New Year, how to have 'peace of mind and body'?

Sleeping without dreams, waking without worries, eating without fuss, and breathing deeply will help you have 'peace of mind and body'.

In 1946, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined health as: 'Health is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, but a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being'.

This definition shows that human body and mind are closely linked, and being healthy means "a happy body and mind". How can we have "a happy body and mind"?

Dreamless sleep

Sleep is not a complete cessation of activity but a special form of physical activity that helps the body restore energy consumed during waking hours. Dreamless sleep is sufficient, deep sleep and is the best way to restore vitality.

Exercises suitable for each person's body bring refreshment, freshness and health - Photo: DUYEN PHAN

We need to know that sleep is a rhythmic physiological phenomenon consisting of many cycles (each cycle lasts about 90 minutes). Each cycle consists of many stages: sleep onset, deep sleep, very deep sleep and finally paradoxical sleep.

Paradoxical sleep, also known as rapid eye movement sleep or REM sleep, accounts for 25% of the cycle, and dreams often occur during this stage.

The stages before the REM stage, which is the beginning of sleep, deep sleep, and very deep sleep, are called NREM sleep (short for Non Rapid Eye Movement sleep), which means sleep without rapid eye movement, accounting for 75% of the sleep cycle.

Sleeping with enough REM and NREM is enough to have a deep sleep. If you sleep deeply, even if you dream, you won't remember anything when you wake up.

The average amount of sleep is about 8 hours, but that is not always the case. Signs of adequate sleep include feeling refreshed, alert, and comfortable upon waking, and functioning normally during the day.

Nowadays, science has proven that getting enough sleep will give you good health, while lack of sleep will cause all kinds of diseases.

Thus, sleep is really important for health. And "dreamless sleep" is what people aim for in life and is a reflection that life has achieved "peace of mind and body".

Awake without worry

In today's life, it is very difficult to go from the moment we wake up in the morning until we fall asleep at night without a single moment of anxiety. It is the so-called "stress" that constantly weighs heavily on our souls that makes us feel more or less anxious. What is stress that is so terrible?

Peaceful and happy mind and body will be filled with happy energy - Photo: QUANG DINH

Stress is psychological pressure and changes in family and society that affect people and cause imbalance. The response of people under stress is to feel "tension and anxiety".

We need to note that stress is not always bad. In moderate doses, stress helps us to be excited, alert, and highly focused to deal with unfavorable situations. We will have positive thoughts, find ways to master reality, be determined to solve that crisis, and often succeed in overcoming stress without feeling too anxious.

However, if stress is repeated and we cannot control it, cannot adapt to the changes it brings, our body will be physically and mentally disturbed.

Many studies have shown that when stressed, the body undergoes changes (increased secretion of hormones such as glucocorticoids, adrenalin in the adrenal glands, somatostatin, prolactin, endorphins in the nervous system...) and these changes can become a risk factor for disease (such as gastric and duodenal ulcers and many other diseases).

In addition to the physical disorders mentioned above, frequent stress can also easily lead to mental disorders such as insomnia, mental breakdown, depression...

Thus, it is clear that "being awake without worries" is also what people aim for in life and is a reflection that life has somewhat achieved "peace of mind and body".

Eat without fuss

Eating without fuss means eating "enough" and eating "healthy". First of all, eating enough and balancing the 5 groups of nutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals).

Eat just enough to stay healthy - Photo: CHAU ANH

The word "balance" in eating is very important. We should not eat too much but just enough protein, fat, and carbohydrates. We should eat a lot of fresh vegetables, fruits, and whole grains because these are very good for health.

Eating "healthy" also means knowing how to eat and drink such as: always "eat cooked food, drink boiled water", old food needs to be cooked thoroughly before eating, well-preserved processed food, prevent flies, cockroaches, dust from entering, wash hands with soap before eating and after going to the toilet, working...

Take a deep breath

Breathing is what keeps us alive. Normal breathing uses only half of our lungs. Deep breathing uses almost all of our lungs, with the diaphragm working actively to massage the abdominal organs.

Deep breathing not only gives us life by taking in a lot of oxygen and releasing almost all the CO2 in our lungs, but also helps purify our mind.

Breathing deeply is breathing with complete awareness: "Breathing in, feel the belly expand. Breathing out, feel the belly contract." And with a pure mind: "Breathing in, the mind is calm, breathing out, the mouth smiles," and with a joyful mind.

According to Tuoitre