Caring for both your physical and mental health go hand in hand. With proper care and maintenance of your body’s systems, from top to bottom and inside to out, I guarantee you will go through your days feeling energized, happy, and pristine. Here are my top 10 recommendations to feel great and healthy everyday of the week:

1) Sleep
How can you feel well if your body is running on inadequate amounts of sleep? Sleep is so important to your body! It is a time where certain parts of your body shut down but others become highly active. The parts of your body that become active, mainly the brain, are responsible for healing and repairing the body systems that get worn down throughout the day. So if you skimp out on sleep, you’re cheating your body out of important hours of repair and recovery which will have lasting impacts for you during the rest of the day.

2) Eat well
I wholeheartedly believe in the phrase you are what you eat. Think of it this way: the foods you consume become the fuels for all of the processes that happen inside your body. So would you fuel your body with bad fuel or do you want the premium stuff? I’m thinking the premium. Eating clean, minimally processed, and organic foods when available should certainly be enough to improve your overall wellbeing and make sure that you feel great regularly. The old adage an apple a day keeps the doctor away certainly holds true!

3) Exercise
Our bodies are naturally hard-wired through years of evolution to sustain some sort of activity every single day. I love the recommended guidelines of doing something active for at least 30 minutes per day. If you’re pressed for time it’s ok to not make it to 30 minutes, but at least try and move a little! If you have more time, go ahead and be active for as long as you want. However long it is, as long as you’re doing something to get your heart pumping and blood flowing, it’s a recipe for feeling good.

4) Drink Water
Our bodies are 70% water so go ahead and drink as much of it as you can! Without sufficient hydration your body cannot thrive! Water is the substance the enables all of the reactions and processes within your body to occur, so in truth it is essential for life. However, it is also important to steer clear of certain beverages such as soda and sports drinks as they contain high amounts of sugars and other added ingredients which are actually detrimental to your health. Wake up every morning and chug a glass of water! It’s a great way to begin the day.

5) Stretch
Begin and end each day by stretching your muscles. This may seem like a simple task but it will truly improve the way you feel throughout the day. Stretching is especially important for those who exercise on a daily basis. Without proper stretching, your muscles will tighten which can lead to injury. But for anybody, stretching has it benefits. Proper muscle stretching can increase your range of motion and reduce feelings of tightness and discomfort in your body. You can also use your stretching time as time for relaxation and meditation. This feeling of relaxation will carry with you for the rest of the day.

6) Connect with Nature
This is another one those activities that our bodies are hard wired to love. In the everyday hustle and bustle of our lives, we often tend to forget that there’s a whole natural world surrounding us. Our ancestors evolved living their lives outdoors for the majority of their time. While I’m not saying you should sell your house and live in the woods. I believe that you should take the time to do something outside on a daily basis. I find that after a good hike, my mind is at ease and I feel brand new. Do whatever works for you, whether it’s a hike through the woods on your lunch break or even a walk around the block after dinner, I guarantee you’ll come back feeling refreshed and revitalized. A little bit of fresh air can truly do your body good.

7) Disconnect from technology
Technology has made our lives so much easier and so much more interconnected. At the same time, technology can also add an “information overload” factor to our lives. Being constantly connected to social media, work, news, and email can become a source of stress. In my experience, it is imperative for your wellbeing to give yourself some time everyday where you go phone free. I like to go phone free at the gym and also about a half hour before bed. This phone free time gives your mind a chance to unwind and to simply be alone with your thoughts. It might work for you to go phone free on your lunch breaks or during dinner. Whenever you decide to put the phone down, take time to allow yourself to recollect your thoughts and to find your peace of mind without the stress of being connected to the outside world.

8) Reconnect with People
It is also in our human nature to be social creatures. It is necessary for your wellbeing and mental health to connect with others on some level. It is easy to let time pass by and to let old friends become acquaintances and even eventually strangers. Instead of allowing friendships to dwindle, take the time to go and reach out to old friends, to talk to somebody new from work, or to just say a friendly hello and smile at a stranger you pass by. Positive social interaction will help you feel confident and gives you something to look forward to on a regular basis.

9) Set Goals
Setting goals helps give you focus and drive in your daily routine. When you have a goal that you are trying to achieve you will be able to see your progress over time towards achieving that goal. This will provide you with a sense of accomplishment and will further energize your desire to attain those goals. A goal, for example, can be something as simple as deciding to lose 10lbs before the end of the year or as monumental as deciding to go back to school for another degree. Whatever it is you decide to undertake, use it to help steer your life in the direction you’d like it to go. Once you see your goals being knocked down one by one you will feel tremendous and begin to realize there is nothing you can not do once you set your mind to it.

10) Find your Passion
Pursue something in life that you’re truly passionate about! This doesn’t mean you need to change your career path or quit your job but you should at least try to make sure you have a hobby, a sport, or something that fuels you and that you can engage in on a daily basis. Finding something that you are passionate about will give you a sense of purpose and meaning as you go about your days. This will help to improve your mental well being which in turn will also enhance your physical wellbeing. The two go together hand in hand! I once read somewhere that it is enthusiasm for something that makes life worth living. So find your passion, live it, love it, and explore it!

These ten tips for expanding upon both your physical and mental wellbeing on a daily basis come from the heart of my own experiences. By focusing on achieving optimal health, there is no challenge in life that you should not be able to tackle!

Stephen Bogan