Could This Be The Missing Ingredient In Your Fitness?

There are many aspects of physical and mental health.

Exercise and nutrition are high on the list of things that will show you how healthy you are.

But there are so many other measures of our wellness that are simply too easy to overlook.

Do you take care of these too?

Sleep

There have been countless studies to measure how important sleep is to our well-being. With my Fitbit permanently on my wrist I confess that I am slightly obsessed with making sure I get enough of the good quality stuff and we know that it is so important for our fitness and well-being.

Sleep stimulates muscle growth (which is vital for improving fitness and in weight loss) and it is when our bodies replenish nutrients and allows our muscles and cells to repair themselves.

But do you get enough of it?

Measure it for a week and see if you do, if not there are many things you can do about it and here are some ideas.

Stress

Another aspect we overlook too easily is stress.

When our bodies are stressed they are constantly in fight or flight mode, we are ready for action, blood is busy rushing to our muscles so they can take action at any moment.

Blood flow to the digestive system therefore slows down, food is not digested well and the nutrients not used as well as they could be in our bodies. We are more tired because staying in this state required so much energy.

If you find it difficult to manage stress it’s time to take action and make sure you are looking after yourself.

Rest

Which brings me to what is often the missing piece of the puzzle.

If we make time to exercise, eat well and REST we give our bodies the best chance to work optimally.

All of these components allow us to fight the negative effects of stress.

They all contribute to allowing us to activate our parasympathetic system or our rest and digest state.

We need to be able to relax in order for our bodies to re-charge.

And if we rest (relax) we are able to exercise better, see the rewards of exercise quicker, digest our food properly, feel more able to cope with stress, sleep better and our energy levels will be higher.

Last November an online survey called The Rest Test was launched to investigate what rest means to different people, how they like to rest and whether there is a link between rest and well-being.

64.8% of people surveyed said they wanted to get more rest.

You can read more about it here.

And if you want to measure how well you are doing with all the aspects of health that go towards making you the fittest, healthiest you can be, download my free Wheel of Health.

This tool will help you measure each area and I will also help you improve your score in the areas that need it.

I’m off for a long walk with my dog Dollar. Some time alone in the fresh air is my favourite way to relax.

I would love to hear what is your favourite way so get in touch.

Kirsty xx