Diet

While the average person generally only thinks of the term “diet” in the context of temporary restrictions aimed at weight loss, a person’s diet remains an important consideration throughout life. This is particularly true along a couple of important lines. For starters, weight loss diets are often based on half baked concepts and can often cause more harm than good. At best, the average fad diet is confusing and ineffectual. More importantly, however, good, healthy habits should be a constant for best results. This starts with metabolic health, which entails a stable and healthy intake of glucose and in turn optimizes your body’s use of the energy that it consumes. Glucose is the body’s primary source of energy, so it can be tempting to overdo it. However, more isn’t always better. Not only can you exceed a healthy amount of glucose, but also inconsistency in your glucose intake will cause your body to adjust, potentially slowing down your body’s metabolic and digestive processes, leading to weight gain or difficulty losing weight. However, the diet isn’t the only factor that influences metabolic health.

Exercise

In addition to a balanced and consistent diet, you’ll also need to engage in an ample amount of exercise on a regular basis. Where it concerns metabolism, physical exertion kickstarts the metabolic processes by burning energy, up to and including an increased heart rate and more rapid breathing. It’s also important to consider the role of your workout regimen to dispose of the vitamins and nutrients you consume. Likewise, your diet should complement your level of physical activity. While it might seem like eating less and remaining inactive is a match made in heaven, your body simply needs to move. There are a variety of reasons for this. For example, exercise causes the release of the important mood regulating chemical, serotonin. On the other hand, failing to provide adequate muscular stimulation can eventually cause muscles to atrophy, gradually withering away and causing chronic pain.

Sleep

Last, but certainly not least, sleep has a major role to play when it comes to health and fitness alike. While you’ve certainly heard that adult humans need 8 hours of sleep each night, this isn’t the whole story. Generally, 7 to 9 hours is recommended, because this allows for the dynamism inherent to the needs of different bodies under different circumstances. It’s also important to note that there is a method to the madness when it comes to napping. It’s easy for a nap to make you feel more tired, rather than less, and this is because a nap may allow REM sleep to be interrupted, and this deep sleep stage, characterized by dreaming, is ideally followed by a gradual waking process. This ebb and flow actually happens multiple times throughout a night’s sleep, however, and understanding how to optimize naps can help you get the energy boost you need. On the other hand, how much sleep isn’t the only issue people face. Arguably, it’s not even the most important. A sleep schedule is also important, because that same 8 hour sleep may leave you feeling utterly drained that next day if, for example, you’re used to going to bed and waking up a few hours earlier. Consistency is just as important for sleep as it is for the metabolism, and the two play off of each other. Likewise, a workout regimen is at its best when it is not only sufficient, but also consistent.

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