Day 288 of 365 - More Power Than You Think
One of the exciting things about health and wellness research is, that it is teaching us how much influence we can actually have. Perhaps we used to think that you either get some disease or other, or you don't and that there's not much you can do about it but to treat it when it happens. Now we are learning that, in the case of many chronic illnesses, we do indeed have the ability to not only manage them but to prevent them in the first place.
I can remember my parents health conditions of arthritis, late onset diabetes and heart disease, for example, mainly being treated with medication, the recommendation to stop smoking and maybe some cursory dietary suggestions. Overall, they seemed to believe it was just something they would have to live with and suffer from until they died. In a way they considered it a normal progression of aging.
Now, we have learned so much more about how our bodies work and what can either set us up as a candidate for disease, or, what can prevent or even to a large extent reverse it.
Sometimes, when we repeatedly hear about how so many things, like diet, stress, poor sleep and environmental exposures to toxins can affect our health in a negative way, it can seem discouraging. It might feel overwhelming and as though the odds are stacked against us if we have many of the risk factors for a chronic disease. We might feel like there is not much we can do.
However, the encouraging thing about current research is, that even small tweaks or changes that we make to our diet or lifestyle can create measurable benefits. As an example, one study showed how in just 12 months of brisk walking most days, the memory center of the brain increased in size in study participants who already suffered from dementia, giving them better cognitive function.
Maybe all this health and wellness advice about diet, exercise, stress, sleep and toxins feels like way too much to deal with. It's very helpful to know that I don't have to completely overhaul everything at once to create change in my health. Addressing all these areas in depth certainly does take time and effort, and we might not feel we have the resources to do that.
As an example, I've written before about how I have been tinkering for several months with strategies to improve my sleep. It's still not ideal, but it is better overall than it was. So, I'm moving the needle in the right direction on that front, and I'll keep tinkering. Yes, I feel badly when I read yet another article about all the negative health effects of not getting enough quality sleep. But, I am motivated to learn that even making only one small change at a time, and sticking with it, will make a difference.
You can also think of it this way. Would you rather be dealing with the consequences of poor health down the road, or preventing or turning it around now? So many people end up in some kind of health crisis which has dire consequences. In my parents cases, having heart attacks pulled the rug out from under them. After series of them in a short time, my mother died at the relatively young age of 62. My father was luckier, I suppose, to have had his heart attack at an earlier age, to be able to recover, and he lived into his early eighties. I'm guessing most of us would like to have more control over our health destiny. Science is telling us that, in many, many ways, we do.
So, what small change might you make today to positively affect your health? Maybe it's deciding to go for a walk, eat a green salad or going to bed an hour earlier. If we just keep doing a little at a time, it makes a difference and our bodies will thank us with more health and vitality.
I can remember my parents health conditions of arthritis, late onset diabetes and heart disease, for example, mainly being treated with medication, the recommendation to stop smoking and maybe some cursory dietary suggestions. Overall, they seemed to believe it was just something they would have to live with and suffer from until they died. In a way they considered it a normal progression of aging.
Now, we have learned so much more about how our bodies work and what can either set us up as a candidate for disease, or, what can prevent or even to a large extent reverse it.
Sometimes, when we repeatedly hear about how so many things, like diet, stress, poor sleep and environmental exposures to toxins can affect our health in a negative way, it can seem discouraging. It might feel overwhelming and as though the odds are stacked against us if we have many of the risk factors for a chronic disease. We might feel like there is not much we can do.
However, the encouraging thing about current research is, that even small tweaks or changes that we make to our diet or lifestyle can create measurable benefits. As an example, one study showed how in just 12 months of brisk walking most days, the memory center of the brain increased in size in study participants who already suffered from dementia, giving them better cognitive function.
Maybe all this health and wellness advice about diet, exercise, stress, sleep and toxins feels like way too much to deal with. It's very helpful to know that I don't have to completely overhaul everything at once to create change in my health. Addressing all these areas in depth certainly does take time and effort, and we might not feel we have the resources to do that.
As an example, I've written before about how I have been tinkering for several months with strategies to improve my sleep. It's still not ideal, but it is better overall than it was. So, I'm moving the needle in the right direction on that front, and I'll keep tinkering. Yes, I feel badly when I read yet another article about all the negative health effects of not getting enough quality sleep. But, I am motivated to learn that even making only one small change at a time, and sticking with it, will make a difference.
You can also think of it this way. Would you rather be dealing with the consequences of poor health down the road, or preventing or turning it around now? So many people end up in some kind of health crisis which has dire consequences. In my parents cases, having heart attacks pulled the rug out from under them. After series of them in a short time, my mother died at the relatively young age of 62. My father was luckier, I suppose, to have had his heart attack at an earlier age, to be able to recover, and he lived into his early eighties. I'm guessing most of us would like to have more control over our health destiny. Science is telling us that, in many, many ways, we do.
So, what small change might you make today to positively affect your health? Maybe it's deciding to go for a walk, eat a green salad or going to bed an hour earlier. If we just keep doing a little at a time, it makes a difference and our bodies will thank us with more health and vitality.
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