A healthy lifestyle (HLS): good and bad habits, the formation of

Every person, regardless of age, has the desire to be healthy and active. Its implementation will ensure physical well-being and inner well-being for years to come. You can carry out your plans with the help of simple but effective rules and habits, constituting a healthy lifestyle.

What does it mean to lead a healthy lifestyle?

If in a person's behavior all harmful effects on his body are excluded, this means that he leads a healthy lifestyle. Thanks to such a system, favorable conditions are created for the course of all physiological processes, this has a good effect on the psyche, reduces the likelihood of illness and, as a result, increases the duration life.

Leading a healthy lifestyle means constantly adhering to certain rules regarding nutrition, physical activity, maintaining your physical and mental health. This is not a temporary measure to tidy up your body. This is a code of life enshrined in the mind, which should be adhered to constantly.

Such a respectful and attentive attitude towards oneself helps to realize the set plans and tasks, to successfully overcome all difficulties, to cope with physical and emotional overload, to feel like a full-fledged member of a modern society.

Methods for the formation of healthy lifestyles

Acquaintance with the rules of healthy lifestyle begins from childhood. In preschool and school institutions, elements of teaching a healthy lifestyle are included in the curriculum. Health lessons, business games are organized for schoolchildren, conferences and discussions are held for adults.

All methods of forming health-preserving principles are divided into the following groups:

Methods	The essence of the methods
Verbal theoretical	imply the receipt of information and its processing. Knowledge of the principles of healthy lifestyle is a good basis for future actions. By receiving information on how to properly build a lifestyle, a person gets acquainted with important principles, discusses them and begins to apply. These methods include books, articles, lectures, disputes, conferences, seminars, trainings.
Visual	this is an example of other people who prioritize their health and lead a healthy lifestyle, watching films and programs. Communication with like-minded people makes it easy to move to a new stage in life and is a good incentive for change.
Practical	these are individual rules of life, formulated on the basis of reading books, attending lectures and being motivated by the actions of those who have achieved great success in this area. There are various schools of health where all of these methods are applied and new habits are formed under the guidance of experienced professionals.

Only such a sequence (from theory to practice) will help to quickly enter a new life stage, adapt to new conditions of existence and make them as comfortable as possible.

How to start a healthy lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle and health-promoting habits are not a temporary diet, not multiple restrictions, but the right mindset. Only those things that contributed to the deterioration of health and quality of life, for example, bad habits, will have to be left in the past.

In order not to deviate from the new principles that should become a way of life, you need to start by drawing up a plan of action and follow it every day.

It should reflect the rules of nutrition, self-care, physical activity, preventive measures from diseases, plans to visit medical specialists, principles of normalization of mental and emotional health.

8 main rules and habits of healthy lifestyle

The transition to a healthy lifestyle is possible only with strict adherence to the rules and the development of good habits, among which an important role is played by:

• food;
• physical activity;
• rejection of bad habits;
• the ability to maintain a sleep and rest regimen;
• disease prevention;
• the ability to control emotions.

No bad habits

The quality of health is negatively affected by bad habits: smoking, alcohol, drugs. All of them cause harmful addiction (mental and physical), destroy the body and provoke diseases, many of which are incurable. This lifestyle is not conducive to healthy offspring.

Nicotine has a slow destructive effect on the body, because tobacco smoke contains 4 times more toxins than automobile exhaust gases. First of all, its effect is reflected in the respiratory system.

Therefore, heavy smokers can be recognized by a persistent dry cough. Over time, alcohol and drugs lead to aggression and personality degradation, because they primarily affect the brain and heart. Therefore, you need to exclude these habits from your life as soon as possible, replacing them with useful ones.

You can overcome addiction to cigarettes, alcohol and drugs by going through 3 stages:

• Making a firm decision to change your life.
• Overcome the withdrawal period. This is best done under the supervision of specialists.
• Health recovery.

The hardest part of this process is the first 3 weeks. But the realization of the result of work on oneself will help to overcome them.

Having got rid of bad habits, a person receives the following benefits:

• normalization of metabolism;
• improved blood count;
• normalization of blood pressure levels;
• improving the work of the heart and blood vessels;
• improvement of the lungs and liver;
• decrease in the rate of heart attack;
• disappearance of headaches;
• cheerfulness, good mood;
• stress tolerance.

Such changes in the state of health will have a positive effect on relationships in the family and in the work collective.

