Developing a healthy lifestyle for everyone in the family is a matter of making the right choices and inculcating the right habits. People don’t realize how easily they can prevent numerous allergies, infections, and even severe diseases by simply following a healthy lifestyle at home. In this post, we will share the top six tips for keeping your family healthy at home.
1. Build a Habit of Washing Hands
One of the best ways to keep disease-causing germs from spreading is to wash your hands. According to researchers, hand-washing alone can help reduce the risk of respiratory infections by 16%. Teach your kids to step up to the sink and wash their hands on the following occasions:
- After they go to the restroom
- Before they have a meal
- When they get dirty
- After playing outside
- After sneezing or coughing
- After petting an animal
- After touching garbage
Even young children start to pick up such habits when they notice elders washing their hands.
2. Eat Right
Eating nutritious food is important for everyone in your family. After all, we are what we eat.
Whether it’s toddlers and teens or adult members of the family, daily intake of healthy food can help ward off numerous health issues. While nutritional needs are different for everyone, there are some general guidelines that everyone can follow:
- Choose whole-grain foods such as oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, whole-grain cereal, rye bread, brown rice, etc.
- Incorporate fruits and veggies into your daily meals; avoid fast food as much as possible.
- When you must snack on something, stick to fruits and veggies; you can also try (unsalted or partially salted) nuts or seeds such as peanuts, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, etc.
- Glance through food nutrition labels when you visit your local store; buy healthy foods that provide vitamins, dietary fiber, minerals, etc.; avoid packaged food items that contain a high percentage of added sugar, salt/sodium, and saturated fats.
- If you enjoy eating fish, choose the ones that are high in omega-3 fatty acids.
- Make sure no one in your family skips breakfast.
3. Get Rid of Rodents
House rodents such as rats and mice are known to spread more than 35 diseases through rodent-bites, contaminated food & water, rodent droppings & urine, and contaminated dust. Some of the health risks posed by rats and mice can be deadly in absence of prompt medical treatment.
Rodent infestations are more common during the winters. So, it is important you know how to protect your home from rodent invasion. When you suspect a rodent infestation at an early or advanced stage, it is advisable to speak with a rodent control service provider right away. Rodent control specialists know how to safely and effectively rodent-proof residential and commercial buildings.
4. Get Rid of Allergens
Cold, wintry weather can force you to stay indoors for long durations. On these days, it is natural to get exposed to some nasty allergy and asthma triggers such as dust mites, pet dander, mold, and air contaminated by rodent droppings.
Vacuum-clean your house at least once every week to get rid of these allergens. For the best results, make sure you use a vacuum cleaner with HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arresting) certified filter. You should also change the bed-sheets and pillowcases on a regular basis; wash them in hot water to get rid of allergens.
Once every week, remember to dust-off kids’ bedding and everything else including stuffed animals that can easily accumulate dust or offer a hiding place to dust mites. Getting rid of the allergens is especially important if there is someone with a history of allergies or asthma in your family.
5. Drink Plenty of Water
Water makes up a majority of the human body and is responsible for several important functions, such as:
- Keeping you hydrated
- Helping your brain function at an optimal level
- Regulating your body temperature
- Eliminating the waste from your body through urination, defecation, and perspiration
- Creating saliva
- Protecting joints, tissues, and spinal cord
- Improving your metabolism & transportation of nutrients
So make it a habit to drink plenty of water on a daily basis, especially during the summer months. If kids refuse to drink water, you can try offering them some fruit tea instead. Avoid sodas and other unhealthy drinks.
Fluid losses are more common in elderly people whose sense of thirst is not as sharp.
6. Get Enough Sleep
Not getting enough (and quality) sleep can affect you and the kids in many ways. It can make you feel tired and drowsy throughout the day and even affect your productivity and concentration levels. Yes, there will be days when you have to stay up late to wrap up important work or when your child needs to study an extra hour or two. But, such days should be an exception.
While adults need 7-8 hours of sleep daily, teens need up to 9-10 hours of sound sleep every day. School going children, especially teens, get far less than the recommended amount of sleep. Make sure all of your family members go to bed early in the night and wake up early in the morning. Remove all digital screens from bedrooms and try to end the habit of watching late night television shows or browsing the Internet on smartphones and tablets.
Research shows that continually increasing sleep debt over a period of time can lead to a number of diseases and health problems such as depression, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, mood disorders, substance abuse, etc.
