The importance of leading a healthy life.

I am Paulo Seabra, CISS Physical Education Teacher, and I will talk about the importance of leading a healthy life in general.

Several factors can influence health, for example, relationships in the family, the workplace environment, the daily routine, emotional and even spiritual states. If these factors are not in harmony, the risk of becoming ill is considerable. Therefore, it is very important to find a balance amongst the values of physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being.

Healthy Active Living: The importance of leading a healthy life.

What is healthy active living?

Healthy living means making choices to improve your health and minimize manageable issues and diseases. Active living is doing physical activities in order to improve your fitness level. These two go together. Choosing a healthy, active lifestyle will enhance all aspects of what we generally call “health or wellness.” (Ted Temertzoglou, Healthy Active Living).

Personally, I think that there are no specific rules and attitudes to lead a healthy life. However, it is possible to create a series of good habits that, when adopted with discipline, help to maintain mental and emotional balance. In current times, this balance is fundamental to achieve, in general, a better quality of life. Having a healthy life is not just about preventing disease. It is a much broader question, which we could summarize into maintaining a good diet and practicing physical (and intellectual) activities frequently, in order to become a more peaceful person, who are at ease with life and habits.

Healthy living is the adaptation of a daily routine, which includes a balanced diet without absurd restrictions, regular and pleasurable physical activity, medical control, in addition to the constant search for quality of life with less stress and more moments of pleasure and joy at work with friends and family. This routine is important. Working with whatever you like, having a hobby that makes you feel good, having good personal and professional relationships, being well resolved and organized, are all essential attitudes to be comfortable within yourself. In short, try your best to lead a more peaceful life.

I know it is difficult to nowadays comply with this suggestion, as most people have a busy day whether it is at work, school, in traffic, or just the daily routine at home. Combined with these factors, a general lack of time, the large number of daily tasks and more financial and family problems often cause stress crises. These are all common situations, but they can be controlled. Seeking a balanced livelihood significantly reduces stress and its consequences. Learning how to let go of bad thoughts, stop cultivating hurt, guilt and fears is important to keep yourself well balanced.

There are four dimensions to healthy active living, and they are all closely interconnected and each of them under your own control. You can consider yourself to have a healthy lifestyle if you have good physical, mental, social, and spiritual health.

Good physical health is a result of all your body’s important functions working well together. A person in good physical health can more easily:

Fight off disease
Recover from illness
And perform daily routines without feeling tired.

1.Good mental health is a result of positive feelings about yourself and about others. Your mental health can influence your decisions. A person in good mental health can more easily:

Deal with stress
Cope with change
And maintain a positive outlook on life.

2.Good social health is a result of your interactions with others and coping well with social situations. Social health can be built through friendships, participation in community groups, and volunteer work. A person in good social health can more easily:

Feel close and connected to other people
Understand his or her own self-worth
And cope with life’s ups and downs.

3.Good spiritual health gives peace of mind. Spiritually can be gained and expressed in the way you play a musical instrument, dance, work art materials, play with your family and friends or through religion. It can also be apparent through reaching out to help others in ways that restore their dignity and self-worth. Good spiritual health can:

Give your life a purpose
Provide you with stress relief
And help you develop support systems.

Focusing on each of these dimensions, and continually striving to improve in each area, is key to a long and happy life. The benefits of healthy life active living extend to many aspects of your, including:

Increased self-confidence – Increased energy
Increased concentration – Improved study habits
Better marks in school – Easier weight management

– Improved sense of well-being – Improved sleeping habits

Healthier food choices – Stronger relationships with others
Increased enjoyment of life – Better to approach to goal setting and achievement
Increase willingness to try new things – More enjoyment of leisure time
More intense participation in sports, now and in the future.

If you have not started your healthy life planning yet, do not despair, it is never too late to start. The most important thing is to want and maintain a balance. When we have bad habits, they constantly surround us in our routine, right? The same is true when creating healthy habits. They end up being part of your day to day routine and remain in your life, allowing you to live with much more quality and health.