Your quality of life is, without doubt, subjective. No one can tell you how to live your life because everyone defines a high quality of life in different terms. The general definition is the standard of health, comfort, and happiness experienced by an individual or group. Furthermore, these are a few universal ways that are guaranteed to improve your quality of life.
Get Sufficient Sleep
Sleep is undervalued, especially amongst teens but is actually very vital for everyone. It advocates for overall health and personal well-being. Without a sufficient amount of sleep, you get mood swings, you are unable to stay awake during the day, and you are a risk to not only yourself but to the people around you! Insufficient sleep directly affects your quality of life, as it affects your health, comfort, and happiness.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, the recommended amount of sleep for specific age groups are:
14-17: 8-10 hours
18-25: 7-9 hours
26-64: 7-9 hours
65 >: 7-8 hours
Exercise
Whether it is doing a thirty-minute hit workout or a ten-minute jog, it is moving your body and therefore is exercising. When people think of exercise, they think of fitness junkies, but that is not entirely what exercise is, nor what it looks like. Exercise is an activity performed to improve your health and fitness. Apart from physical changes in your body, exercise accounts for other improvements as well. It can improve your memory and mood, increase your lifespan, as well as other long-term advantages.
Read
From self-help books to thriller novels, there are many books of different genres for everyone. Reading can benefit your everyday life. Self-help and educational books can expand your knowledge and increase your brain connectivity. Fictional books increase your vocabulary and comprehension, reduce stress, and alleviate depression and anxiety symptoms. In 2020, Business Insider posted a list of 44 books they believe everyone should read in their lifetime to become a more well-rounded person. These books are known to make you think and can be used to apply the knowledge from these books in the real-life world.
Develop a Positive Mindset
In theory, developing a positive mindset can seem effortless and unchallenging, but in practice, it takes failed attempts and many self-corrections. To develop a positive mindset, you must practice gratitude. To do this, you can keep a gratitude journal where you can write things you are thankful for or look forward to. Your mindset is quite powerful as people are hateful and judge every little thing about themselves, which turns into low self-esteem, self-hatred, and a negative mindset. Once you become more patient, kind, and love yourself, you are free to love the people around you and are a better version of yourself. This instantly improves your quality of life, as a positive mindset applies to the theory of the law of attraction. The law of attraction is based on the belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences in one’s life. With a positive mindset, all of life’s wonders are attainable.
Appreciate the Life Around You
To improve your quality of life, appreciating the life you are in plays a big factor. Many strive for the next big race, the next box to check off on the list, invariably looking forward to the next big thing. A result of this causes one to constantly become distracted and forget about the life around them. A person with a high quality of life has the time to appreciate the life around them which leads them to be content with their life radiating positive energy.
Give Yourself Mental Health Breaks
Many believe that one should be working constantly like a machine in order to have a high quality of life, but that is not at all true. If one does not take mental health breaks, it can lead to burnout. Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion that is caused by prolonged stress, more information on burnout is provided by Helpguide.org. Mental health is crucial to one's well-being, and that is why mental health breaks have many advantages. Breaks tend to be associated with procrastination and laziness, however breaks mean taking rest to recover from stress. When taking a break, you are restoring your energy to prevent burnout. Mental health breaks are just as necessary as working hard to reach your goals, which can mean something different for every person.
To improve your quality of life, these are just a few changes you can make. Always take into consideration that these changes do not occur easily, and it can be difficult to turn these into habits. A helpful tip is to start small and work your way up to attain the goal. Finally, remember that progress is progress; no matter how big or small.
Sources
“Oxford Languages and Google - English.” Oxford Languages, languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/.
Team, Brain and Spine. "Here's What Happens When You Don't Get Enough Sleep (And How Much You Really Need a Night)." Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic. Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic, 11 Mar. 2021. Web. 13 Apr. 2021.
Bridges, Frances. "7 Habits That Will Improve Your Life In 2019." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 28 Jan. 2019. Web. 13 Apr. 2021.
"Top 10 Benefits of Physical Activity." American Physical Therapy Association. 08 Feb. 2021. Web. 13 Apr. 2021.
Stanborough, Rebecca Joy. "Benefits of Reading Books: For Your Physical and Mental Health." Healthline. Healthline Media, 15 Oct. 2019. Web. 13 Apr. 2021.
"The Importance of Taking Breaks." The Wellbeing Thesis. 14 Jan. 2020. Web. 13 Apr. 2021.
"Law of Attraction (New Thought)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 09 Apr. 2021. Web. 13 Apr. 2021.
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