Free ways to improve health and energy

And they’re FREE!

Yes! There are free ways to improve health and energy!

Yes, insurance and doctors visits are way too expensive and more and more medical offices shift time away from what is important to us as individual patients and toward an insurance or government mandated algorithm.  Medications are crazy expensive.  Here are 3 simple things you can do right now to improve your own health.

I can’t give you good health and I can’t promise you any miracle prevention treatments.  I can tell you about some simple and free things you can do right now to be as healthy as possible.  

Back when I was a young wife and mother I would serve meals with at least 50% processed food.  We ate things like fish sticks and French fries with maybe some peas or green beans from a can. 

I was often worn out and suffered from stomach complaints.  My skin was not exactly glowing and my mood was erratic.  

I didn’t get much exercise back then and only drank water the I remembered to.  

Does this sound like you? Here are 3 things you can do to improve your health:

I’m sure you are eating better than I was back then.  Either way, we all have room for improvement.  

So what are the three easiest and freest things you can do?

It sums up to:

1. Drink water
2. Get plenty of fresh air and exercise
3. Sleep well

Easy right?

How much water? You ask. 

Recommendations vary every time I turn around.  My short answer is about 2 quarts.  That’s the shortest short answer. 

How much water you need depends on your weight and activity level among other things. 

A general rule is to take your weight in pounds and divide by 2 and that will give you how many ounces you should drink a day.  So if you weigh 140 pounds you need a minimum of 70 ounces of water daily.  That’s just a bit more than 2 quarts.  If you exercise or sweat a lot drink more and don’t forget to add in some electrolytes to make up for sweat loss.  Some say just drink when thirsty but I’ve never known anyone who really hydrated enough that way.  

Fresh air is still free.  I highly recommend liberal use of fresh air.  In fact, a friend of mine was able to significantly reduce her blood glucose by taking a 7 minute walk after each meal.  Yes, she also watched her carbs but the walking made a big difference.  

Sleep.  Oh, it can be so elusive!  I have another post just on sleep, which you can find here:

Getting Better Sleep

but here are some tips:

• Put the screen down about an hour or two before bed.  
• Have your bedroom dark and silent.  There may be an adjustment period but studies show you will get better sleep in a dark and quiet room
• Avoid caffeine, chocolate or mint before bed
• Avoid stimulating news or conversation right before bed.  The evening news might not be helpful for good relaxing sleep.  

Give it a try.  See what steps you can take.   Give your new changes about a week or two and see if you have more energy, fewer headaches or other health benefits.

Your health is yours to own for the rest of your life. Since ways to improve your health and energy are free, what’s stopping you?