On a fundamental level, we’re all pretty well-aware of some of the key things we should be doing in order to stay as healthy as possible, and to keep our well-being turned up to a good level.
Everyone, for example, understands that it’s important to get enough exercise, and to eat nutritious, whole foods, and reduce the amount of processed food they consume.
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But, health and wellness are pretty broad categories to consider, and there’s a lot that goes into them that we might not automatically be aware of.
Here are just a few factors in your health and wellness that you may not have considered, but that it might be time to start thinking more deeply about.
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The air quality in your home (and your home environment in general)
Often, we kind of take it for granted that our homes are more or less “neutral” when it comes to our overall health. That is, we all know that it’s a good idea to keep things neat and tidy, but we don’t necessarily connect that with the overall state of our health.
Do I need a mold inspection? Isn’t just an aesthetic question, though. Mold, or different environmental pollutants in your home, can contribute to – and even cause – chronic health disorders such as asthma, persistent allergies, chronic inflammation, and more.
As human beings, we are physiologically made to breathe in fresh, natural air. The air in our homes and indoor environments, by contrast, is often stagnant, and filled with toxic gases, pet dander, mold spores, and more.
By increasing the air quality in your home, you can significantly improve your health. This might mean investing in a HEPA air filter, doing a thorough deep-cleaning job, or buying air-purifying plants.
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Having a sufficiently meaningful goal
Do you have a goal or ambition that you’re pursuing in your personal professional life, that gives you a deep sense of meaning, and that fulfils you?
If the answer to that question is “no,” you may be missing out on a lot more than just potential career advancement.
There’s good evidence that having a sufficiently meaningful goal in your life – if not multiple goals – is fundamentally important for maintaining positive emotion, regulating stress, and ensuring good mental, and even physical, health.
A sense of meaninglessness, on the other hand, can have serious psychosomatic consequences.
So, set yourself a goal that matters to you, and that you can derive deep meaning from. It may transform your life for the better.
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Simplifying the chaos of life
When your life is chaotic, and you can’t seem to get a handle on everything that’s going on in your immediate environment, the consequences can be quite serious – beyond just a mild sense of irritation and unease.
There’s more and more evidence coming out these days, that chronic distraction and a sense of powerlessness – sometimes associated with things like Internet and social media addiction – contributes to ailing health, and chronic stress.
Chronic stress, in and of itself, leads to negative hormonal changes in the body, such as heightened levels of the stress hormone cortisol, day in, and day out. This, then, contributes to organ damage, imbalances among other hormones, and more.
One of the best things you can do for your health is actually to simplify the chaos of life, whether that means setting yourself clear daily schedule, installing a web blocker, or limiting the number of responsibilities you take on.