A few years ago, I wrote a fact sheet titled Action Plan for Healthy Living.To get 2023 off to a great start, I would like to share some tips from the fact sheet. . As you can imagine, many of the bullet points relate to diet and exercise habits. However, today I would like to focus on a few other lifestyle choices that can contribute to your health.
• Stress Management: Stress is a part of everyday life and has both good and bad causes. When stress becomes a concern, people often exhibit unhealthy reactions such as driving too fast, protracted anger, worry and fear, and drinking too much. Learn to find ways to reduce stress in your life. Deep breathing, meditation, physical activity, and talking to yourself may help.
• Simplicity: A busy schedule may not allow for enough breaks, but it’s important to find undemanding quiet time each day. Another way to simplify your life is to organize your living space.
• Sleep better: You can get enough sleep by simply changing your routine, environment, diet and other factors. Sleep disturbances are common and can be serious. A great resource for learning more about sleep is K-State Research and Extension’s publication MF2830, Sleep: Want it, Need it, Get it.
• Surround yourself with positive people: One of the best things to do when someone is feeling down is to spend time with positive, upbeat people. Laughter, encouragement, and positive thoughts can help effectively reverse negative thoughts.
If you want to learn how to create an action plan, stay tuned for next week’s column. In the meantime, find my fact sheet on his website at KSRE and search for publication MF3053.
surround yourself with positive people
Over the past three weeks, I have had the opportunity to put the above points into practice. By the time you read this, I will be home from my expedition to the Sunshine State. Just as the cold weather was starting to settle for the holidays, we loaded up in the van to head to Naples, Florida, where we celebrated Christmas and our youngest son, Matt’s wedding. When Matt proposed to Jane last January, the two were thrilled to carry on the Krug family tradition of a December wedding.
Fast forward to September when Hurricane Ian devastated southwestern Florida. The wedding venue the children had originally booked was irreparably damaged, but luckily they found another beautiful place to celebrate their wedding. Her Airbnb, which she booked in March, was heavily flooded during the hurricane, but the host was optimistic that everything was ready when she arrived on the 23rd. And so it was!
It was a special week as our children and grandchildren enjoyed each other’s company. Our time together included walks on the beach, a dip in the backyard pool and a night tour of the botanical gardens. rice field. We were introduced to Party Poppers by Jane’s family and enjoyed their wonderful hospitality on Christmas Day. The wedding day was beautiful, with all but a handful of guests present (the Southwest Airlines issue affected a few guests).
It felt good to be home at the beginning of the week and get back to our normal routine.May 2023 be a healthy and happy one surrounded by positive people!
Donna Krug is a Family & Consumer Science Agent for K-State Research and Extension – Cottonwood District. Contact her at 620-793-1910 or her dkrug@ksu.edu.
