Given the COVID pandemic, it’s increasingly necessary to fortify your body so you can protect your health. While we usually feature in-office workshops, we put the latest workshop online in a YouTube video. Here are some highlights of the video that’s presented by Dr. Kristen.
#1 Sleep
Toss and turn all night? Aren’t catching enough Zzzzzs? Getting adequate restorative sleep is vital for optimal health. That’s because sleep is the time for the body to physically and mentally repair. When we go into sleep mode, the body enters the rest and digest stage, critical for healing and immunity.
Adults require 6-9 hours a night, and kids even more. Even if you think you can get by on 4-5 hours of sleep, for example, your body won’t be able to do what it needs to. If you have a hard time shutting down, here are some things you can do:
- Meditate
- Turn off technology
- Journal
- Keep a food journal
- Avoid sleeping on your back
#2 Hydration
Did you know that water makes up 60% of your body, so it’s vital to replenish the water that’s lost? Water is essential for ridding your body of toxins that we consume each day. To determine how much you need to drink, take your body weight, divide it by two, and that’s how much you should be drinking in ounces.
# 3 Exercise
You don’t have to be an avid CrossFitter or ultrarunner to get in shape. The important thing is you choose the exercise that fits you best and that you’ll stick with. Some people will get their exercise by hiking or playing with their kids.
Remember these two words: move more. After all, sitting is the new smoking. So if you’re sedentary during COVID, for example, your health will suffer. Your ultimate goal is to exercise 30-60 minutes a day, 4-6 days a week. Can’t do vigorous exercise? Replace a 30-minute workout with a brisk 3-mile walk.
#4 Nutrition
Fueling your body’s cells with vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats is one of the best ways to stay healthy. The next time you’re considering putting an item in your grocery cart, ask yourself, “How many processes did this food go through after coming from the earth?” Most of the “foods” on supermarket shelves have been through quite a bit of processing. We encourage you to say no to processed food and sugar. By boosting your nutrition, you’ll strengthen your ability to fend off illness. If you have picky kids that won’t eat their veggies, we can recommend a good supplement for them.
#5 Posture
From sitting hunched over your desk at work to looking down at your smartphone, our posture can suffer. The pandemic has resulted in children doing their studies from home via online lessons and parents participating in Zoom calls for work. Neck posture, in particular, can be affected by so much tech time.
A reverse curve in the neck can develop over time. If your neck turns the other way, you’re pulling on the spinal cord and pinching all the nerves on your spinal cord. When that happens, the brain has trouble communicating with the rest of the body so you will have issues throughout your nervous system. If you have a decrease in communication within your nervous system, you decrease your health.
In addition to adopting proper posture, you can do several posture-promoting exercises. These include flexion and extension, later flexion, rotation, shoulder rolls, planks, and others.
We encourage you to focus on setting and achieving your health goals to keep your body functioning at its peak!