5 Things you didn’t know you can do to improve your Health

The quality of life that you wish to live will be dictated primarily by several factors. One of the most essential of these factors is your physical health and wellbeing. When it boils down to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, we know very well that eating the right foods in moderation, as well as incorporating more workouts is more or less what is needed to attain optimum health.

However, what you may not know is that there is a lot more that goes into being healthy than choosing veggies over transfats and hitting the gym at least 4 days a week. To improve your health and take it to the level that it needs to be, you’ve got to keep in mind other important components. To help you out, here are 5 things you didn’t know you can do to improve your health:

Meditate

Meditation has been having a moment for a while now and it is easy to see why. Compelling research demonstrates that meditation can have considerable benefits to your overall wellbeing. Sitting quietly and breathing intentionally can calm you down after a challenging day. But even more importantly, meditation can help you deal with life’s most pressing episodes such as catastrophe, death, and disease.

When you meditate, your brain releases endorphins that then elevate your moods, which can have a positive impact on your entire body. When you meditate, you are choosing to focus on things that you control, which will stop you from worrying about other little things. By increasing your ability to cope with stress, you effectively reduce your blood pressure, which will help you improve your health so that you can continue to pursue a more fulfilling life.

Sleep longer

The importance of proper sleep to one’s overall health and wellbeing cannot be overstated. People that sleep for less than 6 or 7 hours a day put themselves at greater risk for developing debilitating diseases. Heart attacks, as well as strokes, are also more likely to occur to those that are sleep deprived.

Lack of sleep has been known to worsen hypertension and cholesterol, which are both risk factors for coronary disease and stroke. Melatonin, which is the hormone that helps to regulate your sleep and wake cycle, has also been proven to protect against cancer as it helps to suppress the further development of tumors.

Getting a good night’s sleep will not only make sure that you feel focused and energized throughout the day. But it will also increase your chances of getting another good night’s rest. When you keep waking up feeling alert and refreshed, you will be able to handle whatever the day throws at you.

Have better sex

You don’t need a reason to have more sex but it doesn’t hurt that research has proven that getting busy in the bedroom can make you happier and healthier. Regularly spending time between your sheets safely can make you feel younger, boost your levels of immunity, help you sleep better, protect you from debilitating diseases such as prostate cancer, all while improving your overall heart health- need we say more?

While there is no one size fits all rules when it comes to frequency, consistency is key especially in the wake of a busy lifestyle that may get in the way. Making love also does wonders for your psychology. Better sex is linked to an improved quality of life. When you have better sex:

·  It will boost your self-image, causing any negative feelings of self-harm or insecurities to become more manageable.

·  More consensual sex generally makes you a happier and more jovial person.

·  During sex, hormones such as endorphins and oxytocin are released that fosters feelings of relaxation, which helps to fight depression.

Be more child-like

The benefits of play for kids are well researched and documented. However, adults, even really old ones, could benefit from recess too. Reclaiming your lost childlike sense of wonder can be unbelievably liberating and can have significant benefits for your health.

Research shows that individuals who don’t make time to play are more likely to fall depressed or feel as though they are stuck in a rut. Sparking a sense of whimsy in one’s humdrum existence can also help to unleash your creative juices. Something as simple as running around a ping pong table as you play ‘tag, you’re it’ can inspire you and get the ideas flowing.

Other child-like activities such as making art, doodling randomly, and role-playing that are often associated with children can also aid personal exploration as well as allow one to deal with trauma. Now that you know that being childlike isn’t just goofing around, remember that the key to successful play is to enjoy the journey; otherwise, it’s just going to feel like more work.

Laugh more

A joke or two a day can help to keep the doctor away. Whether you are chortling at your favorite sitcom or quietly giggling as your dad struggles to keep up with you at the ping pong table during your yearly family tournament, laughing can help to keep your worries away- and that’s nothing to laugh at.

It is often said that laughter is the best medicine and as it turns out, the sages were correct. Laughter helps to keep hypertension or high blood pressure at bay. Hypertension is one of the deadliest killers as it is often silent and hard to diagnose until it’s too late. Simply put, it’s hard to be stressed out when you are engrossed in something funny.

Final Thoughts

If you suffer from any health problems or are simply on the lookout for ways to improve your health, these simple tips above will help.  Everyone knows that there are certain seemingly obvious things that you should do to lead a healthier life. However, these lesser-known tricks can also provide you with the much needed overall health boost that you have been longing for. Explore them and have your pick of the litter..you won’t regret it.