Welcome to WOW Healing Care, your friendly direct primary care clinic in Oceanside, where we understand that true health goes beyond the absence of illness. Health means achieving all of your lifestyle goals, including solid sleep, stress reduction, balanced diet, and consistent exercise. From our integrative medicine perspective, we recommend strategies from both traditional and alternative medicine to help you reach your healthiest self yet.
Tired just from reading? It can feel overwhelming to achieve all of these goals, especially without guidance. That’s why we’re giving you our best doctor-approved advice for optimizing your physical health. Implementing just one of these suggestions can lead to huge improvements in your physical health, and the best part is that you don’t need to come into the office to get them!
A crucial aspect of how to optimize your physical health is cultivating the right mindset – and studies have proven it. Without the right mindset, it’s hard to stick to your goals and believe you can achieve them. Here are some ways the right attitude can help you optimize your physical health:
Maintaining a positive outlook can boost your immune system, reduce stress levels, and improve cardiovascular strength.
Developing resilience helps you navigate life’s challenges with grace and bounce back from setbacks. Don’t underestimate how this character trait can help you optimize your physical health!
Negative thought patterns and emotions can manifest physically (haven’t we all had stress headaches?), while positive thoughts can promote healing.
Practicing gratitude, mindfulness, and self-compassion can help you foster the positive mindset you need to boost physical health. A bigger challenge is to surround yourself with supportive people and engage in activities that bring you joy and fulfillment. A positive environment and community reinforce your individual growth mindset!
Proper nutrition is often a source of health problems, so establishing a healthy diet can help you achieve positive baseline health and avoid health problems in the future. The key to good nutrition is balance: it can be as simple as making some swaps, and it certainly doesn’t mean you have to give up the things you love all the time. Here’s how you can optimize your diet to improve physical health:
Aim for a variety of whole foods, including fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats. One of our favorite recipes right now is this skillet bake – you wouldn’t believe it is packed with healthy veggies and lean turkey.
Did you know each one of the cells in your body requires water to keep its proper shape and function? Drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated and stay ahead of muscle cramps, headaches, and fatigue. Toss in some fruit slices for a natural flavor boost.
Paying attention to hunger and fullness cues will help out your digestive system and help you avoid overeating. Savor each bite to enjoy those balanced meals and still feel good when you stand up from the dinner table.
Regular exercise is essential for optimizing physical health, and as a bonus, the endorphins released during exercise make you happier. Here are some tips to get moving:
Whether it’s walking, dancing, swimming, or yoga, choose activities that you love to stay motivated. You don’t even need a gym: in our digital age, YouTube has tons of great workouts that can help you get moving from home.
Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. Build your workouts into your routine for a lasting habit.
Pay attention to how your body feels as you exercise. Feel like you might be about to tear a muscle? Bring the intensity down a bit. Feeling a little too easy? Grab that next dumbbell. Listen to your body’s cues and then adjust your workout intensity and length.
Stress is part of our lives – whether we like it or not, we all experience stress. It doesn’t have to be bad (in fact, we need stress to grow), but chronic stress can negatively impact your physical health. It’s important to learn how to manage stress properly to keep you in good shape. Check out these tips for effective stress management.
Try out one of the many techniques under the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction umbrella, including deep breathing, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation. These techniques are proven to help reduce stress and promote healing.
When it feels like there is so much to do and so little time, prioritize tasks, delegate when possible, and schedule regular breaks to prevent burnout. List-making and time-blocking are some great techniques to help you stay on track.
Explore alternative therapies such as acupuncture, massage therapy, or biofeedback to help alleviate stress and promote relaxation. These could just be the missing links to help you get the relaxation you deserve!
Quality sleep is essential for optimal health and well-being. We all know how rough we feel without solid rest, but sometimes it is hard to hold ourselves to good sleep habits. Follow these steps to help your body get restful and restorative sleep.
Create a calming bedtime routine to signal to your body that it’s time to wind down. Start preparing for bed around the same time each night, if possible, and your body will have an easier time moving from wakefulness to sleep.
Make your bedroom conducive to sleep by keeping it dark, quiet, and cool. Try to avoid screen time before bed, as the blue light can disrupt your body’s natural signals to sleep.
At WOW Healing Care, we believe in a comprehensive approach to optimize your physical health. By addressing these aspects of physical wellbeing, you can optimize your physical health pretty independently! But we are always here to guide you. If you have questions about any of these topics, feel like you need additional support, or want advice on how to create a personalized wellness plan, give us a call at 760-425-4466, or shoot us an email at DrEdwards@wowhealingcare.com.
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