In today’s fast-paced world, busy professionals often find themselves juggling multiple responsibilities and struggling to maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, adopting lifestyle medicine can be a game-changer for managing, treating, and preventing chronic health conditions. I recently took at Health and Wellness certification class through Harvard Medical School Executive Education and wanted to share some of my personal key takeaways.
(Image credit: Vacteezy)
Lifestyle medicine focuses on making positive changes to one’s daily habits and behaviors to improve overall health and well-being. It’s crucial to recognize that lifestyle medicine doesn’t serve as a substitute for traditional medicine; instead, it complements it. This approach aids us in more effectively following our doctor’s recommendations between appointments and fosters enduring, positive changes in our health-related behaviors. The six pillars of lifestyle medicine include.
Exercise
Nutrition
Sleep
Stress Resilience
Social Connections
Avoiding Risky Substances
The definition of lifestyle medicine from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine is, “Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as primary modality to treat chronic conditions, including, but not limited to, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Lifestyle medicine certified clinicians are trained to apply evidence-based, whole-person, prescriptive lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse such conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine—whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances and positive social connections—also provides effective prevention for these conditions.”
When it comes to seeking inspiration for self-improvement, this class provided intriguing statistics that could be quite impactful. Presently, the average life expectancy is approximately 80 years, yet people on average experience only 66 healthy years. This leaves a gap of 14 years marked by health challenges, emphasizing the importance of focusing on quality of life. By embracing lifestyle medicine, we have the potential to prolong our healthy years significantly, increasing our likelihood to have a future filled with independence and joy as we age.
First of all, lifestyle medicine can help manage chronic health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. By adopting a healthier diet and engaging in regular exercise, professionals can effectively control their blood sugar levels, lower their blood pressure, and achieve a healthier weight. These lifestyle changes can reduce the need for medication and improve overall health outcomes.
Secondly, lifestyle medicine is a powerful tool for treating chronic conditions. It can complement traditional medical interventions and enhance their effectiveness. For example, regular exercise can boost cardiovascular health and improve mental well-being, making it an excellent addition to medication-based treatments.
Finally, lifestyle medicine is a proactive approach to preventing chronic health conditions. By making healthy choices, professionals can reduce their risk of developing diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and certain types of cancer. This preventive approach is especially crucial for busy professionals who may be more susceptible to the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle and high-stress levels.
In conclusion, lifestyle medicine offers a multitude of benefits for busy professionals. By prioritizing healthy habits and making positive changes to their daily routines, professionals can effectively manage, treat, and prevent chronic health conditions. Incorporating lifestyle medicine into their lives can lead to improved overall well-being and a higher quality of life.
If you are looking at improving your health, I suggest starting with one pillar of lifestyle medicine a focusing on a practical, measurable goal for improvement. For me, I started with sleep. I am reducing my daily caffeine intake and increasing my sleep goal to a minimum of 7 hours a night. I leverage a fitness watch to monitor my sleep and track results in an app. While I may not hit my goal every day, it is improving because I am focusing on measuring the outcomes and making sleep a priority.
What pillar of lifestyle medicine would you like to focus on more?
Feel free to comment and follow this newsletter to see upcoming posts exploring the different pillars of lifestyle medicine. Thank you!
Comments