Picture Source

If you’ve never been the athletic type then you might wonder why a healthy lifestyle should even matter to you. You might not be planning on running marathons, and you might not care about being muscular. Of course, you don’t have to be an athlete or hit the gym every day. We all have different interests in life and that’s a great thing. You only have so much time available during the day, so you should focus your attention on one thing.

However, there’s a difference between dedicating your time to the pursuit of non-athletic goals and simply failing to safeguard your health at all. If you’re eating poorly, living a sedentary lifestyle, and neglecting other aspects of your health (such as your mind) then you’re neglecting your body in the most basic sense. If you’re wondering why a healthy lifestyle should matter to you then here’s a look at just a few of the key things you need to give more attention.

You need your senses.
Let’s start off with an aspect of health that people often give very little consideration: the senses. However, your ability to see or hear should be a priority. Even if you’re young and you don’t think your senses are failing you, that doesn’t mean you should neglect the importance of getting checked out by a specialist on a regular basis. You should see an optician every 2 years, ideally. You might be straining your eyes without realizing it. Fatigue can sometimes be an indicator of this. If you want to avoid eye damage then you need to address this sort of thing before it becomes an issue. And the same goes for hearing issues. If you think your hearing might not be as good as it used to be then you might want to find an audiologist to assess your situation. Maintaining your senses is the best way to stop them deteriorating further as you get older.

You need sleep.
If you really want to be healthier then you need to get more sleep. That’s a simple fact but you probably already know how important sleep is. Every time you don’t get enough rest, you feel it the next day. But tiredness and a lack of energy are only two consequences of sleep deprivation. When you deny your body the rest it needs, you deny yourself the recovery you need. You’ll leave your body and mind weaker, essentially. Sleep deprivation will make it harder to concentrate but it’ll also make you more susceptible to illnesses (both mental and physical). That’s why a healthy bedtime routine should be a core component of your lifestyle.

You need exercise.
Get outside once a day and go for a brisk walk. It doesn’t have to be a long walk. You could stroll around your local park for 20 minutes or so. The point is that you should keep your body active. Maybe this is something that has never mattered to you but it should. It’s not just about losing weight and “looking good”. Keeping your body physically active keeps your heart healthy and reduces the risk of disease in the future. Additionally, exercise keeps the mind healthy; it can reduce stress, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.