Health Tips for DaVincis

How healthy are you?  How well are you taking care of your body?  For DaVincis — multi-talented, creative folks, it can be challenging to maintain a healthy lifestyle when you are juggling a dozen projects, a thousand ideas and the random demands of life. If you’re feeling pretty fit and well, that’s wonderful —  keep it up!    If, instead, you’re shortchanging your body, you owe it to yourself to improve your health.  First, ask yourself why you’re giving your health short shrift.  Be candid.

If you said, “I don’t have the energy.”

All the more reason to take better care of yourself.  As you improve your health, you’ll have the energy to do a great deal.

If you said, “I don’t have time”:

Find the time.  Here’s how.  Besides, being healthy doesn’t have to take a great deal of time.  Here are ten health tips:

Ten Simple, Easy, Quick Things You Can To Improve Your Health

1.  Drink Water.

Humans are at least 60% water.  Our brains are 70% water. Every bodily system requires water to function properly.  The simplest, easiest thing you can to do improve your health is to add a glass of water to your mealtimes and break times.

Don’t like the taste of plain water?  Try adding a splash of juice or a slice of cucumber or a sprig of mint.  Herbal tea also counts as water — and there are dozens of flavors available.  Try a few and find some you like.

2.  Aim for 7 Hours of Sleep a Night

Research has shown that seven hours is the optimum amount of sleep for the human body.  If you sleep more or less than seven hours, you’re not operating at your peak performance.  To improve your health, shift towards the ideal of seven hours by increasing (or decreasing) your sleep time by 15 minutes this week, 15 minutes more next week and so on until you’ve gradually changed to a seven hour pattern.

3.  Eat mindfully.

Rather than shoveling food in your gullet while you’re driving, working or watching television, make meal times a real break in the day.  Sit down when you eat and do nothing else but focus on your meal.  Slow down.  Breathe.  Put your fork down between mouthfuls.

4.  Eat well.

You know if you’re eating junk or not.  Your body needs protein, fiber, fruits and vegetables. The farther down the food chain, the better something is for you. Locally grown ingredients are more nutritious than items that have been trucked across the country.

You know if you’re overeating or not.  Look at yourself.  Are you pleased with your physique?  If you’re overweight, studies have proven that there is only one effective way to change things:  by eating less.  Cut your portions by 10% and improve your health considerably.

5.  Imbibe responsibly.

If you’re overdoing your libations, do your body and your brain a favor by cutting down.

6. Take a 5 Minute Stretch Break at least once a day.

Need some instruction?  Here are some basic stretches to try.

7.  Strengthen Your Body

Just eight minutes a day of simple strength exercises can have a huge impact on your health, including your bone density.

8.  Move your body

If you’re not a gym-rat, look for fun, easy ways to get more active.  Is there a dance or fitness class that appeals?  Do you like hiking or biking or rollerblading?  At a minimum, try walking around the block, at least once a day.  Even better:  get a pedometer and work your way up to 10,000 steps a day.

9.  Schedule regular dental and medical check-ups.

You take your car in for regular oil changes, right?  Your annual medical exam plus two dental appointments a year are basic maintenance for your carcass. By monitoring your health, you  can quickly address any health issues that arise.

10.  Reduce your stress.

Stress is a major cause of physical ailments.  If you notice you’re feeling tense, take steps to reduce it.  We’ll discuss specific stress-busters for DaVincis in a future post.

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Activity: Re-read the ten tips.  Pick one and implement it this week.

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Are you struggling with too many talents, skills, ideas? You may have The DaVinci Dilemma™! Find tools, fun quizzes, coaching, inspiration and solutions for multi-talented people at http://www.davincidilemma.com/.