You invest your money, but do you invest in your health?
Many of us are familiar with financial investing. We purchase insurance, stocks, precious metals, property, bonds, and even cryptocurrency with the hope of a return on investments in the future. Investing involves giving up some form of instant gratification at present resulting in an increased chance of more rewards down the road. There was a famous experiment conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel at Stanford University where 32 children aged 3-6 years of age were offered a choice between having a marshmallow or receiving 2 marshmallows if they could wait 15 mins. Those that were able to successfully delay gratification, had better life outcomes, SAT scores, educational attainment, and body mass index. This is the fundamental principle of investing - to delay gratification.
The same principle applies to our health, yet many of us do not place as much emphasis on health as we do on our finances. It is a pity because health truly is wealth. The cost of healthcare in Singapore can be high and the avoidance of chronic disease saves not only on medical expenses but also time taken for medical appointments. By making the right lifestyle choices, many preventable diseases can be kept away. Let's explore possible reasons why people do not invest in health and how we can make the change.
Young people think they are invincible and it might be true to some extent. They are less susceptible to chronic diseases, still have high metabolic rates, and hence can afford more calories before putting on extra body fat and also recover faster from any physical injuries. They may think it is going to last forever but the notion cannot be further from the truth. Whatever lifestyle habits you develop will follow you as you grow older. Form good habits and it pays off when you are old. Form bad ones and you have a behavior pattern that is hard to kick. If you do not develop healthy eating or regular exercise when you are young, there is going to be much more inertia to do so as you age. Take smoking for example. Researchers found that the younger you start smoking, the more likely you were a daily smoker in your 20s and less likely to quit in your 40s.
As you enter the middle age bracket, you enter the sandwich generation whereby your responsibilities mount. You are responsible for taking care of both the older and younger generation while expected to be at the peak of your career. The common reason for not leading a healthy lifestyle is "no time". Parents can testify to this, sleep deprivation becomes accepted as part of parenthood with endless to-do lists along with carrying the burden of their children’s academic stress as the children enter the education system, together with the stress they have to bear from daily life. If you do not have the means to decompress, stress may affect your health negatively. Middle age is also the time when you would start to realize your falling metabolism and recovery. Adiposity comes more easily and it takes longer to heal physical injuries. It would even take days to recover from a late night out, something that did not used to happen in the young. If we are not careful, certain chronic diseases start to creep up on us. Typically a diagnosis of diabetes and hypertension happens in the middle-aged. A diagnosis does not necessarily mean it's the be-all and end-all. If the right choices are made and sufficient lifestyle changes are made, some of these preventable diseases may be managed if not reversed. However, if the call to change is not heeded, you might continue the path of lifelong medication dependence.
As for the older age group, some have given up. They may have the thinking that sickness and death are part and parcel of life and hence accept poor health. They may think that they do not need to change their ways as they have less time on earth and continue a hedonistic lifestyle. There is another group that does not understand that the human body is adaptable. Positive changes can still happen in the elderly. That you can be functionally stronger and more able-bodied compared to your younger self. I have personally observed these changes in countless patients I have met through the years working as a physiotherapist. I have seen strength gains happening in 83-year-old men who devote time to train. Improved function with months of training in 90-year-olds. Adaptations happen at any age. So how do we invest in our health? Below are a few tips for every age group.
The young
Start inculcating healthy habits
Just like saving, we are trying to build good habits that will yield returns much later in life. This may include increasing physical activity, eating healthier, spending more time outdoors, and not staying up late at night.
Choose the right friends
Making the right friends will cause you to be positively influenced. It is like choosing the right stock. The right company with the right leadership will bring more growth than a company with weak leadership and huge debt. Whom do you think can influence you to live healthier, friends who love drinking and hanging out late at night or friends who love working out and spending time in nature?
The middle age
Schedule time for health
Due to busy schedules, if you do not schedule time for exercising or relaxing, chances are they will not happen. An example would be to do a 30 min walk at 7 pm or 15 mins body weight exercises at 6.30 am.
Doing some is better than none
Sometimes, we adopt an all-or-nothing attitude toward health. If they cannot do a 30 min walk, they miss it altogether, or if they already had an unhealthy meal, they just let loose and have ice cream for dessert and instant noodles for post-dessert. The truth is every step counts. If you cannot afford 30 mins of exercise, how about 10 mins? If you relapsed from your intended diet and had some fried chicken, eat healthy the rest of the day. Every step we take away from unhealthy behavior takes us one step closer to good health.
The elderly
Reject the notion that sickness is part of life
We need to reject the notion that sickness is part of life. There is a Chinese saying “ shen lao bing shi” which translates to “birth, age, sickness, death”. It is possible to be old and healthy. You can be stronger, fitter, move better, eat better and have better relationships. A better belief stolen from the motto of ACS would be “the best is yet to be”.
Find meaning in staying healthy
The reason why we should stay healthy is so that we can lead a fulfilling life. A fulfilling life requires meaning. Some people may wish to be healthy so they can continue to contribute to society or to their family. Some want to travel with their loved ones. After retirement, some people find new hobbies or accomplish new goals they did not have time to complete while they were working. Some stay healthy so they can watch their grandchildren grow up and participate actively in their lives.
For those who do not invest in your health, I hope this article may allow you to view health differently and hope that the tips can help kick start your journey towards better health. For those who need more educational content, please check out my previous blogs. For those who wish to speak to a health coach, click CONTACT ME to get in touch with me, I would love to help you take the next step in the path of health.
References
Mischel, Walter; Ebbesen, Ebbe B. (1970). "Attention in delay of gratification". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 16 (2): 329–337. doi:10.1037/h0029815. S2CID 53464175.
https://www.heart.org/en/news/2020/04/08/smoking-habit-that-starts-early-is-harder-to-kick
