In life, the choices we make dictate the life we lead, and for many of us, 2020 has given an opportunity to slow down and reflect on our lifestyle choices. Our lifestyles inform our outlooks, interests, and quality of life. As our needs and goals change, so do our habits in our lifestyle.
Are You Ready for a Change?
There are many different types of lifestyles from an active lifestyle, healthy lifestyle, simple lifestyle or a clean living lifestyle. The evolution of our lifestyles throughout our lives is a journey, and it can be lived out on a spectrum. Tools and practices can be taken from different types of lifestyles in order to create a way of life that works best for you.
What is Clean Living?
A clean living lifestyle describes an individual who leads their life in a healthy and more considerate way. It’s often used in the context of people thinking about the impact their purchases make in regards to others and the environment. This could mean using less meat, buying conscious products, and lowering the waste they add to landfills. A clean living lifestyle is not the pursuit of leading a ‘pure’ life, but rather adopting habits that help us be our best selves.
What are the Benefits of a Clean Living Lifestyle?
- Better Health
Like most other healthy lifestyles, a clean living lifestyle ensures that we’re in better health. When we develop clean living practices, our bodies are more capable of fighting off chronic diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, depression, and obesity. As we age, our immune systems get weaker, so a clean living lifestyle can help fend off genetic diseases and improve immunity as well.
- Increased Energy
Some of the best practices for leading a clean lifestyle contribute to our energy levels. When we are being conscious of what we eat, the quality of our sleep, and maintaining regular exercise routines, our stamina and body strength get better. As a result, we have more energy to devote to our purposes and passions.
- Better Mood
When we think about our health, we often focus on physical factors, but our mental health and mood are just as important. Our motivation, energy, and purpose is affected by our mood. Leading a clean lifestyle means we have effective tools to handle stress and have more energy to tackle the obstacles that can stand in the way. Harbouring healthy self-talk, practicing gratitude, and checking-in with our emotions in a kind way are all tools that can help our mood. When we practice emotional self-care, we benefit with motivation and a sense of purpose.
- Improved Quality of Sleep
Sleep is crucial to repair and restore our bodily functions, and it’s an important factor that is intertwined with other benefits of this lifestyle. When our bodies are on a routine of eating clean, exercising, managing stress, and going to bed at the same time every night, our quality of sleep improves. When we lead a clean living lifestyle, our sleep cycle is affected positively, which helps all of our other functions improve throughout our days.
- A Healthy You Equals a Healthy Planet
Leading a clean lifestyle means to not only consider the nutritional value of our food, but to consider the impact our food purchases have on our environment. Most of the food we find in our grocery stores are processed, packaged, and shipped from around the world. While having access to most fruits and vegetables year round is convenient, it does have a harmful effect on our environment. Living clean means being conscious of this cause and effect and opting to buy seasonally and locally if possible. Also, not only is the way we procure food harmful for the environment, but so is the waste created from it. To avoid food waste and packaging to pile up in landfills, opting to recycle packaging and compost food waste helps lessen our carbon footprint.
Where Should I Start?
There is no right place to start when making changes to your lifestyle. Be kind to your journey and the journey of others. By being kind to ourselves and others, and not judging, we harbour less emotional baggage and foster better relationships. Be open to all the possibilities that are out there. Some lifestyle habits may stick, others won’t. Stay true to your journey to find the right lifestyle to fit your life.
Written by Eleni Zaptses
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