Most people in today’s society are not taking the time to reflect on their lives, let alone their health. It is imperative to identify behaviors that negatively impact health, and recognize how it may open the door to illness. High levels of prolonged stress, lack of sleep, and poor eating habits along with poor nutrition have been linked to illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, heart disease, and cancer. Everyday obstacles create different amounts of stress and can manifest differently depending on the individual. Short term stress can make one feel “wired” or “tired”. Prolonged stress can take its toll on the body hormonally causing one to feel “burned out” with an overall lack of well-being. Developing healthy coping skills to manage the stress is essential to good health and longevity.
Sleep
Sleep is necessary for survival. Too little sleep can lead to decreased physical performance, impaired memory, and has detrimental effects on the immune system. Sleep is associated with the release of growth hormones and many of the body’s cells increase production and repair during sleep; we truly need our beauty sleep. As a society we are obsessed with health and weight loss but as a nation we are faced with an incomparable epidemic of obesity. We want only the best; however we settle for and even wholeheartedly enjoy junk food. Today most nutritional benefits are processed, cooked, or fried out of the foods we are eating. We need to become more suspicious of
our foods and learn more about what they contain. Fresh whole foods are the most powerful medicine to protect health and prevent illness.
We live in a culture choosing aggressive treatments and quick fixes to look and feel younger. However, people need a more common sense approach to positively impact their physical condition. Therapeutic lifestyle changes are the fundamental treatment for a wide variety of common conditions such as fatigue, high cholesterol, obesity, high blood pressure, hormone imbalance, and many others. The connection between lifestyles and overall well being requires taking a proactive
attitude towards health.
To become actively engaged in improving your health call Compassionate Healthcare Associates, (661) 295-7777.
