The Five Fundamentals of a Balanced Healthy Life

In order to have a Healthy Life we must have an of five fundamentals. The five fundamentals are, Nutrition, Sleep, Stress Management and Social Connection.

Movement

As humans we were designed to perform Regular Daily Movement which includes Full, Pain Free Range Of Motion. We often believe that losing range of motion or developing pain with movement is a part of the aging process which is not true, we lose it when we become under-active and lazy. Movement is something we take for granted until it is gone… so get moving before it’s too late.

Nutrition

It is key that we start to view food as fuel. Food gives us the energy to perform daily tasks, workout, recover, resist sickness, manage stress and sleep. Optimising these areas of our life are key to improving our health. Nutrition is not a diet, it is not being restrictive with certain food groups. It’s all about having a good balance between macronutrients.

Sleep

Sleep has been said to be the performance enhancing drug that no-one is utilising enough. Sleep is crucial for our body physically and mentally. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep performs a ‘memory storing’ function which helps us learn and master skills as well as regulate our emotions. Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) deep sleep, helps to repair our muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones. Without adequate sleep, our bodies begin to degrade rapidly, physically and mentally.

Stress Management

Stress can be both physical and mental. Physical stress at home or at work can lead to overuse injuries while accumulating mental stressors can affect our emotions but also our physical health. Management of stress can be done through exercise, nutrition, sleep, meditation or breathing exercises.

Social Connection

Time spent with family and friends is important for a balanced life. Social connection, laughter and touch release multiple hormones and neurotransmitters. When we spend time together we release what is known as endorphins, when we laugh we release what’s known as serotonin which helps in making us feel happy.

To achieve a balanced healthy life we must have an equal amount of each of the five fundamentals. Do you feel like you are equally balanced in all five fundamentals? If the answer is no, ask yourself why? Maybe you invest more time into one of the five? Try to balance that out by taking some balance from the one you are over investing in and invest in the areas that you lack in.