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Building a Foundation for Lifelong Health Through Wellness is a comprehensive, preventive approach to well-being. It combines physical, emotional and spiritual activities with environmental sustainability.

Living healthy has nothing to do with doctor’s offices or the latest as-seen-on-TV fitness contraption, and everything to do with how you live in five crucial areas of wellness.

Physical

Physical wellness includes all aspects of your body’s health, including nutrition, exercise and sleep. It also includes avoiding harmful substances and taking steps to treat illness.

The most obvious aspect of physical wellness is a balanced diet. Eating a wide variety of foods and avoiding junk food will help to keep your body strong and healthy. You can also improve your body’s flexibility, strength and aerobic capacity by participating in regular exercise. Aim for 30 minutes of aerobic activity each day, or break up your daily workout into smaller bouts of exercise.

Exercise isn’t just about burning calories and controlling your weight; it boosts your energy levels, increases self-esteem, lowers stress and helps prevent depression. It also helps you sleep better, and can even lower your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and cancer.

Getting enough sleep each night will help to keep your immune system strong, and it can reduce your risk of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease. It will also help you concentrate and perform better at work.

Another important aspect of physical wellness is regular medical check-ups. It’s important to identify health problems early, and the sooner they are identified, the easier they will be to treat.

It’s a good idea to get an annual flu shot, and you should also get a yearly dental exam and an eye exam.

Achieving a state of physical wellness requires the development of habits that will last for life. It’s a process that can be started at any age, and it begins with education. The goal is to promote wellness concepts that build the foundation for health literacy and an appreciation of lifelong physical fitness. Students learn to adopt healthy behaviors and develop an attitude of personal responsibility, motivation and excellence in learning as well as a commitment to a lifetime of wellness.

Social

Early life is a critical time for social, emotional and cognitive development. Young children learn best in healthy relationships and experiences that are supportive and playful. This is why it’s important to work together to give all kids the opportunity to thrive in a nurturing, healthy environment that provides them with the building blocks for a lifetime of health and well-being.

Wellness is a lifestyle practice that supports physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. Wellness involves daily actions that promote a well-balanced life and can include everything from exercise, to good eating habits, to meditation. It can also include community involvement and a commitment to environmental stewardship.

Research shows that when adults adopt a wellness lifestyle, they can help prevent a variety of serious health conditions and even reduce the risk of death. However, the number of pillars that determine overall wellness may vary from one source to another; some sources cite five key areas while others cite eight, nine or more. Regardless of the number, however, all wellness pillars are interrelated and neglecting any one area can lead to negative consequences on an individual’s overall health.

Among the elements of wellness, the cognitive-emotional and life goal factor includes traits like believing in the meaning of life and being goal-oriented, along with the ability to be intellectually active and solve problems. The social wellness factor is the quality and degree of social support received from friends and family.

The last of the five pillars of wellness is the physical. It involves the ability to enjoy regular exercise, having a physically fit body and being active in other ways such as participating in sports or taking up a hobby. It is also the capacity to manage stress and feel comfortable in one’s own skin.

The easiest way to build a foundation for lifelong health through wellness is by making small changes in all aspects of one’s daily life. Eating better, getting regular exercise and spending time with friends and family are simple yet effective things that anyone can do to improve their wellness.

Emotional

Wellness involves a person’s mental, emotional and spiritual health. This includes being able to handle life’s difficulties and bounce back from setbacks. It also includes feelings of happiness, joy and gratitude. People who experience this level of wellness are known as resilient. NIH researchers are studying how physical illness, mental health conditions, caregiving, sleep and stress impact an individual’s ability to maintain this level of wellness.

While there are many ways to improve your well-being, it is important to start early. Educating children about healthy behaviors, including those in the five areas of wellness, is one way to do this. Introducing young children to the concept of wellness at an early age helps them develop habits that will benefit them throughout their lives.

Another way to promote wellness is to popularize lifelong health promoting activities. These activities include exercising regularly, eating a balanced diet and getting enough sleep. It is also helpful to practice relaxation and self-care techniques like meditation and yoga.

In addition, it is important to develop and maintain healthy relationships. NIH research shows that social support can contribute to overall well-being. This type of support can come from family members, friends and even coworkers.

The last area of wellness is the ability to appreciate and find meaning in life. This can be accomplished through having a purpose and being goal-oriented. It also involves having a positive attitude and seeing challenges as opportunities for personal growth.

Practicing these types of wellness-enhancing behaviors can help you lead a healthier, happier and longer life. In fact, living healthy has little to do with a doctor’s office or the latest as-seen-on-TV fitness contraption and everything to do with your behavior and choices.

To be truly healthy, you must address the physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual areas of wellness all at once. The best way to do this is to start early, and make wellness a part of your daily routine. You can do this by making small changes in your lifestyle, and by incorporating new, wellness-enhancing activities. For example, by participating in a community garden, taking a class on something you enjoy, or volunteering to help in your local church or civic organization.

Spiritual

Spiritual care (SC) is the provision of support to patients, their families and caregivers for their existential/religious/spiritual issues. These can be a result of the illness, treatment or approaching death. SC involves non-verbal relational communication, active listening and empathetic responses. It includes assisting patients and family members to find meaning in life, hope and peace.

All healthcare tries to relieve pain and cure disease but good healthcare goes further, addressing the whole person. This is what is known as holistic care and it has been shown to reduce psychological suffering and improve quality of life. Attention to the spiritual has also been shown to reduce depression, increase energy levels and reduce stress.

Many of the interviewees expressed a desire to provide more attention to the spiritual in end of life care but reported barriers that made this difficult. These included lack of training, time and clear guidelines on how to approach the subject, as well as the fact that many nurses found it difficult to discuss their own beliefs with colleagues.

The nine Principles were developed to help overcome these barriers. By putting these into a simple framework, it is hoped that organisations may be able to move closer to providing high quality spiritual care.

One of the Principles, Principle 4, requires that spiritual questions and issues be allowed to emerge and not actively provoked. This allows nurses and other care providers to be more comfortable in dealing with this subject which has a very personal and intimate perspective. It also acknowledges that the spiritual dimension ebbs and flows during the course of illness and may not be present at all times.

Another Principle, Principle 6, suggests that it is important to have a range of religious and spiritual traditions available within the organisation to meet patient needs. This could include chaplains, prayer groups, meditation rooms and sacred spaces where the patient and their family can feel welcomed regardless of their religion or belief system. This would be a welcome and empowering change to the current practice of some institutions where only one faith is represented.