Today’s busy professionals often go through stressful job profiles and prolonged working hours, which can negatively impact their quality of life. If you too belong to this league, keeping yourself fit can be an uphill task. Even when you enjoy the fast pace of this lifestyle, it’ll start taking a toll on your body over time. The solution lies in getting your body adequate nourished and rested as these will help boost your productivity, which in turn would enable you to tackle the work pressure effectively.
Check these five simple health tips for busy professionals, which you can inculcate in your life to reap long-term benefits.
- Get adequate sleep
Sleep deprivation can trigger fatigue, memory lapses, irritability, stress etc. Be it handling a deadline, or executing some urgent tasks, busy professionals often end up compromising with their sleep. To steer clear of sleep deprivation, create a proper sleep schedule and stick to it. Listening to relaxing music, reading a book, or taking a warm shower before bed can aid in relaxing the body. Pay attention to what you consume at dinner. Stuffing too much or going to bed hungry can lead to discomfort, and keep you awake. Avoid surfing on mobile or watching TV before hitting the bed as these too can also interfere with your sleep. If your job induces anxiety, you may try five to ten minutes of deep breathing before going to bed to make yourself feel relaxed.
- Eat right
It may be tempting to grab a quick snack outside, but choosing healthy alternatives is always a better option for your body and mind. If you indulge in sweet treats, you may start having sugar slumps that may lead to difficulty in concentrating later. To get it fixed, you can try natural options like fruits to manage the cravings. In addition, make it a rule to have breakfast. If you skip it, you’re more likely to feel cravings for unhealthy foods and mood swings as the lunchtime approaches near. It’s also advisable to make time for lunch as you may end up overeating during a working lunch. Instead of cooping yourself up in the cubicle working and eating, you can try to put aside your work for 15-20 minutes while having lunch to concentrate on the meal. This’ll not only make your dining experience more pleasurable, but also help you return to work feeling more refreshed.
- Create an exercise routine
Regular exercising is one of the most important things to stay healthy. If your job profile limits your movement for a prolonged time throughout a day, make exercising and moving around your top priority. Long hours sitting in that old chair, stuck behind your desk, can leave you with discomfort accompanied by stiffened up muscles and back pain. In addition, such conditions can trigger more serious chronic conditions and illnesses like heart disease, obesity, musculoskeletal disorders etc. Ideally, you should do some exercises or physical activities at least 5 times a week for 30 minutes. You can plan out a 30-minute morning exercise schedule to do right after waking up. This’ll not only decrease the risk of chronic conditions and illnesses, but will also get the blood pumping around your body, which in turn would help you to kick-start the day feeling energetic and leave you more awake. But if a 30-minute exercise schedule sounds impossible, you can break it into chunks of 10-15 minutes that you can do throughout the day.
- Hydrate more
Hydration is of immense importance when we talk about maintaining optimum health during a hectic lifestyle. Since water is the key component of your body, you need to keep water flowing through your body. Adequate hydration throughout the day can lead to cleansing of your body by getting rid of toxins. It can also lower the stress levels, and let you get the optimum results out of your daily workout schedule. Ideally, you should always keep a water bottle by your side. You may even use a marker to mark the times and monitor the amount you drink each hour. Though having a cup of coffee may help you kick-start the day, too much of it can harm you over time. Excess caffeine may trigger nausea and insomnia, apart from increasing calcium excretion. In case you need a morning fix to start the day, try foods like vegetable smoothies, eggs, magnesium-rich foods etc.
- Pick a healthy hotel
If you’re one of those professionals who travels a lot, this tip is especially important for you. Whenever you travel for work, prefer hotels with healthy menu options, gyms, and avoid comfort eating in the pretext of rewarding yourself. Even if picking a healthy hotel isn’t possible, you can always improvise to stay healthy. For example, you can use your room’s coffee pot to make hard boiled eggs or buy some fresh foods at the nearby grocery store, which you can use as healthy snacks. Other small steps involve not skipping your breakfast, avoiding eating oversized portions, and not giving into the social pressure of feeling the need to drink or overindulge.