Simple Things You Can Do to Get Healthy and Stay Healthy

Our sleep-wake cycle is regulated by our brain as part of our circadian, or daily, rhythm. Nervous system chemicals such as melatonin and cortisol tell our minds and bodies when it's time to sleep and when it's time to wake up. By keeping regular sleep hours, we strengthen our natural circadian rhythms which helps us fall asleep more easily. This is especially true if you have different schedules on different days of the week. If you're used to getting up at 6 am on weekdays to go to work but sleep in until 10 am on weekends, your circadian rhythms change as if you flew to the east coast every weekend. No wonder you're tired on Monday morning!

Have you ever noticed that adults workout and children play? Find an activity you really enjoy and you are more likely to do it more often. Go out dancing. Join a sports team like ultimate frisbee or softball. Go rollerblading or bicycling. Play more often.

Our bodies make Vitamin D when our skin is exposed to sunlight. 4-10 minutes in the noon day sun in the southern US, for example, produces the equivalent of 10,000 to 25,000 IU of oral Vitamin D. (MIlk, for example, contains 400 IU Vitamin D per quart.) There is strong evidence for a protective effect of Vitamin D on healthy bone density, muscle weakness, more than a dozen types of internal cancers, multiple sclerosis and Type 1 Diabetes. You do not need to get a sunburn to get adequate vitamin D and suncreens that block UVB diminish our bodies ability to make Vitamin D.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has always recognized that emotional factors play an important role in health and illness and notes seven emotions that particularly affect the body: joy, anger, sadness, grief, pensiveness, fear and fright. These emotions are not by themselves thought to be pathological and all constitute emotional aspects of healthy people. However, if any of these emotions are excessive over a long period of time or arises suddenly with great force, it can generate imbalances and illness

By our very nature, humans are social animals. We nurture our young, form families and identify ourselves as part of larger social groups such as circles of friends, neighborhood ties, and memberships in clubs and organizations. Connecting with other people and forming bonds of communication and intimacy nourish our emotional and spiritual health as much as a healthy diet nourishes our bodies.

Eating a health-promoting diet is an essential component of good health. While it seems to be common sense that eating a healthy diet provides all of the vitamins and minerals we need to enjoy good health and reduce the risk of chronic disease, numerous scientific studies have shown that using good quality nutritional supplements can go beyond addressing nutrient deficiencies and help you achieve optimal health.

Drink at least eight 8oz. glasses of water a day. Our bodies are made up of 60% water. It is involved in every function in the body, including circulation, digestion, absorption of nutrients and the transmission of electrical currents in the body which control our nerves, muscles and hormones. Due to its importance in proper elimination and detoxification, I'm fond of saying "The solution to pollution is dilution," as water facilitates the elimination of waste products through urination, sweating, defecation, tears and mucus which line our respiratory and digestive tracts.

A healthy breakfast is the cornerstone of a good diet. It is a meal that provides the opportunity to eat a serving of whole grains, a digestible protein, and have a serving or two of fruit. The energy from a healthy breakfast can carry you through your morning in a more stable way than by eating stimulating foods such as sweets and coffee