Defining Wellness
The Global Wellness Institute defines wellness as “the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health.”
So logically, there should be no surprise that wellness is multifaceted that goes beyond just physical health.
The following 6 areas summarise the finer components of wellness:
Emotional: Aside from being able to understand other peoples feelings; being able to understand and accepting our own feelings, and expressing them honestly.
Environmental: Developing positive relationships between everything around you and making positive choices in life.
Mental: Embrace creativity and engage PROACTIVELY.
Physical: Maintaining your health through balancing Exercise, Nutrition & Sleep.
Social: Engaging with others around you in a meaningful manner.
Spiritual: Searching for meaning and higher purpose.
All of these factors are known to impact musculoskeletal health. The national institute of clinical excellence (NICE) provides evidence based guidance to the NHS, alongside other health care services. Based on these guidelines, our top tips for keeping on top of your wellbeing are:
Mindful Walking: Even a short burst of 10 minutes of brisk walking increases our mental alertness, energy and positive mood. Participation in regular physical activity can increase your self-esteem and can reduce stress and anxiety.
Restricting Screen Time: Several studies have shown how excessive screen time is negatively impacting us through adopting sloppy postures. Increase your general wellbeing by implementing some basic rules around your phone usage.
Engaging in Strength exercises: Current NICE guidelines, as indicated by NHS (2019) recommend 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise. Additionally, the guidelines also encourages in 2 days of strength exercises per week. Anything less than 30 minutes of exercise a week is considered as sedentary behavior, which runs the risk of sarcopenia. This may impact patient’s mood and quality of life as muscle atrophy is directly associated with general weakness. This could impact the psychological profile of a patient’s wellbeing.
