What does the right balance look like?
Maintaining balance with our habits nutritionally, mentally, and physically.
What is balance and why is it important?
Balance is defined as an even distribution, or equal relation between different elements.
The idea of bringing balance into one’s life is a hard concept to grasp, and for that matter to objectively measure. The priorities of individuals vary greatly, what may be important for one person may not even come up on another person’s radar.
Striving towards creating a balanced lifestyle is truly about feeling content, sometimes this may mean releasing the idea that it all needs to be figured out or extra energy needs to be forced in one direction or another.
To find a way to integrate more balance into your lifestyle start to look at personal values and priorities, what areas have a strong emphasis, and where it may be lacking. An easy place to start is by a self-check-in, looking at mood and energy level. Feelings of fatigue, overwhelm, stress or general draining feelings could indicate overexertion and a need for rest.
The nervous system and balance
Finding balance within the nervous system can be an easy way to start connecting with feelings of balance. Looking at the moment-to-moment physiological interactions a person goes through each day there is a rise and fall in blood pressure, hormone release, and circadian rhythms of systems.
An example of balancing or controlling the nervous system can be done by focused breath work, if the goal is to bring the body to a centered neutral point; focusing on slowing and calming the breath can activate the parasympathetic systems. This can help to maintain a homeostatic balance within the body.
Using a focus on breath can help find a point in which a person feels a neutral sensation. Finding this sensation can then help to indicate areas in which this sensation may feel off, this could look like stress, fatigue, anxious feelings, low energy, or heightened emotional response. Taking a step back to refocus can bring clarity to what may feel off balance.
Areas that can be helpful to think about in lifestyle balance and regulation of energy or nervous system responses are known as dimensions of wellness.
How does wellness play a role in balance?
Wellness is a term that encompasses multiple aspects of a person’s health, it is not merely the absence of disease. Dimensions of wellness include; emotional, physical, spiritual, social, occupational, intellectual, environmental, and financial (Stoewen, 2017). These areas help to bring awareness to foundations that interact with one another. If a person’s needs are not being met in one of these categories it can bring about hardships or stress in their life and start to affect other areas.
Cultural differences
In a culture that supports extreme productivity and a constant feeling of “go, go, go”, it can create pressures to be exerting energy in multiple different directions at all times.
In a study looking at work-life balance, participants were enrolled in a program to help increase both productivity and personal health by focusing on support in other areas of their lives. “Reflecting and strengthening inner resources seemed to be key components to enhancing balance in everyday life, this process was described as strengthening and a feeling of empowerment often occurred” (Agosti et al., 2019).
During the study, they emphasized thinking of life as a whole, not solely focused on work-based relations. It was noted that if the participants felt good about themselves and their families, this affected their feelings about work and vice versa (Agosti et al., 2019). Concluding evidence showed participants were better able to set boundaries, engage in relaxation, and felt an increase in overall well-being (Agosti et al., 2019).
Don’t forget to take a breather
Sometimes less is more. When looking at creativity, mental fatigue, and intellectual health they may seem to be describing different characteristics, however, they do have a few things in common. Taking periods to rest or have mindful moments can give space for the mind to relax and recalibrate, often giving way for more creativity and mental recovery.
A concept known as burnout can happen when people are feeling overworked, causing exhaustion and affecting a person’s overall health. Ways to counteract experiencing burnout is bringing some balance into the lifestyle. Studies using leisure activities as an intervention tool for psychological and physical health had very interesting concluding evidence, pointing to vast health benefits. “Specifically, some leisure activities (e.g., vacations, siestas, coffee breaks) may serve as “breathers” that provide a chance to take a break, engage in a pleasurable diversionary activity, and consequently induce positive emotions and reduce stress” (Pressman et al., 2009).
These “breathers” are a way to break up daily stressors and help support an overall balance in life as well as supporting the regulation of the nervous system, protecting long-term health. When a person is feeling a sense of depletion or damage to their body’s resources they may be in need of more restorative leisure activities. Restorative activities can result in a person feeling deeply relaxed or cared for, some examples can be self-care practices or positive social interactions, both of which can help replenish positive emotions and reset the feeling of ongoing strain (Pressman et al., 2009).
Engaging in enjoyable leisure activities promotes positive mental health status, helps cope with stress, and aids in individuals feeling more refreshed. Participants “reported greater physical activity levels, life satisfaction, life engagement, social support as well as lower rates of depression; they had lower blood pressure, cortisol, BMI, and better perceived physical function, even after adjusting for the standard demographic variables” (Agosti et al., 2019).
We all have the same 24 hours in a day
A common complaint that is voiced is the concept of “not having enough time”, not enough time to get all the tasks done, and/or having enough time for relaxation or self-care.
