More people are realising that getting into shape doesn’t mean having to torture yourself with draconian diets that do little but leave you starving and the pounds soon pile back on when they’re over. Experts say it’s more about tweaking the things we do every day, whether it’s what we eat and drink or work out, or not.
Small changes, they say, can make a huge difference in terms of our long-term health. Just like when starting a new workout regimen at the gym, the results won’t be immediately noticeable but over time, say the experts, they will emerge and may boost your overall health.
But when we’re constantly being told to eat this and do that and then someone else says to do the exact opposite, how to decipher the mountains of conflicting advice and know what’s right for us? How can we make better choices for lasting health?
Take a Deep Breath
At the most basic, the way we breathe can have profound effects on our health. That’s according to Meera Watts, who founded and runs Siddhi Yoga, an international wellness institute based in the city-state of Singapore and also Punjab, India. Breathing the right way throughout the day has a direct impact not only on our physical but also our mental and emotional wellbeing, she says.
“I think most people treat deep breathing as nothing more than a way to relax, but doing it regularly can lower the risk of long-term high blood pressure by giving control back to the autonomic nervous system,” says Watts.
“I’ve seen many of our students drop their resting heart rates significantly over a few weeks simply because they made breathing a priority.”
One of the biggest mistakes people make, she says, is not paying attention to the stresses of everyday life until it “builds up enough to cause a complete breakdown and prevents you from performing at all.
“The stress hormones like cortisol created by the accumulated emotional stress eventually become chronic physical pain and can be prevented if you begin to pay attention sooner.”
One way to avoid being overwhelmed by stress, whether it’s at home, work or elsewhere, is to simply slow down and pause, Watts suggests.
As an example, she advises people to “[t]ake a five-minute quiet moment before checking your emails and see how that short time creates a new baseline for your stress level and helps you respond to your daily demands intentionally instead of reactively.”
Getting Rid of Stress and Tension
Stress is something that also concerns clinical psychologist Dr. Daniel Glazer, and he says no one is immune. “Daily stress sneaks up on everyone,” he says. “Tension builds during busy days, and people brush it off without realising the cost.”
If nothing is done about accumulating levels of stress, says Dr Glazer, a co-founder and director of wellbeing-practice platform US Therapy Rooms, it can lead to problems in many areas of people’s lives.
“Over years, this unchecked pressure etches anxiety into daily life, disrupting sleep and relationships while paving the way for burnout. The frequent error lies in powering through without naming emotions, allowing them to simmer unresolved and weaken resilience.”
Dr Glazer recommends allocating just three minutes at the start of the day and again at night for deep belly breaths to ameliorate stress and make you feel better. Do it with your eyes closed, he advises.
“Notice the body’s signals during these pauses. This quiet reset strengthens emotional roots over time. Life’s challenges become easier to handle as a result.”
Candace Newton agrees with this approach. She’s a clinical director of Seaside Wellness, an addiction and mental health treatment centre in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“Small worries grow into mental hurdles when people skip time to unpack their day,” says Newton. “Stress lingers without reflection and amplifies anxiety while dimming mood across decades. Most individuals keep feelings locked inside, even from close contacts. Emotions overwhelm as a result.”
A practice she suggests developing is to wind down at the end of the day by saying one major worry or concern out loud or to write it on a piece of paper — either way, you are naming it and allowing yourself to directly confront and deal with it.
“Follow it with a tiny action plan to address it,” she says. “Shoulders feel lighter right away. Clarity builds steadily over time with this practice”.
Proper Rest and Sleep
Psychologist Sandra Wartski knows all too well the problems that can arise with long-term health if we are not getting enough sleep. Wartski, who works at Silber Psychological Services in Raleigh, North Carolina, likens sleep to “how a washing machine removes dirt from clothing” because “brain waste gets cleaned”.
She says that “[s]leep and rest every day in intentional ways has a significant impact on long-term health. Sleep and rest are undervalued interventions for many in our high-pressure, demanding, digital world.
