If one of your promises or goals this year is to have a healthier fitter life style this year, start looking into anti stress methods, if you have not already done so, these are great ways to protect your health, enjoyable exercises, a good pace, nothing that leaves you totally breathless, have enough sleep, recuperate now if you are behind., do away with any habits that can actually be doing you harm. These are things that can be done and be beneficial for your health and ageing.

Obviously when you take on any health regime, regardless of the degree of the impact it is important to take certain things into consideration your age and your actual state of health, never put yourself in danger so give some thought to your blood pressure, check out your cholesterol and glucose levels etc.,

Stay well clear of alcohol, nicotine and depriving yourself of sleep you need to follow your biological rhythm, you need to make little changes that can have a great impact on your body and health in general. 

When you consider stopping yourself from smoking, it is important to want to do this and secondly to suffer as little as possible.. the habit of smoking is sadly connected to serious health issues, as in lung cancer and heart problems and many more, the negative side  of this habit, is it is not easy to give this habit up, and the positive side is that most countries now have help on hand via the public health service…but as an ex smoker, the main point in my opinion is that you want to give up this habit, this excels your will power a thousand times over, make your decision and stick to it……………so, visit your local doctor for a little help, choose the day you are going to kick the habit and stick to it, start to prepare yourself mentally before hand and look for a little support from your family if possible or your circle of friends, obviously this is much better if your family and friends are none smokers….if they do smoke and you know you are going to find it hard, ask them to please not smoke in front of you, make a list of the reasons you have to give up this habit, in your weak moments take your list and go through it, this is your WHY so make the points good and important to you. Try to identify what smoking means to you and when you feel you need to smoke the most, or situations maybe, if you do this you will find that you may be able to eliminate these things from your life and not put temptation in your way. Once your chosen date has arrived, think to yourself”,today I don’t smoke” do not think “I will not smoke during the whole of today,” there is a difference and it can make a big difference to you. You have to be prepared to be stronger than the desire to smoke, you have to know that when you have these weak moments this feeling will leave you within a few minutes and each time it will become less and less and eventually you will lose all desire to smoke. The secret is to think of something totally different at that moment you would normally reach for a cigarette, and also remember why you wish to leave this habit behind. It is a good time to leave coffee alone and take more relaxing drinks and do exercise. If you then feel more tired you will sleep more hours, all this is better for your health and smoking will only age you more, it shows in your skin, your teeth and of course in your wrinkles!!

When you look after your heart, did you know that a women over 50, a smoker and has more than 250 mg of cholesterol in the blood stream, will have a vascular age of 65 , fifteen years is a lot on top of your actual age, so again giving up smoking is well worth the effort ? The heart would also be very grateful if you gave up salt and sugar, the ideal level you should be looking at should be around 5 to 7 gr a day, to be able to do this it is advisable to not eat manufactured products, cold meats and tinned foods, cured cheese and precooked prepared foods. by following these simple rules you can reduce your intake of salt by 60%, to avoid sugar, you need to leave sugared fruit juices and fizzy drinks in general this will reduce your sugar intake greatly and obviously not to eat to many sweet things, it is also very favourable for you not to stop moving, walking  or swimming are fabulous ways to exercise at least 35/40 mins a day , maybe 3 or 5 times a week, if you are concerned about your blood pressure, the optimum tension reading would be anything below 120 over 80, anything over 130-139-and 85-89, there is a chance of high blood pressure in future years, it is possible to control blood pressure without medical help,with a few changes in your habits, less salt, a little exercise and correcting any over weight problems you may have. 

When we care for ourselves, we are giving permission for us to live a little longer and possible even look a little younger due to all the loving care we have for ourselves, you will also find that when you apply this way of living into your life style you will feel all the benefits and in time this life style will be that of your family or friends that are around you, healthy living is very contagious, when you follow these points above you are avoiding vascular problems later on in your life, healthy people do not present a high risk factor. 

The importance of recuperating your sleep……. many people have trouble in finding a perfect sleeping pattern, the problem with this is we are not aware of how much damage low quality sleep can do to our physical  mental and emotional health, as we recuperate 80% of our immune system during the time that we sleep. If you have a problem with sleeping, there are foods that can damage are sleeping pattern and others that can help ! We should whenever possible have a light meal in the evening , with a protein and vegetable base, with foods rich in calcium and try to end your day with a tea special for relaxing and inducing sleep. Avoid sugary or spicy food any time after 3 in the afternoon, also avoid alcohol and smoking 4 hours before going to bed. Keeping a good timetable for your meals also helps, breakfast is always good between 7 and 9 in the morning, lunch between 12 and 2 and the evening meal between 7 and 9, it is important to realise that an organised  food intake is capable to order and synchronise are whole body, and also are sleeping patterns. We should also sleep in the appropriate circumstances the darker the room the better, this is due to the hormone melatonin that induces sleep, are body will not produce this if are eyes detect sun light, this is why we are advised to have no phones, laptops or unnecessary lights in are bedrooms, as it affects are quality of sleep, having a routine for sleeping is essential if you can keep to similar times for going to sleep and waking, also if you take a siesta during the day it is advisable that it be no longer than 45 mins. 

Exercise is always good for a healthy life, however it is always better to do moderate exercise in the place of intense exercise and more frequent, walking, swimming bicycle are ideal exercises that can be done 2 or 3 times a week, along with a few stretches will keep you in great health and your skin will acquire a healthy glow, top that of with a relaxing bath time before you go to bed, and you will sleep well and maintain all your muscles relaxed allowing you to drift of to wonderful dreams…………………..

Brooke Universal Life Coach

theutopiauniverse@gmail.com