There’s a lot of health concerns in the 21st century. It doesn’t help that our lifestyle lends itself to less physical activities, less time for cooking healthy meals, and more unhealthy habits. People are beginning to clamor for the “good, old days” when there were fewer diseases and things to worry about. But we all know the truth: illnesses and health risks have always been there. It’s up to us to live healthily and form good habits.
While there are a lot of distractions and bad habit-forming activities in modern times, that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything to improve your well-being. Below are some health tips for navigating the 21st century with the best physical condition you can achieve.
Drop the Phone
Our parents have always told us to either stay on the computer less, put down our handheld video game consoles, and go out. And they might be correct all along. Looking at LCD panels all day long can lead to dangerous eye problems, making even those without a family history of myopia prone to becoming near-sighted. Of course, a simple solution is to spend less time in front of the screen.
While you can schedule your work to reduce the time you stare at your computer monitor, it’s also important to remember the newest culprit: smartphones. Ideally, we should spend less time looking at a phone, or not use it so close to our eyes in the first place. Managing gadget use can help reduce the strain in our eyes, increasing its longevity and preventing deterioration.
Start Sitting Straight
We sit at our computer for hours on end, craning your neck to look at the monitor. This does not only damage our eyes but our spine as well. Forward head posture, colloquially called “nerd neck” is an invisible plague that assails most people today- especially office workers. Countering this is relatively easy but it all boils down to ergonomics: place your monitor at eye level (not too high, not too low), and use a chair with adequate back and neck rest. You don’t want to be dropping your shoulders and pushing your neck forward to see what you’re typing.
Get to Walking and Moving around
The last two points discuss how our use of technology inevitably affects our health- but that doesn’t mean the technology is bad. What we need to understand is that we shouldn’t be addicted to it. When you find that you’ve been sitting for a couple of hours already, take a break and go for a walk. Move around, stretch your limbs, and get your heart rate up, even for just a few minutes. Such a small task can increase your health considerably, especially if you live a sedentary lifestyle.
Healthy Can Be Delicious
At this point, we’re all aware of the dangers of eating processed food. But the struggle in eating healthy is how difficult it is to prepare healthy food in the first place. It’s even harder to make healthy food taste delicious! But all it takes to solve that is a quick YouTube search (or a skim through a recipe book, if you’re old school).
There are hundreds of ways to cook a single ingredient, and knowing the cooking techniques that can bring out the flavor of even the blandest of vegetables can help you eat healthier. The taste shouldn’t be sacrificed when eating healthy (delicious food can be a motivation as well), all it really takes is the knowledge of cooking them right.
Make Sure Your Health Insurance is Good
Here’s advice that’s more practically oriented: get health insurance. We never know what can happen to us, and with contagious diseases being recorded every year, it’s best we’re prepared. Sort out your health insurance to make sure you’re covered no matter what happens. If the company you work for provides group health insurance or something similar, make sure you fully understand the terms and details. This is very basic advice, but perhaps for that reason, many people tend to overlook it.
Drop the Sugars
Have you checked how much sugar the last soda you drank has? You’ll be surprised by how many sugars and other additives many common food brands have nowadays. Consider reducing your intake of soda, candies, or even processed food. These types of food have enormous amounts of sugar that can result in diabetes, cardiac problems, and weight gain. Especially nowadays, with all of the readily available foods containing high amounts of sugar, being wary is necessary. Always look at the nutritional contents before buying a type of food.
Staying healthy isn’t easy. But we all know its value and importance. The tips provided here can help any modern citizen live a healthy and longer life.
