Top 7 strategies to optimize your health today

Do you want to live a better, happier, and more productive, healthy life starting today? Check out our Top 7 Strategies for Optimal Health.

1. Focus on sleep.
   The importance of good sleep can not be overstated. Poor sleep increases your risk of depression, anxiety, weight gain, dementia, metabolic syndrome, type II diabetes, and many other problems. An ideal amount of sleep is 7-9 hours per night.
   

2. Get regular sunlight.
   Your body needs real sunlight. Studies have shown that patients have reduced inflammation, increased energy, and reduced issues with anxiety and depression when they are getting sunlight daily. It is best to view sunlight for 10-20 minutes in the early morning and around sunset to optimize your circadian rhythm.
   

3. Avoid processed food.
   Would you pour sugar into your gasoline tank? Well, the human body is a much more complex and finer-tuned engine than your car is! It did not evolve to run on food out of plastic packages or from the drive-through at a fast food restaurant. The negative impact on health and performance from processed foods is enormous, and it has been shown in numerous studies to be a large driver of Americans’ weight problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, increasing mental health issues, dementia, etc. If your great-grandparents wouldn’t recognize it as food, don’t eat it!
   

4. Eat real food.
   We can’t know key factors such as how you process carbohydrates, saturated fats, other fats, and micronutrients without testing your genome, but a good general rule for everyone is that if you eat lots of vegetables, some fruits, as well as lots of fish (particularly SMASH fish — salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and herring), healthy fats such as olive oil and avocados, tree nuts, and other nutrient-dense foods, you will feel better, your health and your lab tests for long term risks will improve. Pasture-raised meat (such as grass-fed beef and other pasture-raised animals) is okay in moderation for most people. Industrially farmed meats have a much worse mix of fats that is far more damaging to your health, mainly because they are eating things that are cheap (like corn and ground-up intestines from other animals) that they did not evolve to eat.
   

5. Exercise frequently.
   Find physical activities and exercises that you enjoy and get exercise just about every day. Without knowing your genome and lab results, we can’t recommend what is best for you personally, but the most effective general combination for people of any age is to do Zone 2 exercise (cardio exercise that you can perform and still hold a conversation with someone or about 60% of your max heart rate) for at least 30-40 minutes per session, at least 3-4 times per week AND to do some strength training twice per week AND to do at least one HIIT (high-intensity interval training) session per week. A HIIT session could be as short as 15 minutes.
   A good place to start would be a three-minute warm-up on a stationary bike, followed by 6 one-minute sessions where you pedal as hard as you can for one minute, then rest for one minute, then repeat. Don’t have a bike? No problem! Do bodyweight squats for 20 seconds then rest for 10 seconds, repeat this for 8 rounds.
   

6. Manage stress.
   Some may call this a mindfulness practice, but find something you enjoy doing and that you can do consistently to help you manage stress. Whether it is sitting in the lotus position and humming, praying, journaling, sitting quietly and breathing, or going for a nice walk outside — all will help you manage stress. Managing stress will help lower your blood pressure, improve mood, increase energy, and lead to a positive mindset.
   

7. Honor your relationships.
   Did you know that loneliness increases mortality by 70%? That is a higher mortality risk than smoking! The importance of having relationships and community is vitally important to not only your happiness but your health.