I have come to the conclusion that if I improve a few of my routines during a day I will inevitably have a happier, healthy life. The five routines I have decided to concentrate on are; Getting a good nights sleep, Drinking (enough) water every day, Walking, Praying and reading the Bible and brushing my teeth and using a water-pick.
Getting enough sleep..
I think everyone agrees that it is very important to get a good nights sleep but is it really necessary to get the 8 plus hours of sleep we so often heard was necessary. I can easily say, now that I am almost 60 years old, I really do need the 8 hours of sleep just so I can get up when the alarm goes off and get to work on time. Granted it now takes me a full hour to get out of the house in the morning but without getting eight hours of sleep it is very hard to get up and just get going and it is also very difficult to do my job. I never thought I would be working this physically hard at my job at this age, so if I do not get enough sleep I get physically and mentally exhausted sooner. I have noticed it doesn’t really matter how much sleep I get on my days off but If I have to work I cannot do without 8 hours of sleep.
Drinking enough water..
This is another one of those factors that you can ask, how much is enough water? I have heard about the 8oz, 8 times per day or some even say you need to drink 96 ounces a day no matter what but in my family we have always had the rule that you just divide your weight by 2 and that is the total ounces of water you need to drink a day, so if you weigh 180 pounds you need to drink 90 oz. of water every day. This is one of the only factors that has been easy for me to follow and most days I even exceed the amount of water I need to drink because I drink water all day long and not a lot of other stuff like soda, coffee etc. Because of that, when I do drink too much soda or other drinks I really feel the difference to the point of almost getting sick. The only thing that I have to add to that is I have to watch my electrolyte levels since I work outdoors and had heat stroke a few years ago, so when I am working I make sure I drink something with electrolytes during the day too.
Walking
Walking for fun or work or just a means to get from point A to point B, walking is a great way to get exercise if you don’t do anything else. I have found out that all the walking I do for work has really helped me lose weight. I actually knew that walking was good for me, since we use to walk all the time because we lived in the Gaslamp district of San Diego. Walking around San Diego was not only a means of getting from point A to point B but a very enjoyable way to discover places to eat etc.. around town and different areas along the beach . I hear all the time that walking is good for cardio exercise if you walk at a brisk pace for 30 to 60 minutes.
Praying and reading the Bible
If you go to church you will hear you need to spend time reading and memorizing passages in the Bible. I kept thinking that I don’t have time for that but then as long as you read just 1 chapter per day, you can get through the Bible in a year and then I heard there were some studies done that actually proved there are mental benefits to reading the Bible, particularly with all the things happening in the country right now I decided to give it a try. I started saying a simple prayer before I started reading and then reading just 1 chapter every day I could, I really was able to stay calmer and I didn’t worry as much about the things happening that I couldn’t change. I have a long way to go as far as memorizing and even reading daily but it really does help and there are times when you read a chapter and it really addresses something you are going through right then and that makes me feel a lot better.
Brushing my teeth and using a water-pick
Everybody knows you need to brush your teeth and floss and there was even a study that said you can add 6.4 years to your life by flossing. There were times that I did not have floss or I was in a hurry so I decided to try the water pick. For me the water pick has really helped because it just takes 1 minute and it seems to remove more than flossing ever did for me. I have had people say a water pick damaged their teeth or dental work, so be careful and follow directions but as I I get older I like things that do what I need in less time and with better results or at least make me feel like I am getting better results. I was given an inexpensive water pick and I know there are more expensive toothbrush water pick combinations but the whole reason for this website is for me to find inexpensive or free was to get healthier.
in Conclusion;
As I get older I am more and more convinced that if I just maintain good habits with regard to these 5 factors for a healthy life, I really will get the most out of life and be the healthiest I can be without working out or going to a gym or buying expensive equipment to work out at home and throwing out all the bad foods in my kitchen and replacing with “healthy options” only. I you have any ideas or suggestions please leave me a comment below.