Top Tips for Staying Healthy and Active at Any Age!

Numerous blogs and magazine feature articles provide tips about how to stay healthy and keep active, but many of them fail to reveal the direct link between any level of activity and health. You don’t need a rigorous workout routine to increase your activity level– some of the smallest daily habits could have a lasting positive impact on your health. In fact, the link between activity and health tends to operate like a circle, as one of the top tips for staying healthy is to keep active, while a top tip for keeping active is to stay healthy. It should be simple, right?

In theory, yes, but as Naples, FL-based Dr. Diane Brzezinski knows from more than 20 years of practicing Internal Medicine, turning this theory into practice isn’t always so easy. As an Internal Medicine specialist who uses a holistic approach to treat the whole patient rather than just the specific medical condition, though, Dr. B knows that those who diligently follow these top two tips tend to stay healthy, keep active, and typically feel younger than their years.

Top Tips for Staying Active

Keep active— this one of the most important things one can do to help maintain good health. And keeping active doesn’t have to mean regular strenuous exercise, as even light activities like walking or gardening on a daily basis provide numerous health benefits. Among such benefits that have been clinically proven to be enhanced by regular physical activity are:

• Increases metabolic rate, which can help burn calories and lose or maintain weight.
• Improves mood and helps reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.
• Helps maintenance of bone and muscle mass.
• Reduces risk of chronic disease.
• Improves brain function and memory.
• Fosters relaxation and sleep quality.
• Enhances energy levels.
• Eases chronic pain.
• Improves sex life.

So what steps can one take to stay active? The answer is as simple as it gets – move! Try to move whenever the opportunity presents itself. This may sound easy, but life’s modern conveniences tend to discourage movement. Thus, it’s important to occasionally make an effort to ignore or avoid such conveniences. For example, take the stairs rather than an elevator or escalator. If you can walk somewhere instead of driving, do so. Or, just take a walk for the sake of taking a walk instead of watching TV or your social media feeds. Better yet, make a daily walk or bicycle ride a regular part of your routine. If you are ready take the next step in increasing your activity level, consider joining a gym or a regularly scheduled exercise class of any type, whether yoga, aerobics, spinning, Pilates, or any number of other disciplines. No matter what your fitness level, there is likely a class that will suit you. And many people who have long avoided structured exercise find themselves surprised by how much they enjoy it once they’ve gotten into the regular habit.

The funny thing with getting active is that it can become self-perpetuating, in that the more you do it on a regular basis, the more likely you are to want to keep doing it.

Maintain a healthy diet—along with regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy diet is one of the most important things you can do to help stay healthy. Researchers are increasingly finding bits of truth to the adage “you are what you eat,” and have found definitive links between types of food consumed and health. While diets heavily weighted towards vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and nuts and seeds have been proven to lower the risk of several chronic diseases, processed foods and trans fats are linked to an increased risk of various chronic diseases. With nutrition being such an important component of overall health, the addition of natural vitamins and supplements can further help maintain your health. 

Consult with Dr. B if You Are Struggling With Activity or Diet

With a holistic approach for the health maintenance of her Naples, FL-based clients, Dr. B is a strong proponent of keeping active and maintaining a healthy diet. If you have health conditions that you believe might be best addressed by a holistic approach, contact Dr. B’s Naples-based Internal Medicine practice today through our easy online form, or by calling (239) 261-9990.