12 GOOD HEALTHY HABITS THAT GUARANTEES YOU LONG LIFE

Before digging into good healthy habits, a habit is defined in the Marriam Webster dictionary as a “usual way of behaving: something that a person does often in a regular and repeated way”.

A healthy habit is any activity or behaviour that can benefit your physical, mental or emotional well-being. It might neither feel important nor effective at first, but like everything in this life, it requires commitment and consistency. But when these habits are put together committedly, a framework for a healthy life can be created.

Whatever activities you do to maintain your health, it is only through repetition you will achieve your goal. These goals are reversible if you stop doing what needs to be done.

Remember that healthy habits are created in stages. However, what seems to be a healthy habit for one can be an unhealthy habit for someone else. Hence, know the stage you are presently and begin to develop good healthy habits for your own good.

Let’s take a look at 12 good healthy habits that leads to long life

12 GOOD HEALTHY HABITS THAT GUARANTEE YOU LONG LIFE

1. EAT REGULARLY

Our body needs the energy to get through the day and this energy comes from food, making it important to eat regular meals to ensure your body gets the energy it needs to perform. Eating regularly also helps boost the body’s metabolism as well as the immune system. Skipping meals won’t help you lose weight.

You are more likely to make up for it by eating more at the next level. Rather than fasting, starving or gorging, eat normal, and more importantly eat at the right time because regardless of which diet plan is right for you, individuals consistently see positive results when they eat regular meals. Not only does a regular meal plan promote a healthier diet, but it also promotes a healthier lifestyle

2. EAT WELL

It’s one thing to eat regularly but another thing to eat well. Most times we find ourselves eating regularly but at the same time eating all of the wrong meals. Eating junks have become the order of the day and this is not good for our health. You would agree with me that it has taken the place of meals in this present day which ought not to be. Even our fathers who use to eat pounded yam and properly garnished melon soup are now getting accustomed to pasta and noodles. It’s indeed an indomie generation like many adults would call it.

Well prepared and nutrition-packed meals should be taken often as well as food that contains probiotic elements such as yogurt, some type of cheese, pickles not made with vinegar(pickled cucumber), almond fruit(popularly known as ‘Ebelebo’.These are some incredibly healthy foods that we are probably ignorant about. You basically don’t have to eat large to eat well. Eating well has to do with the nutritional content of your meals.

“You don’t have to eat large to eat well but when you eat well, you are eating large” -DollyMchottney

3. EAT LIGHTLY

The fact that you have to eat regularly doesn’t mean you should overeat. Overeating makes you tired and sluggish, whereas eating lightly makes you feel healthy and alert. Rather than eating three large main meals a day, spread your food intake over five to six smaller meals and snacks. It helps to prevent big hunger pangs between meals and prevent you from overindulging at main meal times.

And eating light is very important especially at night. It pays better to have a light dinner than a heavy one because it prevents fat hangovers and enables you to sleep properly. Not to mention that the body tends to gather more calories at night which could make one susceptible to weight problems.

4. DON’T SNACK BETWEEN MEALS

Eating regularly and eating lightly isn’t an excuse for you to eat anything that comes your way. After lightly eating a meal, your body needs about four hours to completely digest the food. Taking another meal within that four-hour range will make one part of your body digest the former and another part digest the latter. This leads to stomach upset, heartburn, drowsiness and constipation.

5. ADEQUATE WATER INTAKE

Water is an important tool for the body. It makes up a majority of the body weight. Water keeps the body functioning well and even plays a role in beauty tips because it reflects on the skin. The body needs to be hydrated all the time.  We most times drink water only during or after meals, some people even eat without drinking water which ought not to be. Health authorities commonly recommend eight 8-ounce glasses daily, which equals about 2 liters, or half a gallon.

Water play various roles and some of these include; Flushing out waste from the body, nutrient absorption, aids in digestion and cognitive function, regulates the body temperature, helps in the proper functioning of the brain, improves blood oxygen circulation, helps lubricate and cushion the joints, spinal cord, and tissues, etc

Of course, the list goes on and on, that’s how paramount water is to the body. I believe Water helps refresh not only the mind and body but even the soul. Being attentive to the amount of water you drink each day is important for optimal health. And a good way to always remember to drink water is to always have it with you or around you.

6. ADEQUATE SLEEP

Adequate rest and good sleep are very important to our health. It’s actually very necessary for the body to function well. When you sleep well especially at night you would be able to think well.

Did you know: If you deprive yourself 1 minute of sleep at night, you increase your chances of obesity (hilarious right?)Well I’m pretty sure you also know Sleeping too much could also do that as well.

So generally sleeping too much or too little could make you weigh too much. Hence the phrase “ADEQUATE SLEEP”

Sleeping is a basic human need, like eating, drinking, and breathing. Like these other needs, sleeping is a vital part of the foundation for good health and well-being throughout your lifetime.

