With the new school year starting up, athletic events and winter holidays that are around the corner, it can be easy to forget about taking care of yourself and your health needs. Our exercise routine, diet and oral hygiene habits can get lost in all of the hustle and bustle, leaving our bodies at risk for illness, infection and disease. If you’re feeling under the weather, it may be time to evaluate your health goals and schedule a functional medicine visit to get your health back on track. Meeting with a medical professional can help you identify the triggers to your problems. Find out how to take care of yourself mentally, physically and emotionally with these tips!
The Importance of Self-Care
This time of year is one of the busiest for most families. Combine all of the football games, back-to-school events and seemingly endless list of to-dos for the next few months, it’s an exhausting time for everyone. Unfortunately, when we’re so busy taking care of everyone else, we seem to forget to take care of ourselves. One of the most important things that we can do for ourselves is self-care, which is a word to remind ourselves that we are the priority and have to take care of ourselves before we can successfully help others. If we are in a state of physical, mental or emotional decline, we are not able to perform the many tasks and duties that are often required of us. Whether it be work, school or family, if we aren’t taken care of ourselves, it’s nearly impossible to participate fully in any activity. To successfully increase the years of life, our lifespan, along with our years of health, or healthspan, learning self-care is a vitally important trait that we must all develop. This includes taking care of our bodies, minds and overall well-being to ensure that we are functioning at our best level. Even if your life feels crazy busy and that you’re overwhelmed by everything you have to do, now is the best time to start implementing self-care tips into your life. By the end of the journey, you’ll be glad that you started.
How To Improve Your Overall Health
When it comes to our health, there are a lot of factors at play that influence how well we feel, think and perform. However, there are plenty of ways that we can improve ourselves and still help others. Some good things to start with to influence your health levels include good nutrition, quality sleep, body and mind therapies, and increasing the vitamins and minerals that you’re consuming. But first, let’s start with your diet. Not only does the food we eat affect weight gain, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, but it can prevent memory loss and inflammation if you’re eating the right foods. Certain foods have chemicals in them that make you feel blah, while others boost your self-esteem and happiness. Blueberries, green leafy vegetables, nuts and fatty fish are great for the brain and are anti-inflammatories, meaning they won’t bug your immune system. Exercise is another important part of self-care and should be engaged in regularly to reduce stress and anxiety. Whether you go for walks around the block, play tennis or do yoga, some form of physical activity is better than none. Find what works for you and your schedule to get the activity that you need.
Additionally, examine your oral hygiene habits and make sure that you’re taking care of your oral health. Whether that be brushing better, scheduling a visit with the dentist or fixing a broken tooth, do it. Taking care of your mouth will help you feel more confident about yourself as you go about your daily activities. Next, develop a nightly routine that helps prepare you for sleep by relaxing in a hot bath, reading a book or getting rid of all distractions (like TV) in the bedroom. Being rested is essential if you want to have the energy that you need to run kids to school, work or just be present. Lastly, learn how to say no. It’s tempting to say yes to everyone when we don’t want to disappoint them or think that we can somehow squeeze that extra task in, but stop it. As humans, we cannot do everything all the time, and it’s important to learn how to say no to people, including family, so that you can take care of yourself.
What Is A Functional Medicine Visit?
There are a million other ways that we can incorporate a self-care attitude into our lives, and some of them you’ll have to try multiple times before they start to work. However, if the stress in your life isn’t getting better no matter what you do, it may be time to visit with a medical professional for a functional medicine visit. These visits involve comprehensive exams to identify the antecedents, triggers and mediators of your condition, and they strive to take the most natural approach to promote wellness. A functional medicine visit considers our genomic makeup combined with the environment we live in to identify what is triggering our symptoms. Testing, such as cardiovascular health screens and hormonal and nutritional panels, is completed to give your provider an overview of your health so as to develop a treatment plan that’s fitted to your needs. Changes in lifestyle, including diet and environment, are oftentimes necessary to completely heal, and the process takes time. Meeting with a functional medicine provider is one of the first steps you should take to begin this journey towards a healthier and happier you.
Prepare For Fall With Our Help!
At Balanced Well-Being Healthcare, our providers take a natural approach to wellness by focusing on functional medicine. Healthy aging and living can be difficult to achieve, but with our help, you’ll be looking, feeling and thinking better in no time. Call our office today at (970) 631-8286 to learn how you can take control of your health again!