Life often pulls us in many different directions. As a parent, maintaining high energy throughout the day while balancing daily responsibilities can seem like a monumental task. With so many responsibilities it can lead to physical and mental exhaustion. However, through intentional lifestyle changes we can improve our health and have more energy. Key factors like exercise, diet, sleep, environment, and personal development play a crucial role in improving our mood and enhancing our vitality. By incorporating these factors into our daily routines we can achieve higher energy, improved focus, and increased vitality.
How do you improve your physical health? Turns out it’s as simple as regular movement. “Habitual exercise (at least a few times a week) has been found to alleviate depression and anxiety, foster the Sense of Coherence (which is closely associated with stress coping), and improve self-esteem and cognitive functions” (Kodaka). Personally, I have noticed that in my life I neglect regular physical exercise. I can feel it in my mood throughout the day, stress begins to build and I begin to feel restless without a physical outlet. One thing I’m committing to is to not only go for the occasional walk, but to participate at my local gym again. If going to the gym a few times a week can alleviate depression and anxiety this could be a game changer for me.
Diet is crucial to your physical and mental well being. Strangely enough, your eating habits can be influenced by what you do while eating. Research shows that multitasking while eating can lead to overeating “excessive media multitasking as a behavioral addiction underlaid by the alteration of reward-related DA neurotransmission, which is associated with the potential risk of food over-intake” (Kodaka). I have experienced this first hand. I have a snacking problem. I have a habit of eating chips and salsa and it’s had an effect on my appetite around meal times. It’s not just eating that particular food though, it’s what I’m doing while eating that leads to overeating. One thing I didn’t consider is that when I’m eating chips and salsa, I’m usually media multitasking. Using your devices, in my case watching videos or shows, while eating can mess with your brain's reward centers and can lead to overeating. Adjusting my behavior to put down my phone and enjoy a pre-portioned amount of food seems to be an easy step I can take to address overconsumption.
Sleep is particularly hard to come by as a parent and I’m not sure this will ever be fully alleviated. Luckily, there are several strategies we can use to at least improve the quality even if we’re not getting the full amount we need everyday. One strategy goes really well with something we have already covered, physical exercise. If we regularly exercise it helps us fall asleep and stay asleep through the night. Another key component is developing nighttime routines that promote sleep like limiting screen use and sticking to a hygiene routine at night. This puts us in the mindset that nighttime and the bedroom is for sleep rather than doom scrolling.
Finally, we arrive at personal development, this ties everything together. Feeling satisfied in life is a major component that we are all seeking. Learning new skills, honing skills we already possess, and seeking to improve ourselves mentally and emotionally can help us feel more balanced and less stressed. Personally, I practice my craft by creating websites. Your craft doesn’t have to be about a serious subject or make any money to be valuable; just knowing that you are practicing and getting better is valuable in itself. This creative outlet plays a role in having a clear mind with the ability to control our emotions, impulses, and adjust our behaviors accordingly makes everything we covered that much easier to follow through with.
Our health isn’t about being perfect but being consistent across exercise, diet, sleep, and personal development. There is no one size fits all solution when it comes to your life, it is deeply unique and personal. Making small positive adjustments to our routines over time will do more than sudden shifts in behavior. Really committing to this idea of gradual improvement will help provide us with higher energy, improved focus, and increased vitality.