Personal Study of the Benefits of a Healthy Lifestyle

Introduction

Healthy living is a big part of our lives. You should practice healthy living to prevent having serious health issues. You should also practice healthy living for an overall better lifestyle. In the benefits of a healthy lifestyle essay, I will be discussing my four areas, resting/active heart rate, yoga, increasing fruits and vegetables, and increasing my water intake. The purpose of this paper is to research the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, as well as how these healthy changes affect my overall health and wellness.

Metabolic Measurement: Resting/Active Heart Rate

The first area I will be focusing on is metabolic measurement, specifically the resting/active heart rate. The number of times your heart beats per minute is your heart rate. Normal resting heart rate is when you are calmly sitting or lying. Children’s normal resting heart rates are 70-100 beats per minute. Adults normal resting heart rates are 60-100 beats per minute. The best time to measure your resting heart rate is in the morning before you get out of bed. An active heart rate is when your body is moving. The best time to measure your active heart rate is after you do some form of exercise. That even includes walking.

Your target heart rate zone is between 50% and 85% of your max heart rate. In order to get your max heart rate, you subtract your age from 220. My max heart rate is 201. My target heart rate zone is between 100.5bpm and 170.85 bpm. To find your heart rate you have to measure/ check your pulse. In order to do that place two fingers between the bone and the tendon over your radial artery. This is located on the thumb side of your wrist. Once you feel your pulse, you count the number of beats you feel in 15 seconds. Last, multipy the number by four to figure out your beats per minute. Many things can influence your heart rate. The following things can influence it: age, fitness and activity levels, body position, body size, being a smoker, air temperature, emotions, medications and having cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, or diabetes. If you are unhealthy you can have a bad heart rate. A bad heart rate is any rate less than 60 beats, which is too low. This is called bradycardia. It also is any rate more than 100 beats, which is too fast. This is called tachycardia. A bad heart rate could lead to blood clots, heart failure, recurring fainting spells and sudden cardiac arrest. I plan on checking my heart rate every morning, after exercise and at night and documenting it.

Physical Activity: Yoga

The second area I will be focusing on is physical activity/yoga. Yoga is a Hindu spiritual and ascetic disciple. Yoga includes simple meditation, breath control, and the adoption of specific bodily postures. It is mainly practiced for health and relaxation. Yoga was developed about 5000 years ago. It was originated in India in 3000 B.C. It began as an ancient practice. It was developed to achieve a type of harmony between the heart and soul. It was developed to achieve the path to divine enlightenment. Yoga is used as a comprehensive system. It is for well-being on all level. This includes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

There are several benefits that Yoga provides. This includes both mental and physical benefits. Yoga can cure many diseases. It cures diseases like high blood pressure. Yoga also alleviates physical injuries and chronic pain. Physical benefits that yoga provides are increased flexibility, increased muscle strength and tone, improved respiration, energy, and vitality, maintaining a balanced metabolism, weight reduction, and circulatory health. Mental benefits that yoga provides are they help fight depression, can decrease stress, and relieves anxiety. Some additional benefits that yoga provide is it promotes healthy eating habits, help relieve migraines, promote sleep quality, improve quality of life, and reduce inflammation. I plan to do yoga every single day.

Diet: Increase Fruits and Vegetables

The third area I will be focusing on is diet/ increase fruit and vegetables. The benefits of increasing your intake of fruits and vegetable are the following: they may reduce risk for heart disease, including heart attack and stroke, may protect against certain types of cancers, may reduce the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, may lower blood pressure, may also reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and help to decrease bone loss. The reason who you should increase your fruits and vegetables is because fruits and vegetables contain important vitamins, minerals, and plant chemical. It is recommended to eat five kinds of vegetables and two kinds of fruit every day. Last, it is recommended when buying and serving fruit and vegetables is to aim for variety to get the most nutrients and appeal. The reason why this is recommended is because fruits and vegetables are naturally good. They contain vitamins and minerals that can help to keep you healthy. There are many different types of fruit, here are the following: apples and pears, citrus- oranges, grapefruits, mandarins, and limes, stone fruits- nectarines, apricots, peaches, and plums, tropical and exotic-bananas and mangoes, berries- strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwifruit, passionfruit, melons- watermelons Roca melons, and honeydew melons, tomatoes and avocadoes. They are also many different types of vegetables, here are the following: leafy greens-lettuce, spinach, and silver beets, cruciferous-cabbage, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, marrow-pumpkin, cucumber, zucchini, root-potato, sweet potato, yam, edible plant stem-celery, asparagus, allium-onion, garlic and shallow. For this area, I plan to increase my intake of citrus fruits, broccoli, asparagus, lettuce, apples, pears, peaches, berries, cantaloupe, melon, and potatoes.

Water/Fluid Intake: Increase Water Intake

The last area I will be focusing on is water/fluid intake/ increase water intake. Increasing your water intake has many benefits. Some of the benefits of increasing your water intake are the following: gets rid of waste through urination, perspiration, and bowel movements, keeps your temperature normal, lubricates and cushions joints and protects sensitive tissue. Drinking more water can also help with constipation, help lower risk of certain cancers, decrease the risk of kidney stones, and help hydrate skin and reduce acne. Your body shows signs when you are dehydrated and need to increase your fluid intake. These signs are the following: you are feeling hungrier than usual, you are feeling super dry, you have a headache, your muscles feel weak and your breath randomly smells. How much water you need to intake depends on your age, weight, sex and activity level. I plan on drinking at least 40 ounces a day.

Conclusion

In conclusion, doing the research for this paper taught me the benefits of having a healthy lifestyle. I plan on taking the research I learned and applying it to my everyday life. I plan on consistently taking my active heart rate. I also plan on applying yoga, increasing fruits and vegetables and increasing my water intake to my everyday life. This project will allow me to practice and encourage me to have a healthy lifestyle.

References

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