Your physical health is crucial to your overall health and wellness. Poor physical health will likely trickle into the other dimensions of wellness and cause problems in those areas as well. Physical health means different things for different people depending on your age, level of fitness and lifestyle. There are several areas we need to think about when we work on our physical wellness:

1.     Are you getting enough sleep at night? Even if you get into bed at a decent hour, how is the quality of your sleep? Do you wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble going back to sleep? Do you have trouble falling asleep? These are all things to make note of and try to address either through changing your own habits (like putting down that last cup of coffee before bedtime) or seeking help from a health professional.  

2.     Are you getting enough physical activity during the day? Find time before, during or after work to move your body. If you have a desk job, set a timer to remind yourself to stand up, stretch and walk around for a few minutes. Talk a brisk walk at lunchtime or run in the evening. Strength and flexibility are also important for your physical wellness, so plan that in a few times a week also. Start getting in these habits when you are young as it’s more difficult to start when your body has already started showing signs of aging!

3.     What are you eating during the day? I think we’ve all heard the importance of healthy, well-balanced meals for nutritional purposes. Yes, this is important. There are lots of diets and fads out there, so if you working on losing weight or eating healthy, do so under the guidance and care of a physician. Proper fluid intake is important also. Drink water – lots of it, and please put down the soda!

4.     Do you see a medical professional on a regular basis? This is important. Annual visits to the general practitioner, dentist, and dermatologist for skin care check ups, or any other specialist is very important for preventive care. Better to maintain regular visits than to wait until something is wrong and it’s been left untreated for too long.

Physical health in many cases is a lifestyle choice (not all, but many times are). Monitor your own health and take the necessary steps to make sure you are working to stay as healthy as possible. Many physicians or local gyms can do physical health and fitness assessments to give you a good idea of where to start. So get out there and get moving!