Health Is More Than Just The Absence Of Disease Or Infirmity

Health refers to being in good physical, mental and social condition – it goes beyond simply the absence of disease and infirmity.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle means staying active, eating well, and sleeping enough. Other tips to keep in mind for staying well include washing hands frequently, covering coughs and sneezes when necessary, and staying away from sick people.

Physical Activity

Physical activity refers to any deliberate movement that uses energy, such as sports, swimming, dancing or walking. It may include more structured exercise like gym sessions or workout classes at a gym as well as playing on teams with similar physical activities such as team sports. Physical activity can range in intensity from sedentary behavior to vigorous activities and further classified by specific types such as aerobic, muscle-strengthening and flexibility exercises.

Engaging in regular physical activity is proven to reduce heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and many other serious medical conditions. Furthermore, exercise can also lower depression risks and promote mental wellbeing.

But unfortunately, many adults don’t engage enough in physical activity to reap its positive effects; especially those living with chronic health conditions needing additional activity. Our companion article published in March 28 will detail how to evaluate physical fitness levels of patients as well as provide exercise recommendations.

Stress Management

Stress is an inevitable part of life, from major life events like divorce and loss of a loved one, financial strain and work-related pressures, to everyday annoyances such as traffic jams or interpersonal tension. Left unchecked, long-term stress can have serious health implications such as sleepless nights, high blood pressure, ulcers headaches irritability weight gain and impotence – which all increase with age.

Stress management is crucial to our overall health. The first step to doing so successfully is recognizing all sources of anxiety, and learning how to cope with them. Break them down into categories such as those you can change or those which will improve with time – as doing this allows your mood to disconnect from their cause, leading to happier feelings such as joy or contentment instead. Doing this helps lower overall stress levels and promote improved overall wellbeing.

Sleep

Sleep allows the brain to work hard at consolidating and retrieving memory, and also releases proteins which repair damaged cells and tissues in your body. This is especially important for people living with chronic physical illnesses like diabetes or arthritis who may be more at risk of mental health issues than others.

Sleep can also boost immunity, by helping cells recognize and eliminate foreign invaders like germs or toxins that enter our bodies from outside. Furthermore, sleeping helps these cells remember them so they’ll be better prepared to combat them the next time around.

While significant resources are devoted to efforts that promote healthy nutrition, regular exercise, and the reduction of risk behaviors, programs to promote optimal sleep remain significantly underfunded despite mounting evidence pointing out its harmful consequences for public health. This should be considered a serious public health risk.