What Is Important To Our Health And Wellbeing?

As the pandemic rages on into its second year, the necessity of taking care of one’s health and wellbeing has taken an even greater degree of importance in today’s world. Living in good health and having a sense of wellbeing is central to having a fulfilling life.

Mental Health

Health and wellbeing encompass not just physical health but also includes mental health. According to data from the National Institute of Mental Health, about 20 per cent of Americans who are above the age of 18 suffer from mental illnesses, which can be of differing severity and conditions. Its not the case alone of US; all the nations are in an almost similar situation.

Suffering from mental illnesses also impacts one’s physical health. According to data from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, people who are suffering from depression develop a 40 per cent more likelihood of suffering from cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Moreover, the covid-19 pandemic has further affected mental health of individuals. About 10 million adults have experienced some form of depression during the covid-19 pandemic, according to UK’s government data from Office of National Statistics.

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Managing mental health can be done by talking to a therapist or someone one feels safe and close with, journaling, regular physical activity, eating well, drinking enough water, sleeping well, asking for help if needed, taking a break, keeping in touch with friends and family, picking up hobbies and more.

The UK also launched a new virtual technology and psychologist led service offering online Cognitive Behavioural Therapies (iCBT) self-help modules to address the growing mental health crisis in the UK. Patients can complete a self-paced module and also avail of video meeting.

Physical Health

In the UK, physical inactivity is responsible for 1 in 6 deaths and costs approximately £7.4 billion annually, inclusive of the NHS’ expenses. Taking care of one’s physical health has a variety of benefits ranging from reduced risk of dementia, breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases, depression, improved mortality rates and many more.

The UK’s Chief Medical Officers' guidelines have recommended adults to do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity, 75 minutes of vigorous activity or a mixture of both in a week, it also recommended doing some form of strengthening activities twice a week and to also reduce sitting for extended periods of time.

Nutrition

Nutrition and sleep are other aspects that one must take care of for improved wellbeing. Nutrition aids in not just weight management but also in the improved immune system, higher energy levels and other benefits.

Some effects of having a poor diet include feeling lethargic, jittery, fatigued, weak and various other symptoms. It also becomes much more difficult to cope with stress when having a poor diet or being malnourished, as hunger makes a body more emotionally reactive to external stressors in an environment.

Sleep

Sleep, rest and recovery are another important pillars of maintaining good health. According to data from UK Biobank, frequent sleep disturbances were linked with a 12 per cent increased risk for all-cause mortality. Meanwhile, suffering from diabetes caused a 67 per cent increase in the same. The study also showed that the combination of both resulted in an 87 per cent greater mortality risk as well.

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Healthy sleep aids in maintaining critical bodily functions, restore energy, repair muscle tissue and more. According to the National Sleep Foundation, an adult aged between 18 to 64 years requires about 7 to 9 hours of sleep, but it can vary depending on age.

Establishing a sleep routine, reducing caffeine intake, shutting down one’s phone are just some of the measures a person can take to get better and more deep sleep.