Your Health Is Your Wealth: The Importance of Investing in Your Health
The daily choices we make and the activities we engage in impact our quality of life. While health problems and expenses might be an expected norm with age, there are ways you can minimize or even avoid them altogether.
At Aviv Clinics Dubai, we believe making more conscious decisions today will give you the healthspan you deserve. Learn the importance of investing in your health and nine ways to get started.
Note: Speak to your doctor before you pursue any lifestyle changes.
1. Consider the MIND Diet
Eating healthy has been a consistent mantra over the years, and for good reason—there is a connection between diet and disease. A healthy diet is the foundation for feeling good.
While there are numerous diet trends out there, there is one truly worth your time and investment—the MIND diet.
The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet is a blend of two highly effective diets:
- Mediterranean: Consists of a heart-healthy eating plan
- DASH: Aims to address hypertension or high blood pressure
Studies illustrate the MIND diet is “associated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.”
Sticking to this diet that entails a variety of fruits and vegetables provides anti-inflammatory effects on the brain. This impact can strengthen brain cell structure and help regulate anxiety and mood.
2. Engage in Intermittent Fasting
We know—fasting doesn’t sound like the most exciting thing. But consider intermittent fasting. Not only can you achieve a healthy body composition, but you can also improve your brain health—all without strict dietary restrictions.
Intermittent fasting is a dietary lifestyle that comprises alternating periods of eating and fasting and limiting the number of hours you consume calories during the day/week.
This metabolic switching:
- “Promotes neuroplasticity and resistance of the brain to injury and disease”
- May “decrease the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in mice through changes to the gut microbiota”
3. Stay Educated on Fall Prevention Tactics
“Falls in older adults are a reasonably common occurrence.” Conditions that become prevalent as we age (e.g., muscle weakness, osteoporosis, and balance and gait problems) make us more susceptible to falls.
The key ingredient to prevention? Exercise. This entails:
- Strength training
- Cardio training
- Balance training
- Flexibility training
Other fall prevention tactics are just as important.
- Keep your home clear of clutter and trip hazards such as cords, books, shoes, etc.).
- Install grab bars in the bathroom and handrails in the hallways and stairways.
- Avoid wearing clothing that drags on the ground.
- Wear non-slip socks or shoes around the house.
- Take a pause after standing up and before beginning to walk.
4. Find Helpful Ways to Cope with Stress
Stress is inevitable, and the body and mind are biologically equipped to handle it. But sometimes, when the stress gets overwhelming, it can have adverse effects. ”Stress affects not only memory and many other brain functions, like mood and anxiety, but also promotes inflammation.”
Chronic stress can:
- Kill brain cells.
- Cause memory decline.
- Negatively impact mental health.
Whether you are grieving or dealing with a major change in your life, it’s essential to find healthy coping mechanisms for stress:
- Make time for physical activity: At Aviv Clinics, we recommend 30 minutes of exercise three days a week at a minimum. Exercise benefits the brain by releasing endorphins, helping relieve pain, and improving mood. The key is to find an activity you enjoy—this will make exercise fun and feel less like a chore.
- Be conscientious about screen time. Experts say, “The goal isn’t to eliminate screens from your life; it’s to imbue the time you spend on screens with ‘intentionality.’” When used wisely and with purpose, technology offers worthy benefits. But misusing it can cause more harm than good. Thus, stay aware and focus on balancing screen time with other activities.
- Meditate. Not only is meditation a great activity to do instead of “doom scrolling” on your screen, but meditation may promote several benefits such as “reduction of cognitive decline” and “increase in quality of life.”
5. Focus on Body Composition Instead of Weight
A low number on the bathroom scale doesn’t necessarily mean all is well. Indeed, society’s obsession with the scale can lead to problems like declining muscle mass—a condition that will do more harm than good later in life.
So toss that unhealthy relationship with the bathroom scale. Instead, look at your overall body composition.
For example, Aviv Clinics uses the seca scale to get a precise rundown of the meaning behind a person’s weight. This scale helps us develop an accurate and customized treatment plan—losing body fat, gaining muscle, or a combination of both.
Speak to your doctor to gain a comprehensive assessment of your body composition so you can make appropriate, personalized goals.
6. Stick to a Consistent Sleep Schedule
Since the sleep hormone melatonin naturally decreases with age, it’s vital to set up healthy sleeping habits. This entails turning off all electronics an hour before bedtime and getting in bed at the same time each night. Doing so will promote natural circadian rhythms and maintain cognitive health.
7. Engage in Games
Investing in your health doesn’t have to be boring—it can include games!
That’s right, playing brain games is a fun and active way to train your brain. Researchers report “the effectiveness of cognitive intervention in maintaining cognitive health over the long-term.”
The brain functions similarly to muscles building muscle fibers after exercise—it promotes new neurons and neuronal connections after participating in games.
8. Listen to More Music
When was the last time you truly listened to music? What kinds of images and memories did it elicit?
Music offers far more advantages than helping you get through a grueling drive or setting the tone for a party. The best part is these benefits are backed by research.
Studies illustrate music can:
- Improve “cognitive function in people living with dementia, as well as quality of life after the intervention and long-term depression.”
- Reduce “measures of anxiety in a population of residential care patients with dementia.”
- Provide “better sleep quality” for “adults who listened to 45 minutes of music before going to sleep.
9. Find a Research-Backed HBOT Program
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a treatment in which the patient breathes 100% pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Aviv’s luxury, state-of-the art hyperbaric oxygen therapy suites are the largest and most advance in Dubai and the surrounding region.
Several studies illustrate the potential of HBOT in improving cognitive, physical, and psychological performance when administered in a specific protocol. Aviv Clinic’s HBOT protocol fluctuates oxygen levels during each hyperbaric session. This system increases oxygen levels in the body up to 20 times higher than normal and boosts your brain’s ability to heal.
The unique medical program at Aviv Clinics consists of a treatment program that include this same research-backed HBOT protocol along with cognitive training, dietary coaching, and physical performance training in a physician-designed program tailored to each client’s needs.
This holistic approach gives each patient the personalized care they deserve for their unique health conditions. Our clients have optimized their athletic performance with HBOT and have found relief from debilitating medical conditions such as stroke and traumatic brain injury.
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Invest in Your Health at DP World’s Aviv Clinics Dubai
The Aviv Medical Program stands by a holistic treatment program that targets all areas discussed above. A series of independent clinical trials illustrate how our program helps treat the symptoms of different health conditions.