I had a patient ask me, “What do you do to keep healthy?” Well it was not just a one word response, so I thought I would take the time to write up the top things I do on a regular basis to improve and maintain one of our most vital assets, our health.
- This might seem obvious because I am a Chiropractor, but I get checked and adjusted at least once a week and sometimes more if necessary to keep my spine and nervous system healthy.
- Go to bed between 9-10 pm and try to get 7-8 hours of sleep. Black out shades help and reducing bright light, screen time and heavy exercise before bed.
- Eating whole unprocessed foods that are local, fresh and preferably organic. We try to stick to quality meats, vegetables and in season fruits and avoid gluten, dairy (except butter) and excessive sugar.
- Exercising: walking daily and doing some form of cardio and strength training 3x/week.
- Praying and meditating: spending time going inward to connect with my body and spirit daily.
- Getting outside in nature. The importance of sunshine on your bare skin, fresh air and time in nature is so important for physical and mental well-being. We are not designed to live in concrete jungles.
- Connecting with loved ones and spending quality time with my family.
- Soaking and stretching my muscles in the hot tub 3x/week.
- Sweating it out in the sauna weekly, especially in the winter when we tend to sweat less.
- Getting a full body massage once a month.
- Having a big purpose to get me out of bed in the morning and seize the day.
- Supplementing with essential minerals and vitamins like Magnesium, Fish oil, Vit D in the winter, Vit B, Vit C and a multivitamin (once a week).
- Reducing toxins in the household. From cleaning products, to skin care and other materials that potentially introduced volatile organic compounds into our environment.
- Staying off social media and trying to avoid the inundation of fake news and brain washing that is everywhere these days.
- No alcohol and limited caffeine.
- Drink lots of water, herbal tea and electrolytes.
This is not an exhaustive list, but I hope that it might help give you some ideas of things you can do to look after your incredible body!
Dr. Thom