“We don’t expect our phones or computers to operate indefinitely without plugging them in periodically for a recharging session, yet many individuals expect themselves to be able to function effectively without proper sleep.”
Sleep can periodically be difficult and it can fragment as people get older, Wartski says, “but chronic difficulty sleeping or repeated lapses in attending to adequate sleep hours can lead to a multitude of problems”.
To combat that, she advises that people look at various ways to protect their sleep and give their bodies a rest, so that decision-making, mood and general wellbeing are not affected.
And getting proper sleep should be combined with looking after our mental health, says Wartski.
“Because living with chronically activated nervous systems can result in a body that is physically rested but neurologically exhausted, we also need to find ways to have mental rest — from higher-level thinking, problem-solving or decision making — sensory rest, from overstimulation of various senses; emotional rest, from emotionally intense situations or overwhelm; and social rest, from relationships more focused on performance or demand than connection and validation.
Adequate amounts of rest “lets our nervous systems know we are safe, and this positively impacts longevity”.
Connection between Oral and Overall Health
One aspect of our health that’s often overlooked, if not completely forgotten about, is our oral health and how it can have serious effects on our overall health. It’s known that gum problems can lead to all sorts of issues, from abscesses that can be painful to diabetes complications, heart disease and a number of cancers.
You might know if you have a problem if you consistently have bad breath or have a bad taste in your mouth, medical professionals say.
A quick and simple solution, says dentist Madelyne Salo, is to floss. Just once a day will help keep your teeth and gums in top condition, and getting into the habit of doing it will maintain good oral health.
“Flossing once a day stands out as a key overlooked habit,” says Salo, a co-founder of Select Dental & Orthodontics in Torrance, Los Angeles. “It clears plaque trapped between teeth and stops gum disease from developing into serious heart risks later.”
And don’t be tempted, she warns, to brush your teeth as hard as you can in the hope of dislodging items of food that may cause tooth decay, as you would be doing more harm than good.
“Aggressive scrubbing with a hard brush ranks as the biggest pitfall,” she cautions, saying it “strips enamel quickly and leads to sensitivity along with cracks”.
Instead, Salo advises, “[g]rip the brush lightly, like a pencil, and angle it at 45 degrees to the gums. Glide it in small circles for two full minutes. Teeth remain protected this way. Smiles last much longer with this approach”.
Sound Advice
What other steps can we take to ensure our health is good for many years to come? Along with careful eating and avoiding highly processed food and sugary drinks, instead opting for wholefoods and water and juices, experts say we should consider other areas too, including our hearing. Losing some of our ability to hear can have debilitating effects on our lives yet many of us are surrounded by high levels of noise every day.
Amy Sarow is a doctor of audiology who specialises in hearing health. She says that as many of us now carry our music around with us, on our phones, and are constantly listening to tunes, it can have a detrimental effect on the sensitive hairs lining the ear canal if it’s too loud.
“As an audiologist, I often work with patients to treat or manage their hearing loss,” Dr Sarow says. “However, many young people don’t realise the impact that their daily headphone use can have on their hearing over time.”
Dr Sarow, who is a member of Forbes Health Advisory Board, which is comprised of medics and experts to ensure the storied publication’s content is accurate and objective, says hearing loss can happen in an instant.
“The (US Food and Drug Administration) does not regulate headphone output and turning up music to the maximum volume can cause damage to the auditory system within a matter of minutes,” she warns.
“Limiting headphone volume to 60 to 70 percent of maximum volume can prevent cumulative damage, which shows up as hearing difficulty, tinnitus or sensitivity to loud sounds — also known as recruitment.”
She says hearing loss “can lead to social isolation, listening fatigue and not to mention the price tag for hearing aids later on when damage becomes severe enough. Listening at a lower volume can go a long way to prevent noise-induced hearing loss.”
These are just some of the choices we can make and steps we can take to help protect our health and get the most out of life.
