Every morning I wake up at 5 a.m. to write and meditate. I drink minimal caffeine, much preferring water. I’m sober from alcohol and work out six times a week. I eat quite cleanly, favoring vegetables over preservatives.
My husband’s health looks quite different. He eats anything and everything and stays up until 12 a.m. most nights watching television. He doesn’t overtly work out, though he does a lot of outdoor gardening and chases our toddler around, which can feel like an extreme sport at times.
At first glance, I may seem healthier than my husband, but when you see the big picture, it reveals something interesting. To begin, I’m way more anxious than he is. I go from zero to stressed in less than a few seconds (yes, even as a yoga teacher). And despite his late bedtime, I am the one who doesn’t sleep as well, waking up every few hours. He also seems to get sick way less than I do.
As much as I think I know what my husband should do when it comes to being healthy, what works for me may not work for him and vice versa.
Shaklee recently conducted a wellness survey of 2,000 adults looking at their views on personal health. The results were incredibly fascinating.
How people measured health was not just limited to the food they eat or how many days they worked out, as I had been narrowly viewing it. Some people measured their health based on how financially secure they feel, others by how much energy they have throughout the day. And almost all agreed that no matter how many pounds you weigh or lift, health is much more intricately related to our stress levels and how we feel rather than how we look.
Let’s dive a little deeper into this illustrative survey and look at five reasons why your health is personal to you.
- How do you define wellness? I thought I was healthy because I eat well, but it turns out my husband may actually be healthier because he sleeps well and has good immune health.
Here are some of the ways that people who took the survey define wellness. Which of these categories do you feel most exemplifies your vision of health?
- Feeling physically strong
- Feeling good inside and out
- Feeling financially secure
- Feeling mentally/emotionally at ease (no anxiety or stress)
- Being environmentally conscious
- Fueling my body with the right nutrition
- Focusing on long-term benefits for my future
- The method you choose to improve your wellness may be different than someone else’s. Buying my husband his own yoga mat and bicycle gear was a not-so-subtle attempt to get him exercising more. But his idea of wellness has less to do with moving his body and more to do with doing things that make him happy, like going out and eating yummy food.
Which of these would you implement first to improve your overall wellness?
-
- Eating a healthier diet
- Drinking more water
- Exercising more frequently
- Taking vitamins/supplements
- Sleeping more
- Meditating/relaxing
- What stresses you out may not stress someone else out. As I mentioned above, I get stressed easily. It always boggles my mind when my husband can remain calm while we are running late for an appointment or during traffic. On the other hand, he’s not a huge fan of open cabinets, whereas I don’t even see them (I swear!).
What are the biggest stressors in your life? Feel free to pick more than one:
- Work
- Cleaning
- Commuting
- Taking care of kids
- Economic conditions
- Personal relationships
- Political events
- General world events
- Natural disasters
- As individuals, we may need different amounts of sleep to thrive. Just because we wake up early or go to bed late is not an indicator that we are better sleepers. Most experts measure sleep by not only our ability to fall asleep and stay asleep but also how much restorative sleep we get in between those two points.
Rounding up from our survey, here are some questions to help you rate your sleep:
- Do you consider yourself a good sleeper? Yes or No
- How long does it take you to fall asleep at night?
- Immediately
- 10 minutes
- 30 minutes
- 1 hour
- Have you ever taken measures to try to help you sleep better? Yes or No
- Most of us may agree wellness is important, but we all face unique obstacles to getting healthy. 94% of those surveyed said they want to make health their priority this year, but those same people also indicated a wide variety of varying obstacles.
Which of these do you relate to as an obstacle to your wellness?
- Life is too hectic
- Work is too busy
- Prioritizing the needs of family or others instead
- Not sure where to start
- Wellness is too expensive
The Takeaway
Remembering that wellness is broad can help us make the right choices to support our personal health. Take a moment to see what areas in your life may need improvement, as well as what areas are working. From there you can figure out a wellness plan that is right for you!
Curious how your answers measure up against those surveyed? Check out the full survey here.
