17 Health Tips for Women
In today’s post, we’re talking about how to take care of your body and going over 17 health tips for women to help manage your physical wellness when you’re a busy mom.
When you’re a busy woman, you know that taking time to address your own health and wellness is not always a top priority.
If you’re a mom, you’re probably more focused on making sure your family is healthy and their needs are met. You pay attention to the nutritional value of the meals you prepare, monitor physical activity levels and screen time, and get your children off to bed as early as they permit. You take your children to the doctor and the dentist regularly.
But what about you? Are you paying attention to your own health needs?
You’ve heard of Happy Wife, Happy Life, right? How about Healthy Mom, Healthy Family?
In many families, the mom is the key to healthy living, but promoting health and wellness needs to start at the source. Your health and wellness needs are just as much of a priority as the rest of your family. You need to take care of your body, so you can continue to take care of everyone else’s.
How to Take Care of Your Body As A Woman
Let’s talk about our needs first and foremost. When we talk about wellness, there are seven different dimensions involving the mind, body, and spirit:
- Emotional Wellness
- Intellectual Wellness
- Social Wellness
- Spiritual Wellness
- Occupational Wellness
- Environmental Wellness
- Physical Wellness
Physical Wellness is about taking care of your body and all of its needs — like getting enough sleep, consuming nourishing food and water, and staying strong and fit.
Another part of taking care of your body is maintaining the health of your organs and systems, getting regular check-ups, managing health conditions, and making lifestyle choices that increase our probability of sustaining good health and decreasing habits and behaviors that do not.
Let’s get into our simple health tips for women.
17 Health Tips for Women
1. Get Enough Quality Sleep
We all need quality sleep, even mothers with small children. Easier said than done, right? Adults need 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night. Of course, if you have little ones you may be up several times in the night attending to their needs, but you can find ways to improve the quality and quantity of your own sleep.
Learn More: A Family Evening Routine for Better Sleep
2. Exercise Your Heart and Lungs
With so many people staying at home, we have grown even more sedentary over the last year and a half. Our bodies need consistent physical activity to function efficiently. This does not mean you need to become a runner, but it does mean you need to get moving for about 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week.
3. Strengthen Your Muscles and Bones
While defined arms are nice for sleeveless tops, the real reason we need to strength train is to move efficiently, maintain proper body alignment, and carry heavy loads without hurting ourselves. Strength training also maintains our bone mass, which typically peaks around age 30 and declines rapidly around menopause.
Learn More: Exercise for Busy Moms
4. Manage Your Flexibility
Keeping your muscles and connective tissue strong, yet supple is not only important for proper movement and joint health, but to prevent injury. Regular stretching, foam rolling, and even massage, keeps your muscle tissue toned and healthy.
5. Improve Your Balance
Another key role in preventing injury is balance. Balance comes from an aligned body frame, maintaining strong muscles, and proprioception (signals from joints, muscles, tendons, and skin that provide neural control of movement).
6. Eat a Variety of Nutritionally-Dense Whole-Foods
Nutrition is a tricky subject. There are so many diets out there all claiming to be the best and so many diet-related restrictions, allergies, sensitivities, etc. that it’s hard to know what to eat.
I am not a licensed nutritionist or registered dietician, but my belief is that whatever you consume should be
- As close to its original state as possible (apple vs. applesauce)
- High in nutritional value
- Low in additives, including added sugars
- Low in saturated and trans fat
- Aligned with whatever your healthcare provider has advised you to eat due to your personal medical history.
Avoid choosing a particular diet just because it’s popular. Do your research and consider working with a licensed nutritionist or registered dietician to ensure you and your family are getting all the right nutrients for optimal health.
7. Choose Water or Herbal Teas Over Other Beverages
Most of us know by now that water is the best choice when it comes to healthy drinks. Like many people, I LOVE my morning coffee, enjoy a fine wine, and lately — whiskey — but too much caffeine and too much alcohol are never a good idea. In fact, caffeine stimulates cortisol production and could be a contributor to your stress and anxiety levels, not to mention your sleep quality.
8. Take Care of Your Skin and Hair
This not only includes gently cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing your skin regularly with toxin-free products, but using sunscreen and refraining from tanning or sunbathing. Pay attention to changes, discolorations, or growths and see your healthcare provider or dermatologist for regular exams.
Choose gentle shampoos over harsh detergent-based ones to reduce stripping your hair of its natural oils. Try experimenting with cleansing conditioners or dry shampoos to extend the time between washes. Use a natural-bristle brush to distribute oil from your scalp down the hair shaft. Be gentle with your hair and choose chemical-free and heat-free styling options when possible.
