The four pillars of health are the first place to start when seeking wellness. They are measurable and all can be changed. Sometimes, they change in an instant. Other times, it’s a gradual shift towards, or away from, balance. When we pay attention to these pillars, we can identify where we can improve our health outcomes. A health coach can help you identify, create small steps to make a shift, and guide you to change.
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Sleep can be touchy and very sensitive to how one spends the day. Simple components that can alter sleep may include sunlight exposure, movement, an over-active mind, and eating habits.
Quality and quantity sleep are both important. Doctors recommend 1-2 hours of deep sleep to restore your physical body, and 1.5-2 hours of REM each night to restore mental and emotional abilities. A total of 7-9 hours is ideal for total sleep hours. Track your sleep on a device to gauge how well you are doing, or if adjustments need to be made in your day to improve sleep outcomes.
ᴍᴏᴠᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ
Do you move each day with consistency? Consider the best exercise for you and how much. This is a balance and looks different for everyone. It, also, changes over time as you build strength and endurance and find movement that you enjoy. Muscle use is linked to our metabolic health and massively predicts longevity and healthspan. Mindful movement is a key pillar to health.
ꜱᴛʀᴇꜱꜱ ᴍᴀɴᴀɢᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ
Stress can be sneaky. It’s easy to be stressed and not even know it. Take an honest look at your stress response throughout the day. Stress management tends to be the least understood of the pillars by the average person, but understanding how our brain responds to it’s surroundings and the body’s response will give us insight into ways to make positive change towards lifestyle wellness.
ɴᴜᴛʀɪᴛɪᴏɴ
Identifying why we eat is powerful and can help us frame, or re-frame, the role of food in our lives.
We all have a unique relationship with food. We eat for different reasons. We may have nostalgic reasons, emotional, cultural, sensitivities, or purely physical reasons for eating. Some of us eat without thinking and others carefully select what goes in our mouths, how much, and how often.
Understanding our unique relationship with food will give us deep insight into potential shifts that can massively improve our health. The food on our plate is one of the biggest tools we have for wellness.
