How’s Your Health On August’s National Wellness Month?

August is officially recognized as National Wellness Month, a dedicated time to focus on self-care, manage stress, and build healthy daily habits.
What is wellness? Wellness really means an active, conscious process of making choices and lifestyle habits that lead toward your full potential in holistic health, going far beyond just the absence of disease.
Wellness’s key focus areas are: Self-Care & Mindfulness: Taking time out of the day for meditation, breathing exercises, and mental health breaks; Physical Health: Engaging in regular exercise, walking, or yoga to keep the body active; Nutrition & Hydration: Eating balanced meals rich in fruits and vegetables while drinking plenty of water; and Rest: Prioritizing 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep to support mental and physical recovery.
In honor of National Wellness Month, we’re rounding up 10 ways you can celebrate by putting yourself first.
SCREENTIME BREAK: Getting lost in a screen after a long day can be easy, but it’s important to make sure you’re taking breaks away from your digital devices. But, that can be easier said than done.
STAY HYDRATED: One small thing you can do every day is focus on the amount of water you’re drinking! Set a goal amount for yourself and aim to reach that daily.
ADD SOMETHING NEW TO YOUR ROUTINE: Try to incorporate something new into your daily routine, like making a smoothie every morning or taking a few minutes when you wake up to practice mindfulness.
TRY NEW HEALTHY FOODS: Commit to trying new healthy foods and see how you can add them to your regular meal rotation. Start small and see what new favorite meals you could discover!
SET REALISTIC GOALS: Don’t overwhelm yourself trying to make several changes at once; look at your work/life balance and see what changes are realistic for you.
BECOME ORGANIZED: Make your environment more peaceful and less cluttered, that could mean a physical mess, or it could mean organizing your work files or email in a way that makes things less stressful for you.
FOCUS ON THE POSITIVES: At the end of the day, take some time to reflect on the positives of the day. What made you smile today? Did your friend send you a funny video? Nothing that has a positive impact on your day is too small!
CELEBRATE ALL WINS: Did you finally schedule that dentist appointment you’ve been putting off? Or did you respond to an email you were avoiding? Acknowledge and celebrate that you crossed something off your mental to-do list! The smallest things can be the most difficult.
TRY SOMETHING NEW: Find new things to try! See if there’s a fun workout video on YouTube that you can do right at home, a group workout class where you can meet new people, or maybe a new coffee shop you’ve been wanting to visit.
CHECK-IN ON YOUR MENTAL HEALTH: Assess your own mental health and see where you really are, reach out to your support network or professionals
if you need help; connect with help 24/7 by calling or texting 911.
There are three well-known traditional health sayings about wellness, and they are, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” (meaning it is easier to stop a problem before it starts), “Health is Wealth” (meaning good health is more valuable than money), and “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” (meaning good nutrition prevents illness); and “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” (meaning sleep and routine help you thrive).
What is wellness in one word? HEALTH, meaning wholeness, balance, and vitality.
Cheers to our good health and wellness!