Wellness encompasses your body, mind and spirit. We all know that, but some days one part or the other of us doesn't feel "well." Back in 1903, the American Journal of Psychology defined habit as a "more or less fixed way of thinking, willing or feeling acquired through previous repetition of a mental experience." Researchers since have debated on how long it takes for form a habit, with the range of options being from 18 to 254 days.
Women who are well do the following things regularly, as an integrated part of their lives:
1)Play and laugh. Friedrich Nietzche suggested in Thus Spoke Zarathustra that play is the highest form of human activity. The University of Delaware cites emotional (e.g., tension reduction, adds joy and laughter), developmental (e.g. creativity, abstract thinking, problem solving, anxiety reduction) and educational benefits of play (e.g. exploring new things, taking risks, practicing skills) in children, but these same benefits extend to adults who take time to play.
The Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456 says that laughter "stimulates many organs, activates and relieves your stress responses, soothes tension plus it improves your immune system, relieves pain, increases personal satisfaction and improves your mood."
2)Have sex. Sexual health expert Yvonne K. Fulbright, PhD, says "Sexually active people take fewer sick days." A study done at the Wilkes University in Pennsylvania showed that individuals who had sex once or twice a week had higher levels of immunoglobulin-A, which boosts the immune system. Other benefits to regular sex include getting a better night's sleep, having better bladder control, lowering blood pressure, reducing pain, boosting libido and relieving stress.
3)Drink lots of fluids, primarily water. In a study called "Mild dehydration affects mood in healthy young women" researchers found that a fluid loss of even 1.36% impaired mood and concentration and increased the frequency of headaches. Drinking water has been attributed to helping women lose weight, energizing muscles, keeping skin looking supple and healthy, and to flushing waste from your body.
4)Eats lots of fruits, vegetables and lean protein. Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD, writes on WebMD that 20% of our daily fluid intake comes from our food, mostly from fruits and vegetables, so well women eat plenty of those to maintain hydration. The food pyramid put out by the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2000/document/build.htm says women need between 3-4 servings of vegetables and 2-3 servings of fruit, plus 2 servings of 5-6 ounces of lean protein a day (one serving is one egg, 2-3 ounces of fish, poultry or meat, ½ cup of beans or tofu).
5)Cultivate friendships. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs contains the human need for friendship in its third level category of "love and belonging". But beyond this basic need, well women cultivate friendships because they understand how important it is to have people to vent to, share with, cry with, laugh with, and love with. On a medical level, a three-year Swedish study showed that women who few or no close friendships had increased risks of heart attack and coronary heart disease. Women who basked in the community of others had lower blood pressure, lower diabetes risks and even less abdominal fat...mainly because friends can encourage healthy reactions to dealing with stress.
6)Take me-time. Prioritizing yourself is not a luxury; it is a necessity, because if you aren't well you can't take care of other people and things. Audrey Quinn, of YouBeauty.com, wrote on HuffPo in 2012 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/27/importance-of-alone-time_n_1819399.html that me-time helps women recharge, self-regulate and end anxiety. Me-time involves cutting yourself some slack from go-go-going and doing whatever interests you or nourishes you, and that can be anything from sitting on the sofa with a book or magazine to getting a massage, facial, or pedicure; trying a new recipe to taking a class, practicing yoga, meditating, going for a walk or climbing a tree. And part of me-time could be taking a timeout from electronics.
7)Set goals and learn new things. Setting goals helps focus energy, generate inspiration, strengthen will, focus on important things, and create a sense of accomplishment. Learning new things accomplishes the same, plus it helps us acquire additional wisdom. (And if you learn new things in a group setting, then that can help with 5) cultivate friendships.) Goal setting and life-long learning keep brains engaged, help us adapt to change, and helps us put our lives in perspective.