The world has changed in a few months. What was once normal is no more. Instead, we have to take into account other standards and rules. But how do you create a healthy new normal?
It is not surprising if you have become a lot more conscious of your health since the Coronavirus pandemic. Everyone has been confronted with how fragile even good health is. In addition, the importance of everyone's own responsibility became very clear. Various measures have been introduced to keep people safe and healthy.
Many people are adapting to these new customs and calling it the new normal. As a result, parents nowadays say "in the elbow" instead of "hand over your mouth" when their offspring cough or sneeze. People wash or disinfect their hands thoroughly before they take the shopping cart or enter a store. Shaking hands at a meeting has been replaced by a friendly nod or a happy wave.
In addition to these measures, mainly determined by the government, to prevent the spread, a healthy lifestyle is important to prevent complications from a virus infection, according to researchers from TNO and the Leiden University Medical Center. There are clear indications that a healthy diet, sufficient exercise and a good night's sleep have an effect on the disease course of COVID-19, although this is unfortunately not a certainty. Patients who already had high blood pressure, diabetes or cardiovascular disease end up in the ICU more quickly and more often. And it is precisely these disorders that can be cured and prevented with lifestyle, say the researchers.
In order to permanently improve your lifestyle and habits and to create a new normal, it is advised not to formulate a specific end goal. Therefore, do not set your goal to lose 5 kilos, for example. There is a good chance that you will revert to your old behavior as soon as you have achieved your goal. In some cases, the kickback is even worse. The advice is therefore not to focus on the result, but on the road towards it. Below you will find tips from doctor and author of the book 'How do you become a hundred?' William Cortvriendt on how best to get started with healthy food, more exercise and a good night's sleep.
We all know that healthy food is good for health, but unfortunately it often falls short. Making a plan makes healthy eating a lot easier. “By planning and preparing your meals in advance, you reduce the risk of impulsive snacking or making an easy but unhealthy choice,” says William Cortvriendt.
So make sure you do your shopping on a full stomach. A pre-designed list also minimizes the temptation to buy unhealthy groceries at home. Or even better:do your shopping online, that also removes a lot of temptation. Try to avoid unhealthy snacks and make sure you get enough healthy alternatives such as carrots, apples or cucumbers. That way you can snack healthily and responsibly.
Regular exercise ensures better resistance and has a positive effect on your mental health and concentration. According to William Cortvriendt, brisk walking for 30 minutes every day is enough to bring about the positive effect. According to his research, if you exercise about 5 – 7 hours a week, you are best. By the way, you don't necessarily have to go to the gym for that.
By incorporating exercise into your daily routine, you will achieve your goal faster and easier. The well-known tips really work. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, the bike instead of the car and take a walk during your break or after dinner. In addition, the lockdown has shown that exercising at home is possible. Many sports lessons can be found online and doing some exercises for 15 minutes in between should also be no problem.
Do you find it difficult to be active at home? Then create a distraction. Buy a rowing machine and use it while watching a series on Netflix. Or get a treadmill or other device that you can use in front of the TV. The distraction makes exercising at home a bit more fun.
The effect of sleep is often underestimated, but a good night's sleep is an important foundation of a healthy, relaxed and happy life. During sleep, all kinds of recovery processes are started in your body. From your brain to your skin, from your digestive system to your cornea. So sleep is important. The tips above are a good start because exercise and healthy food contribute to a good night's sleep. In addition, go to bed on time and get up on time too.
Reading tip:this mattress fits your sleep profile
In this way, the positive effects of daylight can be fully appreciated, you work with the natural rhythm and you probably feel fitter. Avoid screens, coffee and stress before going to sleep as they make it difficult to fall asleep. Rather drink a cup of herbal tea and make sure the lights are dimmed. A walk before going to sleep or a warm bath will help you calm down and relax, so that you fall asleep faster.
It has been known for some time that stress has a negative impact on your general health. You see that everywhere. Stress can raise blood pressure and affect your weight. If your body is in a constant state of alert, as is the case with constant stress, you will see that reflected in your weight. This is because your body produces more of the hormone cortisol during a period of stress. This has about the same effect as adrenaline. Nice if you get a kick, but exposing your body to this for a long time is disastrous.
Cortisol not only increases your heart rate, but also blood sugar levels. If this continues for too long due to constant stress, you can suffer from insomnia, obesity (due to too much sugars that are stored as fats), muscle breakdown, brain shrinkage, exhaustion, intestinal complaints and much more. Therefore make sure you have enough relaxation. Not only in activities, but also through the use of soothing products, such as the Goodbye stress products from Kneipp.
As soon as you start working more consciously with your health, it will become easier to make healthier choices. In addition to creating new habits for positive change, checking your health regularly is also good for making lasting change. Research by TNO and Prescan, for example, shows that people who underwent a Total Body Scan saw a significant improvement in their lifestyle. Nearly a quarter of the respondents (research conducted by TNO into the results and the physical and psychological consequences of the total Body Scan among 3603 clients) said they have started smoking less, 17 percent have started to eat healthier and 16 percent have started exercising more. In addition, about 8 percent less alcohol is happy to drink.
William Cortvriendt:“As soon as people start working consciously with their health, they realize how valuable good health is. Regardless of the outcome, after such a check people improve their lifestyle and make healthier choices. You are fully aware of your health again, you know what you are doing it for and that makes a healthy choice psychologically much more logical.”
To bring about lasting change in the long run, it is more effective to take small baby steps instead of making major radical changes all at once. Try to integrate the above tips into your life little by little. Just as not shaking hands during a meeting felt uncomfortable in the beginning, you will also have to get used to these new habits.
You will probably even make a mistake (a few) times. Don't let this put you off and be gentle with yourself. You will see that as time goes on you will get used to your new lifestyle and before you know it the old habit will feel as weird as two people shaking hands on television in a series filmed pre corona.
