Healthy Lifestyle

Eight Simple Rules

Lately, leading a healthy lifestyle has become increasingly important.

After all, changes in our activity levels (“sedentary lifestyle”) and increasing risks of an environmental, man-made, political, military, and psychological nature only contribute to negative changes in our health. One thing is clear: our health is entirely in our own hands.

According to our expert, the factors that determine a healthy lifestyle include the following: a balance between work and rest, a balanced diet, healthy sleep, regular physical activity, hardening the body, avoiding harmful habits, knowledge of sanitation and hygiene requirements, consideration of the environment, interpersonal communication skills, and psychophysical regulation.

Work

There is a misconception about the harmful effects of work, which is supposedly said to cause “wear and tear” on the body, excessive expenditure of energy and resources, and premature aging. Both physical and mental work are not only harmless but, on the contrary, a systematic, manageable, and well-organized work process has an extremely beneficial effect on the nervous system, the heart and blood vessels, the musculoskeletal system, and the entire human body as a whole.Those who work hard and well throughout their lives live long lives. Idleness leads to muscle atrophy, metabolic disorders, obesity, and premature senility.

Interesting and enjoyable work is performed easily, without strain, and does not cause fatigue or exhaustion. It is important to choose the right profession, one that aligns with a person’s individual characteristics and inclinations. Any physical or mental exertion should be alternated with a subsequent period of rest, ensuring the necessary restoration of the body’s reserves. A person’s daily routine should reflect all aspects of their life: study, work, and sleep; health and leisure activities; fulfilling family responsibilities and enjoying free time; time for self-improvement and socializing with friends; and so on.

Healthy Sleep

Adequate sleep is essential for maintaining the normal functioning of the nervous system and the entire body. The great Russian physiologist I.P. Pavlov noted that sleep is a kind of inhibition that protects the nervous system from excessive strain and fatigue. Sleep should be sufficiently long and deep.

“If a person doesn’t get enough sleep, they wake up in the morning irritable, exhausted, and sometimes with a headache,” the specialist notes. — It is impossible to determine the exact amount of sleep needed for everyone without exception. Sleep requirements vary from person to person. On average, this amounts to about 8 hours. Unfortunately, some people view sleep as a reserve from which they can borrow time to get things done. Chronic sleep deprivation leads to impaired nervous system function, reduced performance, increased fatigue, and irritability.

Exercise

According to Irina Trubitsyna, the surest and most effective path to high productivity, creative activity, physical fitness, and longevity is high levels of physical activity. Special studies have shown that mental performance decreases by nearly 50% as early as the second day of low physical activity, while concentration deteriorates sharply, nervous tension increases, the time required to solve problems rises significantly, fatigue, apathy, and indifference toward one’s work set in quickly, and the person becomes irritable and quick-tempered.Daily morning exercises are the absolute minimum required for physical training. They should become as routine as washing your face in the morning.

“Spending 1 to 1.5 hours outdoors every day is one of the key components of a healthy lifestyle,” explains the doctor. “For those who work indoors, an evening walk before bedtime is especially important.” Such a walk, as part of the necessary daily exercise routine, is beneficial for everyone. It relieves the stress of the workday, calms overstimulated nervous centers, and regulates breathing. Just 30 minutes of physical activity a day is enough for the body to function normally.

Hardening

An important preventive measure against colds is systematic hardening of the body. It is best to start this practice from childhood.

According to the doctor, the simplest method of hardening is taking fresh-air baths. Water treatments also play a significant role in the hardening regimen. They strengthen the nervous system, have a beneficial effect on the heart and blood vessels, normalize blood pressure, and improve metabolism. It is recommended to start by rubbing the bare body with a dry towel for several days, then move on to wet rubdowns. After a wet rubdown, you should vigorously rub the body with a dry towel. You should start by wiping yourself down with warm water (35–36°C), gradually moving on to cool water, and then to pouring water over yourself. In the summer, it is best to perform water treatments outdoors after morning exercises. It is beneficial to spend as much time as possible outdoors, sunbathe, and swim.

Hygiene

Personal hygiene supports the body’s proper functioning, helps improve metabolism, blood circulation, digestion, and respiration, and contributes to the development of a person’s physical and mental abilities. A person’s health, ability to work, and resistance to various diseases depend on the condition of the skin.