Sleep and rest

The result of any human activity - physical or mental - is greatly influenced by the quality of sleep and rest. Every day of an ordinary person consists of a change in these states. Their rational combination ensures greater activity during the day and a healthy state of the body.

During those periods when a person receives a load, his metabolism increases, the work of the heart is activated, and blood flow accelerates. After some time, the body's resources are depleted, he feels fatigue and weakness, drowsiness. This time should be used for good rest in order to restore working capacity.

To feel good, an adult needs to sleep at least 7 hours a day (this figure is individual and may vary depending on the characteristics of the body), and children need 8-9 hours. You need to train yourself to go to bed at the same time. Such stability will not allow the circadian rhythms, which affect the work of all organs and systems, to go astray.

It is equally important to alternate between different types of activity - physical and mental stress. This has a positive effect on the functioning of the brain and the condition of muscle tissue.

Weekends and annual vacations should not be neglected. Relaxation and pleasant pastime will restore the normal functionality of the body and strengthen it.

Physical activity

A healthy lifestyle and self-care habits improve not only physical but also spiritual health. Physical activity has a great influence on the general condition of the body. To do this, it is not necessary to sign up for a gym and disappear there for several hours, exhausting yourself with work on simulators. Not everyone has the means and time to implement this point of the plan.

But the muscles need regular exercise to avoid atrophy, stiffness, and other problems with the musculo-ligamentous apparatus. The movements performed by the muscles cause a reaction of nerve impulses, and this provides the tone of the nerve centers, a surge of energy, an improvement in mood, and the release of emotional stress.

People who have developed a habit of physical activity have a healthy appearance, fit, vigorous and attractive.

Muscle work is directly related to the internal state of a person, since as a result of training:

• anxiety and depression disappear;
• stress resistance increases;
• sleep improves;
• increased resistance to disease;
• endurance increases.

Regular exercise can help you relax and fall asleep faster. Trained people sleep much better, they need less time to get enough sleep.

The daily minimum of physical activity is morning exercises, which should include exercises for all muscle groups. It should become an unchanging habit, like washing and brushing your teeth.

Proper nutrition

Rational nutrition is one of the main principles of a healthy lifestyle. Food provides a person with all the necessary nutrients, and therefore energy. And the well-coordinated work of all organs and systems depends on the quality and quantity of food eaten during the day.

Food culture implies a balance of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. If the body gets enough of it, it functions normally.

Diet rules differ depending on age, the presence of chronic diseases, physical activity, as well as climatic conditions.

But there are general rules that everyone needs to follow:

• eat regularly in small portions;
• drink enough water (30 - 35 ml of water per 1 kg of human weight);
• exclude fast food;
• eat lean meat and fish;
• exclude the use of refined products: sugar, wheat flour;
• include seasonal products on the menu every day;
• eat fresh vegetables and fruits;
• use fermented milk products;
• evening meal - no later than 3 hours before bedtime.

Food needs to be chewed properly, not washed down, eat fresh food. Sometimes, in order to avoid stress due to drastic changes in nutrition, you can afford to eat your favorite treat, but you do not need to do it every day.

Hygiene

A healthy lifestyle also includes personal hygiene, which should become a habit. This is a daily self-care, which includes brushing your teeth in the morning and evening, a shower also 2 times a day, and regular shampooing. The oral cavity also needs constant care. To do this, you need to purchase an irrigator, rinse, dental floss.

Negligence in the oral cavity can result in caries or other problems (periodontitis, pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract). To prevent this from happening, you need to regularly visit your dentist. The toothbrush should be changed every 3 months.

Purity

It is also important to keep your body clean: wash your hands often, monitor the condition of your nails, clean your ears, use deodorants, and keep your clothes and shoes clean.

You should always have wet antibacterial wipes or gel with you to keep your hands clean.

In addition to personal hygiene, the cleanliness of the room is also important. In the house, you should regularly do wet cleaning, often ventilate the rooms, keep your clothes and bed linen clean, water indoor flowers and wipe dust from their leaves. Plumbing must also be kept clean at all times. When taking a shower or bath, you should use only clean towels and wash them often.

At work, the cleanliness of the workplace matters. Compliance with the rules of hygiene contributes to the development of self-confidence, helps to prevent many diseases, and also improves the attitude of others around.

Hardening

The healthy lifestyle program also includes hardening procedures. Such a remedy helps to increase the body's resistance to colds (hardening reduces their risk by 2 to 4 times) and the unpleasant effects of environmental factors. Sometimes hardening helps to completely forget about colds.

