Healthy lifestyles
In a nutshell
There are four things humans need for a healthy lifestyle: a balanced diet, regular exercise, adequate sleep and avoiding habits that are damaging to health. This summary focuses on the last three necessities.
Exercise
Exercise includes any movement that requires physical effort, intended to improve health and fitness. Exercise uses up energy from food so lack of exercise can contribute to weight gain. Children need around 60 minutes of exercise daily.
Benefits of exercise
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Prevention of some diseases
- A healthier heart and muscles
- Stronger lungs
- Improved coordination, flexibility and strength
Sleep
Sleep is important for both physical and mental health. When you sleep the body rests and is able to repair itself. A lack of sleep can lead to disease and poor body function. Most people need around 8 hours of sleep.
Habits damaging to health
A habit is something done repeatedly, it can be positive, but some habits are negative and cause damage to the body. Many habits can cause addiction which is when people become dependent on something. To stay healthy it is important to avoid the bad habits listed below.
Drugs
A drug is a substance that affects the body's processes, some drugs are legal like tobacco, alcohol and paracetamol and others are illegal like marijuana. Many legal and illegal drugs are also addictive and can cause damage to the body if used improperly.
Type of drug
| Explanation
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| Prescription drugs | Some drugs like antibiotics are prescribed by health care professionals or bought over the counter to treat, cure, prevent or diagnose a disease. These drugs are generally safe when used in line with the instructions.
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| Smoking | Smoking is bad for health as smoke contains toxic chemicals that can cause cancer and damage the lungs. Smoking is a legal habit that is hard to break because people become addicted to a chemical in tobacco called nicotine.
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| Alcohol | Alcohol is made by the fermentation of sugars and can also be addictive because it causes the brain to produce feel-good hormones. It also reduces coordination and slows reaction times, making people more vulnerable to damage. Over time, abuse (overuse) of alcohol can damage the liver.
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| Solvents | Solvent abuse is when somebody deliberately inhales a substance like glue or lighter fluid that can cause symptoms of dizziness. This is sometimes called 'getting high', solvent abuse can cause death.
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