Our relationship with health
In a traffic-laden city, people finally built a bridge to help with the traffic flow. However, no one used it for several months while traffic snarled underneath. People wondered why the bridge was not yet open to public use. Later, it was found that the bridge couldn’t be opened because the municipal corporation couldn’t decide a suitable date.
Most of us are familiar with this story and see examples of it pan out in our own everyday lives. The number of times we plan something but never take the first step to executing it, waiting for the perfect moment, the ideal nakshatra or the shubh muhurat, could well run into gazillions. And then, talk about taking care of your health? Duh, it can always wait!
People think that health is a subject they can afford to postpone. It is a topic that calls for discussion only during emergencies and is not to be worked on daily. Now, we agree that obsessing about health may end up being counter-productive. But brushing it under the carpet sets a time bomb that can explode at any time. It is like not speaking to your spouse who lives in another town for weeks together, and then when they show up…!
Hard Facts
One cannot say this more plainly- it is dumb to ignore your health in today’s day & age. And before you think you are sensing hyperbole, consider the following facts:
- More than 20 per cent of Indian adults have reported at least one preventable chronic health disease. This number would be equal to the total population of many countries in the world. Also, this number has not changed in about 6 years, implying zero positive change in our health.
- More than 40 per cent of the Indian population is obese. Obesity in women was found to be higher than in men.
- 56 million Indians suffer from depression, and 38 million suffer from some anxiety disorder. India has one of the highest numbers of mental illnesses globally. The National Mental Health Survey 2016 found that nearly 14 per cent of India’s population required active mental health interventions. These figures are from before the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in an apparent increase.
- Saving the worst for the last, a whopping 98 per cent of Indians do not eat the recommended quantity of fruits or vegetables daily.
The above facts mirror the dismal state of community health in India, a situation only worsened by the pandemic. Studies attribute the deteriorating health to a bouquet of factors- including infections, endocrine diseases like diabetes & cardiovascular diseases, and musculoskeletal diseases– most of them preventable.
But how do we take care of our health? Where’s the time?
Said every person ever! And it is understandable.
In the lightning-fast world we live in, it might be daunting to imagine hitting the gym every evening or surviving on just salads and boiled vegetables. However, removing time for your health has not remained an option anymore. It is, as the above data reveal, a necessity to survive. What’s more, if you are a person with a growth mindset, ignoring health can come back to bite you as a serious pain point further ahead in your growth journey.
Some everyday changes, some lifestyle overhauls and some basic diet reforms can do the trick for most of us. Prioritising health and taking due care of it should become a part of our habits instead of a rare occurrence. This ensures that significant issues can be prevented or adequately addressed without additional stress.
Here’s a look at four everyday basics that, if done consistently, can make you healthy, wise, and wealthy:
#1 Go back to the basics- Early to bed, early to rise
Would you believe if you were told that “early to bed, early to rise” is not just a trick to put you to bed, but a real fact? A recent study published by Frontiers in Network Physiology found that the human mind was never meant to stay awake past midnight. Disrupted sleep involving significant nocturnal wakefulness leads to cognitive and behavioural dysregulation.
Returning to fundamentals can be a good start to making you healthier- sleep early, wake up early, exercise, work, play, eat, and repeat. Of course, this is not hard & fast. But remember, even that top CEO you’ve been following also does just that, and eureka, it works!
Oh, by the way, what’s the time? 😉
#2 Eat healthy, please! And no, it’s not expensive
Unless you are a gym trainer or a fitness model, you can eat healthy, and it will not be expensive. Sure, almond milk or energy bars might cost a lot, but seasonal fruit and vegetables or lentils are pretty affordable. These foods are the real winners when it comes to healthy eating.
Processed foods, cans and ready meals can be cheap when they come on discount. However, they don’t really fill you up and you end up eating more than you budgeted. This way, the price per meal ends up costing the same, and prevents you from taking care of your health. Plus, you aren’t getting the nutritional value that you would have from whole foods like veg and grains.
Just wondering, how much does a kg of apples cost? :O
#3 Mental Health matters
The term “psychosomatic” is not too common, but its it manifests quite often. It means, what happens in the mind affects the body. Merely because mental health issues take time to surface, people tend to ignore them continuously. To this day, depression is brushed aside as just sadness and anxiety is thought of as just “worry”. That is a serious mistake.
It bears repetition that mental health is as important as physical health. Just like physical health disorders, mental health issues require diagnosis and treatment. In fact, like physical hygiene, mental hygiene is also necessary. It is imperative that even in crazy tight schedules, you take that vacation and go meet your family, take therapy even if you feel you’re just low and get your issues sorted before they snowball, and eat that bar of chocolate if you think that’ll uplift your mood!
Having a clear head is a pre-requisite to growing in life. Your mind should be your friend, not your enemy in your growth journey.
Quick tip: if you’re looking for an affordable mental health website, try “Mindpeers”, and thank us later 😊
#4 You don’t have to do it alone
Did you know, that loneliness and social isolation can increase the risk of heart attacks? Oh, also, did you know that mental health disorders like anxiety, mood swings, etc. can change together among people in a relationship? In other words, if one person’s anxiety becomes less severe over time, so does the other person’s? Well, we are not saying so, studies are.
We don’t get tired of saying that human beings are social animals by their very nature, and there in tremendous potential inherent in communities and bonds between humans. Read our blog on why community having a community is a must in your growth journey.
Fun fact, studies have also found that sleeping next to our partners can improve well being and health! Research has found that the practice of going to sleep next to one’s partner not only improved people’s sleep quality, but also reduced the severity of insomnia some may experience, along with their risk of sleep apnea.
So, in a nutshell?
Taking care of your health is non-negotiable, more so in the backdrop of the times we are living in. Postponing health is preponing disease and guaranteeing an otherwise avoidable impediment to your growth story. Begin working for your health today and stay tuned to Oopar for more health-related blogs that will help you in your journey to personal and professional growth.