As a result of such procedures:

• the tone of the central nervous system increases;
• metabolism is normalized;
• the body is strengthened;
• blood circulation improves, which means cell nutrition.

Tempering procedures include:

• walking barefoot;
• pouring (wiping) with cool water;
• sleeping with an open window during warm and cool seasons;
• outdoor charging;
• massage;
• swimming in open water.

You should know that only systematic hardening has a result, since after 2 - 3 months its effect decreases.

Medicine and body check

A healthy lifestyle and self-care habits have a beneficial effect on life expectancy when monitored regularly by a specialist. The older a person is, the more often he should undergo a preventive examination in a polyclinic.

Timely detection of health problems will help to avoid serious pathologies and start treatment on time.

Women and men after 45 years of age should be especially careful to monitor the health of the genitourinary sphere. At this age, hormonal changes occur, as a result of which serious problems can arise.

If the body already has chronic diseases, you should undergo an annual (according to indications more often) examination, take tests and consult with specialists.

Emotional well-being, socialization

The general well-being of a person is paid great attention to by his emotional state. Communicating with different groups of people and finding themselves in different situations, everyone has to periodically experience stress.

This is reflected at the physiological level not in the best way:

• nervousness;
• anxiety;
• poor sleep;
• irascibility.

Research has shown that centenarians have several qualities in common. All of them, as a rule, adhere to a balance in nutrition, a sufficient amount of physical activity. But besides this, all of them were characterized by such a quality as a positive attitude towards life and people, the ability to be optimists and enjoy the most ordinary little things.

To achieve such results, you can use different methods: psychological training, meditation practices, reading relevant literature, communication with like-minded people. It is important to learn to see everything interesting in the world around you and appreciate what is now. In addition, you need to develop the ability to manage your emotions.

Optimism and positive thinking are essential for every person. The main thing is the desire to become healthier emotionally.

How to give up bad habits and develop healthy ones

No matter how much a person does physical education and eat according to the rules of a healthy lifestyle, there will be no effect if he does not get rid of bad habits. Alcohol, smoking and drugs lead to such pathologies that destructively affect the state of human health. And with prolonged use, a person is lost as a person.

Therefore, one of the main tasks in the transition to a healthy lifestyle is giving up bad habits. This is not easy to do. This can take from several weeks to several months. But the result is worth it.

You should know that any action repeated regularly becomes automatic and becomes a habit.

A healthy lifestyle and the habits that help maintain well-being involve getting rid of everything that pulls a person “down”.

To eliminate bad habits from life, you must:

• understand the problem (talk to experts, read the literature on this topic);
• replace a bad habit with a useful one (instead of a cigarette or a glass of vodka, do push-ups or jogging);
• add new activities to your usual lifestyle (exercise in the morning, a glass of water on an empty stomach, meditation, reading a certain number of pages of fiction daily, learning a few foreign words each day);
• change the situation (remove temptations from view, limit (or exclude) communication with those who are addicted to addiction);
• enlist the support of loved ones (announce your decision to them, report on your successes).

It's good to find a like-minded person and go with him towards your goal. In such a company, it is easier to overcome difficulties and move to a new stage in life.

How healthy lifestyle affects health and life expectancy

Several factors affect life expectancy:

• heredity;
• congenital predisposition;
• ecology;
• Lifestyle.

And if the first 3 factors are difficult to avoid, then the last one can have a big impact on changes in the body. Only those who are indifferent to their health grow old and acquire a "bouquet of diseases".

The reasons for the development of many serious diseases are:

• low or high blood pressure;
• increased cholesterol concentration;
• excess food and obesity;
• hypodynamia;
• poor water quality;
• bad habits.

These are all factors that can be changed. To do this, you need to develop the habit of eating only healthy foods, observing the diet and its balance. You can improve the condition of your blood vessels with the help of blood vessels, moderate physical activity and vitamins. It is easy to cope with physical inactivity if you start at least with morning exercises and walking to work and home (you can go just a few stops - and the result will not be long in coming).

Experts have calculated that every hour devoted to physical activity increases the life cycle by 2-3 hours. No wonder they say that movement is life.

Anyone who decides to switch to a healthy lifestyle will begin to understand and love their body, develop several useful habits, you can be sure that this step will not be taken in vain, and the body will surely respond with strength, health and longevity.

Video about healthy lifestyle

7 healthy lifestyle rules: