How to improve health and wellness

Paying more attention to the present moment can improve your mental wellbeing. This includes your thoughts and feelings, your body and the world around you.

Some people call this awareness "mindfulness". Mindfulness can help you enjoy life more and understand yourself better. It can positively change the way you feel about life and how you approach challenges.

Read more about mindfulness, including steps you can take to be more mindful in your everyday life.

The 5 ways to wellbeing were researched and developed by the New Economics Foundation.

The mental health charity Mind also offer more information about the 5 ways to wellbeing.

Your Healthiest Self

Watching what you put into your body, how much activity you get, and your weight are important for keeping your body working properly. Positive physical health habits can help decrease your stress, lower your risk of disease, and increase your energy. Flip each card below for checklists on how to improve your health in each area. Click on the images to read articles about each topic. You can also print the checklists separately or all together to share with others or as a reminder to yourself.

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6 strategies for improving your physical health

Sedentary behavior has been linked to many medical problems. Moving more and sitting less can have major health benefits. Experts recommend adults get at least 150 minutes (two and a half hours) of moderate physical activity a week. You can benefit from even a little activity at a time. Every minute counts when it comes to movement.

To increase your activity:

Set specific goals for your physical activity.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Park your car at the far end of the street or parking lot.
Set up your space so you can walk on a treadmill while watching TV or stand when using the computer.
Try an online exercise class to stay active from home.
Set an alarm to go off every hour as a reminder to move around for a minute or two.
Have small weights in your office or around your home for doing arm exercises.
Take a walk on your lunch breaks. Or have “walking meetings” with colleagues at work.

Building muscle helps you keep up the activities you enjoy at any stage of your life. Some types of strength training keep your bones healthy, too. Experts recommend strength training activities for all the major muscle groups two or more days a week for adults and three for kids and teens.

To build muscle safely:

Start slowly, especially if you haven’t been active for a long time.
Pay attention to your body. Exhaustion, sore joints, or muscle pain mean you’re overdoing it.
Use small amounts of weight to start. Focus on your form, and add more weight slowly, over time.
Use smooth, steady movements to lift weights into position. Don’t jerk or thrust weights.
Avoid “locking” your arm and leg joints in a straight position.
Don’t hold your breath during strength exercises.
Ask for help. Look for a group class at a local gym, recreation center, or senior center. Or find a trainer.

Keeping your body at a healthy weight may help you lower your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer that can result from being overweight or obese. Take charge of your weight and your health.

Eat Healthy

Eat smaller portions.
Select a mix of colorful vegetables each day.
Choose whole grains.
Go easy on fats and oils.
Limit added sugars.

Be Active

Stick with activities you enjoy.
Go for a brisk walk, ride a bike, or do some gardening.
Do strengthening activities.
Get active for just 10 minutes, several times a day. Every little bit counts!

Track your progress

Keep a food and physical activity diary.
Be realistic and aim for slow, modest weight loss.

Your metabolism changes as you get older. You burn fewer calories and break down foods differently. You also lose lean muscle. Unless you exercise more and adjust your diet, the pounds can add up. Middle-age spread can quickly become middle-age sprawl. Carrying those extra pounds may be harming your health.

To combat age-related changes:

Commit to a healthy diet.
Limit snacking.
Drink plenty of water.
Move more. Take the stairs and add walking breaks to your day.
Get plenty of sleep.
Limit alcohol use. Alcohol is high in calories and may worsen health conditions common among older adults.
Avoid tobacco products. When you quit smoking, you may improve many aspects of your health and are likely to add years to your life.

We make dozens of decisions every day. When it comes to deciding what to eat and feed our families, it can be a lot easier than you might think to make smart choices. A healthy eating plan not only limits unhealthy foods, but also includes a variety of healthy foods. Find out which foods to add to your diet and which to avoid.

To eat a healthier diet:

Eat a variety of foods—vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, lean meat, seafood, eggs, milk, yogurt, and cheese.
Limit foods that are low in vitamins and minerals.
Cut down on sugar. Pick food with little or no added sugar. Use the Nutrition Facts label to choose packaged foods with less total sugar.
Replace saturated fats in your diet with unsaturated fats. Use olive, canola, or other vegetable oils instead of butter, meat fats, or shortening.
Get more fiber. Increase your fiber intake gradually, so
your body can get used to it.
Choose more complex carbs. Eat more complex carbs, like starches and fiber. These are found in whole-grain breads, cereals, starchy vegetables, and legumes.
Watch out for foods high in salt. Use fresh poultry, fish, and lean meat, rather than canned, smoked, or processed. Choose fresh or frozen vegetables that have no added salt and foods that have less than 5% of the Daily Value of sodium per serving. Rinse canned foods.

We know that making healthy choices can help us feel better and live longer. Maybe you’ve already tried to eat better, get more exercise or sleep, quit smoking, or reduce stress. It’s not easy. But research shows how you can boost your ability to create and sustain a healthy lifestyle.

To build healthy habits:

Plan. Identify unhealthy patterns and triggers. Set realistic goals.
Change your surroundings. Find ways to make healthier choices easy choices. Remove temptations. Work for changes in your community, like safe places to walk.
Ask for support. Find friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, or groups for support.
Fill your time with healthy activities. Try exercise, a favorite hobby, or spending time with family and friends.
Track your progress. Record how things are going to help you stay focused and catch slip-ups.
Imagine the future. Think about future benefits to stay on track.
Reward yourself. Give yourself a healthy reward when you’ve achieved a small goal or milestone, like a massage.
Be patient. Improvement takes time, and setbacks happen. Focus on progress, not perfection.

