Physical health
Hydrate regularly
The human body is about 70% water, which is essential for many functions invisible to our eyes.
Water is needed by the brain, digestive system, blood, joints, and more! Yet every moment, when we breathe, perspire, or talk, we lose water through droplets and vapours.
Hence, it is important to hydrate regularly throughout the day, no matter how busy you are. Each time you drink, visualise how it is nourishing your internal organs and blood system!
Breathe well
Breath gives us life. But not all breaths are equal. Improve your health just by making sure you are breathing well:
- Whenever you are out in open space, especially within nature, breathe in deeply to refresh your body and mind.
- Sit or walk with your shoulders pushed back, chest open, to allow the lungs to expand well.
- When you feel tired and need a break, take a few moments to focus on nothing else but breathing, allowing each breath to fill your body and mind.
- Remind yourself that no matter how tough life gets, your breath is a stable anchor you can rely on. It keeps you alive, brings you back to a steady state.
Get active easily
Being active can sound daunting for those who have not exercised for a long time. Start small, start now, because any increase in activity is better than none!
- While sitting at your desk, gently lift your feet off the floor, slightly raise your thighs alternately - this will engage your thigh and abdominal muscles.
- Get up on your feet while watching TV, stretch your muscles one by one, from head to toe.
- Just before you sleep, lie down on your back and raise both legs straight up towards the ceiling. Slowly lower one leg down to the bed, then raise it up again. Repeat for the other leg, then alternate several times.
Useful links
FuelFit Singapore offers quality fitness coaching in outdoor groups, 1-to-1 and remote online coaching. They help adults get strong, lose fat and gain health. They bring fitness to you, so no one will ever be too busy to be healthy and fit!
Here's a physical wellness toolkit by the National Institute of Health (America), it's comprehensive and easy to navigate.
For a local context, you can visit HealthXchange for information contributed by the Singhealth group of healthcare providers. My review: I like the way topics are organised in categories that you can access directly from the main menu > Health Sections, organised by target group and also common conditions.
HealthHub is another local site with lots of health information, and links to public health providers in Singapore. This site is useful if you are looking for specific health conditions or medications, as they are indexed by alphabet. My review: In my opinion, the topics are not categorised very clearly. if you are just browsing for health tips, it is easy to lose your way among some generic information and not get much out of your time spent.