Skin care is essential for maintaining good health. The skin is not only an organ of touch; it also protects the body from harmful influences and plays a major role in the body’s thermoregulation and the respiratory process. The skin contains a large number of nerve endings.

It is estimated that per 1 ^cm² of body surface area, there are about 100 pain receptors, 12–15 cold receptors, 1–2 heat receptors, and about 25 receptors that sense atmospheric pressure. This allows the skin to constantly provide the body with information about all stimuli acting on it. All these functions are performed to their fullest extent only by healthy, strong, and clean skin. Skin diseases and contamination weaken its function, which, understandably, has a negative impact on a person’s health. Systematic care of the oral cavity and teeth is one of the essential hygiene requirements. Pathogenic microorganisms enter the body through the mouth and via decayed teeth.

“In the morning, before bed, and after every meal, you should thoroughly brush your teeth with toothpaste for 2–3 minutes, cleaning both the outer and inner surfaces,” recommends Irina Pavlovna. — You should move the toothbrush from the gums toward the teeth, not the other way around, and only in a vertical motion. While eating, it’s best to avoid rapidly alternating between hot and cold foods. If you experience a toothache, you should see a specialist immediately. You should visit the dentist twice a year for a preventive checkup.

Giving Up Harmful Habits

A healthy lifestyle is unthinkable without a firm commitment to giving up everything that causes irreparable harm to the body. In this case, we’re talking about habits that gradually erode your health. The most common of these include, first and foremost, alcohol consumption, smoking, and drug use. Each of these—not only with regular use but sometimes even with a single use—causes serious disruptions in the body’s functioning, which is why they are called “harmful,” and their constant use is referred to as “harmful habits.”

Most often, the use of harmful substances is linked to their ability to dull a person’s consciousness, making it seem as though life’s problems and unpleasant circumstances no longer exist for them. But once the effects of these substances—which have already caused harm to one’s health—wear off, the problems remain, while the health and time that could have been used to resolve them are lost.

Proper Nutrition

A balanced diet is based on the following principles: achieving energy balance (consuming as much as we expend); determining the nutritional composition of food (the proper balance of major nutrients: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins); and eating at regular intervals.

— Nutrition allows a person to obtain the substances necessary for building the body’s cells, maintaining vital functions, and performing daily activities. However, for nutrition to truly and fully fulfill these functions, it must meet certain requirements, the most important of which are the following: a) it should be as natural as possible; b) it should correspond to the anatomical and physiological characteristics of the individual and the work they perform; c) it should not become a cult but remain, first and foremost, a necessity, and only then a pleasure, recommends the chief freelance specialist in preventive medicine at the regional Ministry of Health. — Failure to comply with these requirements disrupts not only the digestive system but also virtually all bodily functions. As a result, overall health, resistance to infection, and work capacity decline; many diseases develop, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, and many others.

Stress Management and Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases

A healthy psychological state is an integral part of normal human life. The importance of this lifestyle factor—the absence of stress and knowing how to manage it—remains relevant throughout one’s entire life and plays a vital role in maintaining human health.

“Maintaining and promoting health are directly dependent on one’s level of culture,” asserts our speaker. “Culture reflects the degree of a person’s self-awareness and attitude toward themselves.” Culture manifests itself in the active way in which a person explores the external and internal worlds, shaping and developing them. Culture implies not only a specific system of knowledge about health but also corresponding behavior aimed at preserving and strengthening it, based on moral principles.

Based on recommendations from the WHO and the European Society for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD), an index of adherence to a healthy lifestyle (HLL Index), which serves as a general measure of a healthy lifestyle and includes five indicators/components:

• daily consumption of at least 400 g of fruits and vegetables;
• adequate physical activity (at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week);
• normal (no more than 5.0 g of NaCl per day) table salt intake;
• no smoking;
• no alcohol consumption.

The HLB Index is defined as an “ideal” HLB Index when all indicators/components of a healthy lifestyle are present, or a “good” HLB Index when one component is missing (any component except smoking).

Health is a priceless asset not only for each individual but also for society as a whole. Health is the fundamental prerequisite and guarantee of a fulfilling life. Health helps us carry out our plans, successfully tackle life’s major challenges, overcome difficulties, and, if necessary, cope with significant stress. Good health, wisely maintained and strengthened by the individual, ensures a long and active life.