Health as a factor of three

Three weeks back I did a 30K run on the stunning hills of Mallanduru at Malnad Ultra, chikmagaluru, Karnataka. One of my friends commented that I had come a long way from running a 3K to 30K. I then realized that it happened over a span of 3 years. Wow, a lot of threes in there! Much before this run, having watched a lot of health videos on YouTube and Instagram, I noticed three was an important factor influencing health.

During my formative years, I got exposed to a popular saying:
When you are young, you have time and energy, but no money.
When you are an adult, you have money and energy, but no time.
When you are old, you have money and time, but no energy.
This really stuck into my young mind, and it’s always been a beacon of living life for me.

Three phases of life (Youth, adulthood and old age) and three dimensions (Money, Time and Energy). As a youth, although possible, it’s quite challenging to make money, while we are still reliant on family. However, making time during adulthood, and having energy in old age is completely possible, and has to be made a priority. We have seen umpteen examples of folks chasing money in their younger days and hoping to enjoy it in their old age, only to realize that it needs that youthful energy. Based on stories and experiences I have heard and seen online, having energy in old age depends on the lifestyle we lived in our younger days. We have examples of our grandparents and the past generations on how they lived a fulfilling healthy life until their 80’s and 90’s, without too much health issues. This was only possible due to the active lifestyle they pursued in their youthful days.

Let’s talk about lifestyle now. There are three most important lifestyle factors for a great health span: Sleep, Diet and Exercise. We all are aware of the trouble our body and the mind go through when any of these get compromised – Lethargy, irritability, obesity, etc. As wise folks say, “We will have hundreds of problems until some health problem comes along, and then we only have one problem“. Health span is the new fad – there is no point having a lengthy lifespan with lots of health issues. Goal of our lives should be to elevate and increase the health span.

Sleep – This is probably the most important factor of them all, although quite underrated. It’s a fad in the hustling circles that sleeping less is more. That is, until we truly understand the importance of a sound sleep. Adults must sleep around 7-9 hours of sleep every night for a healthy body and mind. There are three phases of sleep that we need to look out for – Deep sleep, REM and Light sleep. Light sleep is the entry stage where body prepares to rest before transitioning to other deeper phases. Deep sleep is where physical restoration happens. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage is where mental restoration happens as we enter our dreamland.

Light sleep usually makes up around 50-60% of total sleep. Heart rate and body temperature stabilizes and helps transitioning to deeper sleep. Deep sleep should usually be around 15-25% of total sleep. This is when the body undergoes physical restoration process – Muscles, tissues and bones get repaired, immunity is boosted. Body needs a good amount of deep sleep to awake fully refreshed in the morning. REM is the dreaming stage and makes up usually 20-25% of total sleep. This stage is important for brain development where emotional processing, creativity and memory consolidation happens. Try sticking to a sleeping routine and make no compromise, especially when the age is not on our side.

Diet – As the saying goes “You are what you eat“, diet plays an important role in maintaining a good healthy life. Home cooked food loaded with nutrients and vitamins are the best. We all know how fast-food results in ill-health. Thanks to our lack of patience, rushed schedules, and “acquired” tastes, we yield and surrender to junk food. Apart from the regular carbs and vitamins, there are 3 types of food source that we must ensure to add to our everyday diet: Proteins, Healthy fats and Fibers.

As part of ageing process, we lose muscles. Muscles are basically proteins, so diet should have good quantity of proteins to supplement this loss. It’s recommended to have around 1gm per kilogram of body weight – but it’s best to check with qualified doctor on the right quantity for you. Healthy fats are essential for brain function, vitamin and hormone production. Fibers are essential to a sound gut health, aiding in digestion and detoxification. Yes, we all know this, balanced diet, always!

Exercise – Move, just move. Any movement helps – Aim for around 30 mins everyday – yeah that number 3 again! Further, there are three types of exercises we all must do every week for a sound mind and body: Stretching, Strength and Endurance. Stretching helps in flexibility, blood circulation, mental relaxation, overall balance. Strength exercises help in building and maintaining muscles, improves bone and joint health, overall strength. Endurance helps to keep heart and lungs healthy, keep body fat and mental stress in check, and build muscle endurance. Since past few months, I have been doing around 30 mins of stretch plus strength training and 30+mins of running three times a week. Do whatever works for you, but just do it!

There are three core indicators of human longevity: Balance, hold strength and VO2 max. Having a good body balance reduces risk of falls, fractures and mobility decline. Stretching exercises like Yoga help here. Doing household chores like sweeping and mopping works as well. Strong strength levels show better metabolic health and bone density, core stability, joint control and functional resilience. Best part is we don’t need to hit the gym for strength training, body weight strength exercises like planks, pull-ups, push-ups, and squats, done in right posture do the job quite well. VO2 max is the body’s ability to use oxygen efficiently. Here V stands for volume, O2 for oxygen. Cardio exercises like brisk walking, running, skipping, cycling, swimming help us here, just pick your sport(s)!

Finally, a picture that speaks a thousand words (in this case maybe a few hundred though):

Do factor in three to your daily routine and have a healthy and wonderful life ahead!