can’t do those things anymore because my body and health would suffer. My friends and I are in our mid thirties, but are feeling how are bodies are needing care as we are entering a different phase of our lives.

My good friend Bertha ( a loving knick name ) recently said something that was so on the mark. She said “ I can’t stay out all night anymore, it takes my body days to recover now whereas it used to not even effect me a few years ago.”

Bertha, the wisest of my friends, had once again struck a chord of truth. Her observations made me realize that I had to improve some of my life habits. I began thinking over how I write articles about health, and Im good at helping other people improve their health yet I don’t take very good care of my own self. This too I realize is characteristic of many of us. So good we are at helping others, but usually negligent in taking care of ourselves.

I don't like to admit even to myself that I work late hours, sleep very little, and I constantly worry about things. All habits not conducive to good health. Personally I can’t keep up with my all night working, night owl tendencies anymore. I realized that taking better care of myself could help to prevent illness, and the purpose of this article is really to help other people realize the same thing.

I began to think about the importance of taking care of ones health, not only if you are sick but when you are well as a preventative and proactive measure. There are many aspects of our being that need to be cared for. The three most basic I believe are nutrition, sleep and mental health. I believe that if you take care of these three, good health will follow.

For example, getting to sleep at a reasonable hour every night and resting is crucial not only when you are exhausted and need sleep, it is essential on a regular basis to help your body and mind stay healthy.

Eating good foods at regular intervals during the day can improve health and well being. Foods such as protein, vegetables and fruit help the body to feel good and function at its best.

And lastly guarding and caring for our own mental health is another crucial element for good health. Exercise, talking with others, friendship, working at a job you enjoy that reflects your true purpose in life, spending time with loved ones, feeling loved, writing in a journal, finding solutions for problems…these are all good ways to nurture mental health.

No one is perfect and it would be impossible to do everything right everyday of our lives. Our health will always fluctuate at times being very good, and at times not so good. The important thing is to take care of the basics every day which are eating good food, resting and sleeping, and taking the time to help ourselves feel good mentally. All of these help to prevent illness and keep you healthy.