What Are Some Tips to Lead a Healthier Life?

Question by Krishnamurthy: What are some tips to lead a healthier life?

Best answer:

Answer by sepia
Seven Steps Toward a Healthier Life

Step 1: Eat Well But Not Too Much of the Wrong Foods
Nutrition counts. Population surveys indicate that the age-adjusted prevalence of overweight adults in the United States has increased from about 25% in the 1970s to 33% during the period from 1988-1991. The increase is evident for all race and sex groups. More patients eat out now than in previous years, and relatively few patients participate in regular exercise. People tend to gain weight as they age, particularly as their activity levels decrease. Permanent lifestyle changes that combine nutritional strategies and increased physical activity are the most effective for weight management.

Step 2: Quit Smoking
Nearly 50 million Americans smoke. While long-term studies now indicate that damage to the lungs from smoking is harder to undo than other damage, patients still reduce their risk for lung cancer and other diseases if they quit. Patients may experience benefits to the circulatory system immediately upon quitting. For details on how to help a patient quit smoking, see the article by Schaffer, “Clearing the Air: Brief Strategies for Smoking Cessation,” published in this issue.

Step 3: Exercise Regularly
Exercise can make a person feel better immediately. It also helps patients cope with chronic disease and stress by increasing the body’s release of endorphins and other hormones. Patients should be encouraged to avoid exercising too much too soon, which can result in soreness and motivate the patient to quit exercising. Any form of exercise that a patient is willing to undertake and is within his or her physical abilities should be encouraged. For specific guidelines on exercise, see the article by Padden, “The Role of the Advanced Practice Nurse in the Promotion of Exercise and Physical Activity,” published in this issue.

Step 4: Maintain or Reduce Your Weight
Even a modest weight loss will have positive health effects. A 10% to 15% reduction in body weight in obese patients lowers blood pressure, decreases joint stress, and improves exercise tolerance. Patients were once told that they needed to achieve a normal weight to experience the benefits of weight loss. Although the full benefits of weight loss might be better realized if a normal weight can be achieved, many patients are not able to reach their goal weight. These patients tend to become discouraged and depressed, which increases a sense of defeat and may even result in more weight gain.

Step 5: Avoid Excessive Use of Alcohol and/or Other Drugs
Excessive use of alcohol and other drugs is associated with a decline in patients’ health status and a lack of motivation for self-care practices in general. Patients who abuse alcohol and other drugs are at risk for accidents and often don’t sleep or eat well. Frequently, they use these substances to self-medicate for anxiety disorders and depressive symptoms. The risks for dental caries, sexually transmitted diseases, and unplanned pregnancy are known to be higher in substance-abusing patients than in others.

Step 6: Get Enough Sleep
The National Sleep Foundation reports that more than one half of adults surveyed (58%) experienced insomnia at least a few nights per week within the past year. It is believed that serious health effects may be at least in part caused by inadequate sleep. For example, a study reported at the American Diabetes Association’s 61st Annual Scientific Sessions revealed that the incidence of insulin resistance was higher in persons who received 5 or fewer hours of sleep each day. Other sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, have been reported to be associated with hypertension and Alzheimer disease.

Step 7: Practice Some Method of Relaxation on a Daily Basis
Stress-related hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine help people adapt to their environments, but if they are secreted in excess, body systems can be damaged. People today do not contend with the same threats as their ancestors did. Today’s threats — loss of self-esteem, socioeconomic losses, interpersonal conflicts — often involve ill-defined, diffuse situations that are not resolved by a “flight or fight” response. However, today’s threats are usually chronic and over time can cause the adaptive physiologic response to become maladaptive.

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