Want to learn more?

NIH scientists study how your diet, weight, activity level, and habits impact your health and well-being. Read more resources from the NIH institutes advancing research in these areas.

More resources about physical wellness »

Our wellbeing includes not only our physical health but also our mental and social health as well. Wellbeing is about being both happy and healthy. We all know that sometimes life gets a little crazy and we put our own personal wellbeing to the side, leaving us feeling stressed and overwhelmed. We thought with World Wellbeing Week being celebrated from 24-28 June, we would give you our top 10 ways to improve your wellbeing to help manage your stress and make you feel a little better.

1. Eat well

Eating a healthy balanced diet can not only reduce the risk of physical health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes, but it can also improve your energy levels, and boost your mood.

Make sure you are eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains, as well as drinking plenty of water, while working on reducing your intake of processed foods and sugars.

We say it all the time but it’s not always easy to get right! So try thinking about moderation rather than elimination. Instead of completely cutting out those foods you love but know aren’t great for you, work on reducing how much you are eating. It’s all about balance!

2. Move your body

In today’s society, we all spend far too much time sitting still – desk work, driving, watching TV. Our bodies are designed to move so it’s important we take as many opportunities as we can to get our bodies up and going. Exercise helps improve sleep, reduce stress and anxiety, boost your mood and concentration, and improve blood pressure and bone health.

Try to incorporate 30 minutes of exercise every day. This doesn’t have to be difficult and boring. Find an activity you really enjoy and it will be much easier to do on a regular basis. Join a group fitness class or a sporting team, walk the dog, go hiking on the weekends, dance in your living room, take up yoga! Anything that gets you moving!

You can also fit exercise in through normal daily activities. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, do some gardening, vacuum the house, park a little further away from work or the train station so you have to walk. The little things all add up.

3. Get enough sleep

Sleep is vital for helping our body recovery and renew its resources. Not getting enough can lead to physical fatigue, stress, moodiness and other health issues. Most people need 7-8 hours a night, but this can vary, so listen to your body and make sure you are getting what you need.

Some tips to help improve your sleep include developing a routine, turning off electronic devices 30 minutes before you go to bed and keeping your room quiet, dark and uncluttered.

4. Find time to relax

Sit, relax and breathe! We spend all day jumping from one thing to the next, worrying about where we have to be, and what we have to do next, without stopping to pay attention to the moment we are in. This can be very stressful and actually make us less focussed and productive.

Once a day try to stop and just relax. It can even just be for one minute! Listed below are a few tricks that may help if you struggle to switch off!

Try a guided meditation or mindfulness app, such as Headspace, Calm, or 10% Happier. There are so many different options available so try a few a find one you like.
Lie down in a comfortable position and slowly bring your attention to each part of your body, working your way down from your head to your toes. Take the time to consciously tense and then relax everything! This is a wonderful way to release tension that you didn’t even realise you were holding.
Lie down with your feet up against a wall or on the couch. Try to clear your mind and switch off even for just a few minutes.
Sit quietly in a comfortable position, and take 10 slow, deep breaths. And that’s it! Easy.

5. Get outside

Even though we’re in the depths of winter, try to get outside as much as possible. A little bit of fresh air and sunshine can do wonders for helping you feel refreshed and calm. Nature has a wonderful way of lifting the spirits, and vitamin D from the sun contributes to the release of endorphins in the brain. Find a nice park or walking track near home or work and try to get outside at least once a day.

6. Spend time with the ones you love

Having good relationships with other people is one of the most effective ways of boosting your own wellbeing. Whether it be family, friends, colleagues, or a community group, getting involved with other people helps create a sense of acceptance, connection, and provides you with a support system. The best part is, you are providing the same benefits for the people around you as they are for you. So get out there and invest your time and energy into building your relationships.

7. Give back

Do something to help someone else. Give a compliment, bring your colleague a coffee, donate blood, volunteer, donate to a charity. Big or small, any act of kindness not only helps other people but also make you feel good.

8. Take time out for yourself

Make sure you put aside a little bit of time on a regular basis to do something just for yourself.

Find a something you really enjoy and dedicate a time each week to do it. Maybe there is a hobby you have always wanted to take up or a sport you like playing. Maybe you just want to pamper yourself a little with a bath and a face mask. Having a little time each week that is just for you helps to improve your mood and your sense of accomplishment.

9. Break bad habits

We all have bad habits. Maybe it’s smoking, alcohol, caffeine, social media or something else completely. Be honest with yourself, and have a think about what things you do that may be affecting you negatively. Whatever those habits are, see if you can break them. Try reducing the amount per day, or going without for one month, or quitting completely! Set small achievable goals and work on reducing those negative things in your life.

10. Seek help

Don’t feel you have to tackle everything on your own! Sometimes things can get a little bit too difficult for us to deal with alone, so whether it be physical or mental, if there is something that you feel you are not coping with, don’t be afraid to ask for help. It could be a friend or family member, or a health professional, sometimes just reaching out can be enough to get you back on the right track.

The team at Canterbury Health Hub can assist you with your wellness goals with hands-on treatment and a tailored plan.

BOOK ONLINE TODAY!