During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development. Sleep deficiency can lead to physical and mental health problems, fatigue, injuries, loss of productivity and even greater risk of death if care isn’t taken.

Often times people go to bed but experience difficulty in falling asleep. Well here’s a little tip for you that has helped me, and it’s simple;

Your brain keeps working even when you lie down so it makes it difficult for you to actually sleep. So I would advise you to seize every form of activity and thinking an hour before you go to bed.

7. EXERCISE REGULARLY

The importance of regular exercise as a form of good healthy habits cannot be overemphasized. It benefits every part of the body including the mind. The body is created to be active, not idle. When your body and brain are idle you have high chances of having Alzheimer’s disease. So no matter how little, even as little as ‘walking’, always get up and keep moving.

Exercise enables the body to secrete chemicals that can help a person to feel good. It also helps people with mild depression and low esteem. Funny enough, it can give people a real sense of accomplishment and pride at having achieved a certain goal i.e beating their previous personal best.

It reduces the risk of developing certain diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. It is also a form of watching one’s weight. People who exercise burn more calories and look more toned than those who don’t. the ideal is about thirty minutes a day or two hundred minutes per week. This can be achieved by walking, running, swimming, and/or using exercise equipment. You should fully articulate every joint every day.

8. WEAR A SEAT BELT

The reason DollyMchottney doesn’t like seating in the front is obviously cause of seat belt. I wouldn’t know if you are like me but trust me sometimes it always seems like some sort of real work to me. Well, unfortunately, my mum and brother were involved in an accident once, it definitely wasn’t a funny one(like accidents are ever funny, well Anyways…), they made lots of emphasis on how seatbelts actually saved their lives(you know besides grace). I kept imagining If I were in the car and not putting on my seatbelts. Well, we can stop our imagination there and focus on good healthy habits.

A seatbelt can help to save lives. They are important safety features, like airbags, help to protect a driver or passenger in a collision and minimize injuries. Those who do not wear their seatbelts while in a vehicle put themselves at greater risk of severe injury or even death. In addition to this higher injury risk, not wearing a seatbelt could also hurt your insurance claim should you be involved in an accident. Right up to age thirty-five, the most common cause of premature death is traffic accidents.

Read more from the importance of wearing a seat belt

Well anyways, right now no one reminds me to put on my seatbelts anymore. So yeah wearing seatbelts at all times while in a vehicle is actually really one of the good healthy habits to cultivate.

9. DON’T SMOKE

Smoking causes damage to nearly every organ in the body and is directly responsible for a number of diseases such as heart disease. Smoking is correlated with thirty-two different illnesses including lung cancer, oesophagal cancer, throat cancer, stomach cancer, health disease and a variety of other ailments. Smoking causes more death in the united states each year than alcohol use, HIV, drug abuse and motor accidents combined. Smoking shortens the life of a male by about twelve years and that of a female by about eleven years.

See also the reasons why smoking is bad for you

10. DRINK ALCOHOL IN MODERATION

Moderate alcohol consumption may provide some health benefits which include reducing the risk of developing and dying from heart disease, possibly reducing your risk of ischemic stroke (when the arteries to your brain become narrowed or blocked, causing severely reduced blood flow), possibly reducing your risk of diabetes. Studies show that one or two glasses of wine per day aid digestion and seem to be beneficial to your overall health. Anything in excess of that can lead to all kinds of problems including overeating, traffic accidents, personality problems, anti-social behaviour, etc.

11. AVOID BEAUTY CHEMICALS

Sadly, cosmetics have become a basic need of society. Everyone wants to look pretty and slay on social media(you know, melanin popping, bronze on fleek and all of that). So there is more engagement in cosmetics in this present day. But then, we fail to realize that some of these cosmetics contain harmful chemicals that can affect the skin in a variety of unpleasant ways. The skin is the largest organ of the human body and most cosmetic products are chemical bombs.

The use of chemical-based cosmetics regularly especially the ones with inferior qualities can have an adverse effect on your skin and lead to various skin damages such as skin discolouration, acne, skin inflammation, anaphylaxis and other allergic reactions such as skin irritation, discomfort, blotches, burns, and blemishes but to mention a few. And of course, it increases one’s chance to acquire Skin Cancer.

12. AVOID ARTIFICIAL FOOD SWEETENERS

Artificial sweeteners otherwise known as a sugar substitute is a food additive that provides a sweet taste like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy than sugar-based sweeteners, making it a zero-calorie or low-calorie sweetener. These Artificial sweeteners can be derived through the manufacturing of plant extracts or processed by chemical synthesis.

These days most of our foods and drinks happen to be processed with artificial sweeteners which when not taken in moderation could have its own mild effects. Research has shown that some of these artificial sweeteners are known to come with negative side effects — like digestive troubles, headaches, and dizziness

Each of these TWELVE  factors that contribute to a long life is simply a matter of self-discipline. They are simply a matter of choice. They are factors that you can choose to take deliberately or not. They are completely under your control and are guarantees of good healthy habits