9. Keep Your Body Clean and Hydrated
Again, avoiding harsh detergents and chemicals when possible and using warm water instead of hot baths or showers is ideal. Drinking enough water throughout the day helps hydrate from the inside out. Choose moisturizers with natural, gentle ingredients instead of synthetic chemicals.
Keep your mouth clean, by brushing your teeth after meals and flossing daily. See your dentist for regular cleanings and exams.
Remember to wash your hands frequently, especially when arriving home, before meals, and after using the bathroom and blowing/wiping your nose.
Monitor Your Health and Get Regular Screenings
Monitoring your health and getting regular screenings are a huge part of physical wellness — even when you feel totally healthy. Prevention is always the best, but early detection is a close second when it comes to primary care.
Check out my interview with local physician, Dr. Joanne Wu
10. Get Regular Screenings
Check out the lists below for recommended screenings for women based on age:
11. Follow Your Provider’s Recommended Care Plan
If your provider has recommended medications and/or lifestyle changes, then following those recommendations will most likely be in your best interest. If you disagree, then get a second opinion or look into alternative methods or therapies that resonate with you.
Struggling to make changes to your lifestyle? Consider working with a health and wellness coach.
12. Know Your Numbers
Between visits with your healthcare provider, you can keep track of your personal health yourself. Certain metrics like resting heart rate, blood pressure, BMI, and waist circumference will give you an idea of your cardiovascular fitness and risk for disease.
13. Take Care of Injuries and Illnesses
If you get hurt or notice signs or symptoms that concern you, get checked out! You are worth a trip to the doctor. Do not let fear get in the way of your health and wellness.
14. Make Safe Choices
Protecting your person and reducing your risk for injury or illness is also practicing physical wellness and increases your chances of maintaining good health. For example, wearing your seatbelt, wearing a helmet, wearing a face mask when recommended, getting vaccinated, avoiding smoking, vaping, or using drugs, engaging in safe sex, avoiding high-risk situations, etc.
When you have a moral or ethical opinion about a particular situation, try to make choices that align with your core values and priorities. Consider your future health and the health of your friends, family, and community.
15. Reduce Stress
The stress response causes many reactions in our bodies designed to help us deal with life-threatening situations. Unfortunately, some of these reactions, like the release of cortisol, are helpful when needed, but have nasty side effects with prolonged exposure.
Stress is a natural part of life and cannot always be avoided. We can, however, make changes in our lives that both reduce the frequency and intensity of some situations. For example, we can practice regular relaxation techniques that help reduce chronic stress and even improve conditions like high blood pressure.
Check out my free webinar: How to Manage Stress and Feel Fantastic
16. Reduce Exposure to Environmental Toxins
Another way to maintain the health of your body is by reducing your exposure to various environmental toxins. You can do this by using toxin-free beauty and cleaning products, using less plastic and other chemical-based products for cooking and food storage, and using natural treatments for your lawn and garden rather than pesticides, just to name a few.
17. Maintain a Healthy Home
Your home is your sanctuary. Keeping your home clean and tidy, not only creates a more peaceful retreat for you and your family, but keeps everyone healthier. When you regularly clean, you reduce allergens, kill harmful viruses and bacteria, and discourage pests.
Consider decluttering and finding simple storage solutions to make maintaining a healthy home easier. The less stuff you have, the less you have to keep clean.
Learn More: How To Improve Environmental Wellness At Home
As you can see from the17 health tips for women listed above, it takes work to take care of your body, but considering that this is the one and only body you’ve got, it should be a priority.
Even with the convenience of modern medicine, we still have a responsibility to do what we can to optimize our health and prevent future illness and complications.
If you still need more convincing, consider these reasons:
- Moms don’t get sick days
- Promoting a healthy home is the best way to ensure a healthy family
- Being a healthy role model gives your children their best chance to be healthy adults
Admittedly, making healthy choices is not always easy. In fact, it can feel down-right impossible at times, especially when the rest of your family is not on board.
My recommendation is to start slow and focus on your own health first. Find a support system that you can lean on and ask for help when you need it. As your family sees the difference in your health and well-being, they may begin their own journey to wellness.
What is the hardest part about getting healthy when you’re a busy mom? Share in the comments below.
More Health Tips for Women
If you’re interested in learning more about cultivating wellness and getting more health tips for women, check out the Exploring Wellness Series and the video below:
RESOURCES
https://www.bones.nih.gov/health-info/bone/osteoporosis/bone-mass
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4309156/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2257922/
https://www.healthline.com/health/high-cortisol-symptoms
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Please read this disclaimer in full before acting on any of the information or guidance in this website. Regular exercise and physical activity is not without its risks, even for individuals that would otherwise be considered “healthy”. This is also true of certain diets. There are diet recommendations that might be healthy for many people but potentially dangerous to others. You are solely responsible for your own health and safety at all times.
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