August is National Wellness Month! The Global Wellness Institute defines wellness as the active pursuit of activities, choices, and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health1. As we move into August, we want to remind everyone of some tips, tricks, and ways to stay healthy to prioritize your wellness today and every day.
Drink Water: Hydration is key for keeping our bodies functioning in many ways. Seizures can be triggered by dehydration, so it is important to ensure you always have water available.
Tip: The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says that individual needs of water differ based on age, weight, and gender. On average adult women should drink nine glasses, or seventy-two ounces each day and adult men should drink approximately thirteen cups or one hundred and four ounces to remain hydrated.2
Trick: Buy a fun reusable water bottle! Some water bottles have recommended drinking times listed on them, this can serve as a reminder to drink throughout the day and hit the goals you’ve set for yourself.
Trick: Set reminders! Alarms and alerts on your phone or smart device can be a great reminder to drink water throughout the day.
Wash Your Hands Often: Maintaining good hygiene can help lessen the risk of catching colds and other infections.
Tip: Wash your hands with soap and water for at least twenty seconds in hot water before and after eating, after going to the bathroom, and after touching items in high-traffic areas (gas pumps, grocery carts, doorknobs in public areas).
Trick: Sing songs like “Happy Birthday”, or the chorus to your favorite song, while washing to ensure you are reaching twenty seconds of scrub time.
Trick: Always carry hand sanitizer with you to be prepared if there are no public sinks available.
Eat Healthy: Fruits and vegetables are important parts of a healthy diet.
Tip: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends eating 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables each day3.
Trick: Take a cooking class! One of the hardest parts of maintaining a balanced diet is trying to figure out what to cook. Cooking classes can help give you ideas and teach you the skills to prepare options.
Trick: Schedule grocery delivery. Many local grocery stores offer grocery pickup or delivery for free or low cost. Scheduling this at the beginning of each week can help reduce food waste and cut down on the amount of time needed to grocery shop.
Schedule Regular Check-Ups: Regular check-ups with your healthcare team including your primary care physician and dentist, as well as any of your specialty care doctors, are integral to maintaining your health.
Tip: In most cases, the recommendation is to see your primary care provider annually and go to the dentist every six months for a cleaning. These visits are also typically covered by insurance providers.
Trick: Schedule your next visit before leaving the office! Many doctors’ offices offer scheduling up to a year out.
Trick: Set appointment reminders. Don’t miss your appointment! A problem with setting appointments far in advance is the tendency to forget about them. Set reminders on your calendar and on your phone, if possible, to remind you. Speak to your doctor about what their process for reminders is, as many have reminder and recall systems in place.
Sleep: Sleep is crucial to our ability to function, and lack of sleep can be a trigger for many seizures.
Tip: The National Institute on Health recommends adults sleep between 7 and 9 hours each night4.
Trick: Make sure the area where you sleep is a relaxing place. Maintaining an area free of excess light, sounds, or strong smells can help with relaxing for sleep.
Trick: Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Maintaining a regular schedule can help with balancing our sleep schedule, making it easier to fall asleep each night and wake up feeling refreshed.
Seek Out Hobbies: One of the most important parts of our wellness is our mental health! Having hobbies, and activities that we do for fun outside of required tasks (such as working) are important to our overall health.
Tip: Having multiple options for hobbies can help ensure there is always something available when we need it. Having activities that are active, inactive, indoor, and outdoor can give us plenty of options to pick from!
Trick: Join a group activity! If you aren’t certain of what you would like to do, try different available groups and activities to learn the activity. Many local libraries and community organizations will offer different hobby groups and introductory classes.
Trick: Make a list of the things that bring you happiness and see if you can make one of them into a regular activity. An example could be if you love being outdoors, going for regular walks outdoors.
Learn Something New: Challenging our brains by always seeking out opportunities for learning and challenging ourselves is a great way to ensure mental wellness.
Tip: Not being challenged mentally can play a role in decreased executive functioning and increased risk of dementia.
Trick: Challenge yourself! Find options such as puzzles, learning, and exercise classes, that make you problem-solve, think deeply, and challenge you to keep your mind sharp.
Trick: Enroll in classes online or in-person to learn more about something that interests you!
Connect With Others: Having strong social connections is an important factor in an individual’s happiness and sense of self-worth.
Tip: Regular connection with a wide variety of people can help improve many factors in a person’s life.
Trick: Many of the above-listed tricks can help offer opportunities to get connections! Joining a group hobby or a class are great ways to meet like-minded individuals and create lasting connections.
Trick: Volunteer for agencies that resonate with your beliefs and interests. Volunteer work is a great way to meet people and gain a stronger sense of self and purpose.
Making life changes to improve your wellness can be overwhelming. The Epilepsy Foundation has many resources available to help you work on improving different factors of wellness. Creating short-term specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-sensitive (SMART) goals, starting small and building up to a big goal can be helpful in setting new healthy habits and seeking long-term wellness.
If you are concerned that you or a family member may be having seizures, please speak with your doctor. The information, including text, graphics, images, and other material on this website and provided by the Epilepsy Foundation of Northeastern New York, is for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
If you are interested in learning more about seizure recognition and first aid, please reach out to our team by calling (518) 456-7501 or visiting our website for additional resources.
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