Time management can be a helpful tool to find balance in one’s lifestyle. Time management can be something learned or practiced and supported through shifting in mindset and priorities. A study about healthy eating habits and lifestyle balance looked at a number of participants who had very demanding lives. The commonalities they shared were “due to a healthy balance being a result of internal coping strategies and priority setting rather than actual time demands” (Pelletier & Laska, 2012). “Between work, school, family responsibilities, etc. participants’ perceptions of having a healthy balance in their lives” were based not necessarily on the amount of time they had but rather on how they interpreted this and were able to cope (Pelletier & Laska, 2012).
Mindset can be a great way to help support mental health as well as a demanding schedule. Creating space to prioritize coping skills was essential to fulfilling healthy eating habits, mental health, and their busy schedules.
Other important factors for finding a balance.
In addition to balancing work habits, food habits, and coping with stress there are some tips on how to give back to the body and create restorative practices.
Breath focusing as mentioned before helps to soothe the nervous system and can be done consistently throughout the day whenever it feels necessary.
Hydration is also an essential component of the internal regulatory processes and balance within the body’s systems (Boschmann et al., 2003). The results of a study looking at water consumption rates showed that when a person increased their usual amount of water intake it had positive benefits on their sleep and waking moods, in the group which slightly decreased the amount of water intake they reported higher levels of agitation and irritability in emotions, with a reduction in satisfaction throughout the day (Pross et al., 2014).
Using small steps to bring more balance physiologically can aid in bringing more balance into other areas of lifestyle and wellbeing.
Movement has tremendous benefits for physical and mental health. It aids in helping support physiological processes, sleep, nervous system balance and many more. Using movement as a supportive practice can aid in feeling an increase in a balanced lifestyle. Finding balance within movement habits is also a way to support the restoration of the body.
Rest days are essential to rebuild and repair. High-intensity movements can be great for the body, having time to repair and restore the system helps increase the benefits of all the hard work. If there is no rest the body sees less benefit and can actually start to become depleted and affect the immune system. Finding a balance in routines is the best practice for supporting and maintaining wellness.
How balance impacts your health.
Balance is impactful for multiple aspects of overall health and well-being. The 8 major wellness health dimensions consist of: emotional, physical, spiritual, occupational, social, financial, and environmental. The interaction between these health dimensions can be an indication of a balanced lifestyle as well as a way to hone in or find areas in life that may need more or less attention.
Balance within the body helps physiological and psychological processes run smoothly and counteract chronic disease. Balancing emotions and stress levels are also impactful for the nervous system and personal relationships. Spending time doing activities that are enjoyable, relaxing, or socially engaging is proven to help restore the body and mind to prevent burnout.
Taking time to rest has been proven to be one of the most beneficial aspects in self-care. This pertains to rest days from intensive exercise as well as mental breaks throughout the day to promote productivity. Finding a way to feel content within your lifestyle not only affects work-life balance but also promotes feelings of well-being and presence in the other dimensions of life.
Overall Tips
- Check-in with yourself
- Set aside time for relaxation
- Finding coping skills that can be utilized when needed
- Practice self-care
- Hydrate
- Movement in a way that supports balance, don’t forget the rest days!
- Leisure activities are necessary! Having fun is restorative.
- Social interactions
- Journalling
Finding a way to organize and prioritize what is important to you or what you value on a personal level.
Interested in more health related topics, make sure to check out the Ate app.
References
Pelletier, J. E., & Laska, M. N. (2012). Balancing healthy meals and busy lives: associations between work, school, and family responsibilities and perceived time constraints among young adults. Journal of nutrition education and behavior, 44(6), 481–489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2012.04.001
Stoewen D. L. (2017). Dimensions of wellness: Change your habits, change your life. The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne, 58(8), 861–862.
Pressman, S. D., Matthews, K. A., Cohen, S., Martire, L. M., Scheier, M., Baum, A., & Schulz, R. (2009). Association of enjoyable leisure activities with psychological and physical well-being. Psychosomatic medicine, 71(7), 725–732. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181ad7978
Agosti, M. T., Andersson, I., Bringsén, Å., & Janlöv, A. C. (2019). “The importance of awareness, support and inner strength to balance everyday life” — a qualitative study about women’s experiences of a workplace health promotion program in human service organizations in Sweden. BMC women’s health, 19(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-018-0704-z
Michael Boschmann, Jochen Steiniger, Uta Hille, Jens Tank, Frauke Adams, Arya M. Sharma, Susanne Klaus, Friedrich C. Luft, Jens Jordan, Water-Induced Thermogenesis, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 88, Issue 12, 1 December 2003, Pages 6015–6019, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2003-030780
Pross, N., Demazières, A., Girard, N., Barnouin, R., Metzger, D., Klein, A., Perrier, E., & Guelinckx, I. (2014). Effects of changes in water intake on mood of high and low drinkers. PloS one, 9(4), e94754. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094754
