Your 30's are busy. You may have kids, a marriage, a career. How you maintain your health and well-being during your 30's will largely determine your health for the rest of your life. If you can keep a healthy weight, eat right, de-stress, exercise and more — you be looking at more than half a century of disease-free living.
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MAINTAIN YOUR PROPER BODY WEIGHT
Carrying around extra weight is a strain on your body and on your emotions. You need to get that weight off. It will be easier to work on weight loss in your 30's than it will be in your 40's and beyond. Make a pledge to yourself to get to your 40th birthday at a healthy weight. Focus on developing healthy eating habits.
MAINTAIN GOOD RELATIONSHIP
Feeling connected and needed can boost your health. Your immune system works better, you have more social resources available if you need help and you even develop fewer chronic illnesses when you are older.
Having friends and good relationships can do this for you. Your 30's can be hard on friendships — you are busy with career, kids, and marriage (and your friends are busy with the same things, too). Maintain those friendships. Make time to talk on the phone, get together over the weekend and go on that trip.
A HEALTHY DIET
In your 30's, it’s easy to top a long workday off with a nice meal out with a few friends or loved ones. Before you know it, you end up chowing down on heavy foods and washing them down with a few beers or glasses of wine.
When you’re in your 30's, what you put in your body matters more than ever. It’s important to really examine what you are eating, so you can plan for the long term. This also means meal planning. Not just work lunches, but also taking into consideration what you will eat after work, especially if you end up working late. Chances are you can afford to eat out more than you could in your 20’s, but it’s sadly not a time in your life to ignore your caloric intake and completely ignore what you’re putting in your body.
PRIORITIZE YOUR SCHEDULED EXERCISE
We understand: you're busy. You may not think you have time to exercise. But, if you start exercising regularly, you'll be more efficient at your work, and you will feel better. It's true — you'll have more energy, you'll sleep better, you'll be more creative (from sleeping better) and you'll get more done.
Try working exercise into your schedule for 2 weeks. We bet everything will still get done (and you will feel better, too).
STAY HYDRATED
If you consider coffee one of your best friends or if you are in the habit of reaching for caffeine throughout the day, you may be dehydrating your body. Or maybe you remember to drink water when the water cooler is close by, but opt for a cocktail after work and forget about H2O all together. Because your brain is made up of approximately 75 percent water, the lack of water can affect your energy levels, focus and memory. Make sure you limit your alcohol intake, increase your water intake and stay hydrated with at least eight glasses of water each day.
BUILD STRONG SLEEP SKILLS
Sleep is a healthy thing. Spend time in your 30's building strong sleep skills. Learn how to fall asleep within 30 minutes of hitting the pillow. Take action to make sure you get enough sleep every night and be sure to see a doctor if you think you might have a sleep problem or disorder. Not getting enough sleep not only affects your body — it affects how well you work and how much you enjoy life.
MASTER TIME TO SUCK YOUR STRESS
Time. We are terrible with time. We try to do too much and when we feel pressured, we don't eat right and we skip exercise. Do a time assessment in your 30's. Do you feel relaxed, like there is plenty of time for everything? If your answer is no then you need to eliminate some things in order to be more efficient. Television, cell phones, the Internet and social media are usually big time sucks. Make an effort now to master time and your stress level will drop — leaving you to age healthfully and reduce your risk for chronic illnesses.
FIND A RELAXATION PRACTICE
When was the last time you truly, deeply relaxed? Relaxation should be a part of your daily life. If you can find a way to turn off your stress for a while, you may prevent many of the stress-related illnesses. This is important. If you can establish a strong relaxation habit, you will improve how you feel in the present and reduce your risk for many illnesses in the future.
GO OUT LESS
When you’re in your 30's you’re usually juggling a hectic work life, home life, social life and financial stress. Keeping on top of so many crucial things can wage war on your stress level. Try staying home more often to manage your stress and anxiety – it will likely help you save money too — a bonus. Staying home is more actually good for you. It will give your body the energy it needs to rebuild, replenish and recover from stress and move forward another day.
SPEND TIME WITH NATURE
If you live in the city, finding time to spend outdoors can be challenging. You may be stuck behind a desk, busy raising a family or in a colder climate most of the year. You have to proactively look for ways to spend your time with nature. If you spend your time with nature as you exercise, you can even kill two birds with one stone. Studies have shown spending time with nature increases health and happiness, while reducing stress.
BALANCE WORK AND HOME
Your 30's are when your career might really take off. It is also when you might be having kids and a marriage (or a serious relationship). Striking a balance between your home life and your work life is critical. Take some time to sit back and reflect. Are things in balance? Do changes need to be made? Getting it right can reduce a tremendous amount of stress in your life.
SCHEDULE AND STICK ON ROUTINES
Make a schedule and stick to it. The best excuse to not do something is lack of time. Schedules can be tough, but routines feel less overwhelming. Include the following: the reading you’ve set out to do; the exercise you plan to keep consistent with; what time you get into bed every single night; and when you plan to go out into nature. When you apply routines to your life, your body is able to predict and prepare for each moment. That way, you will have an extra boost of energy when it comes time to get things done. Building healthy routines will help you keep your healthy habits, increase your efficiency, build momentum and stay motivated and committed to achieving your goals
EAT VEGETABLES AND FRUITS
Here's a simple rule for healthy eating — eat plants. Vegetables and fruits are the best things for your body. Nutrition advice now seems to focus on protein and carbs, fats and vitamins — but the best things you can eat are fruits and vegetables. Vegetarians have the healthiest arteries and a low risk for heart disease. Get started eating your vegetables
READ
When you are in your 30's opportunities to learn start to disappear unless you seek them out. Continuing your education is up to you. The lack of consistent learning environments makes it harder for you to keep a sharp mind. Once a month, pull out a book and start reading. Reading requires you to use several different regions of your brain to work together. This helps you keep your cognitive skills sharp. Plus, it gives you another thing to do when you are staying home.
START SCREENING AND TESTING
Time to start screenings and testing. Don't think that just because you are "only" 30 you are not at risk for illnesses. Diabetes, high blood pressure and other lifestyle illnesses may be already starting in your body. You need to catch them fast and take action now to reduce them. You also need to get a few screenings, especially if you have a family history of cancer or heart disease. Time to talk to your doctor about prevention, and make (and keep) those appointments.
KNOW YOUR HEALTH HISTORY
No one is going to take care of your health for you. You need to know your medical history, your risk factors, and your medications. Set up a system to track your information now. This system will help you (and your doctor) quickly understand any problems that come up in the future, prevent errors in treatment and diagnosis, and help decide what preventative tests you may need. Start with getting a family medical history and recording your own history, too.
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