Tim Irvine
I’m often asked, “If you could make one recommendation for overall health, what would it be?”
Man, that’s a tough one. Sometimes being science and evidence based is restrictive. Each situation is different and my ‘one piece of advice’ would be different for everyone. Individuals require individual approaches.
There are an almost infinite number of possible answers to this, but I’m going to provide two personal favorites to this question: 1a and 1b.
1a is to move in nature. It doesn’t matter to me if you are walking, rolling, running, or biking. Just get out and move in nature. The movement and the greenery have been studied extensively and there is an overabundance of evidence 100% of the population will benefit from both.
1b is to sleep well. As with moving in nature, the benefits of sleep for body and brain are extensively proven scientifically. Recovery, emotional control, cognitive ability, hormonal profiles, etc. Good consistent sleep is incredibly beneficial to your overall health. It’s not up to me to tell you how much that is because everyone is different. If you want a guideline, I’d say 7.5 – 8 hours nightly, uninterrupted. If you are wondering what your natural schedule is, you would need to sleep without an alarm clock for at least a week or two, and on those last two days of the period, you would find out how many hours you sleep naturally. That would then become your nightly goal.
So, there you have it, my one-ish answer to the magical question. You are seriously ‘winning’ when you are doing both above well.
Now I have a question for you? Which one do you think you could improve the most on, and what will you do to take one small step in that direction? Information is power, but information and action is what really counts.