6 Self-Care Essentials for a Healthier, Happier You

Lori Bray-Levinsohn, CHHC

What does it mean to be your healthiest self? Answering that question requires first understanding the difference between two terms that are often used interchangeably: health and wellness. What is the difference between health and wellness? And what kind of actionable steps can you take this year to start achieving your wellness goals? Use the toolkit below to get started.

What is the Difference Between Health and Wellness?

“Health” and “wellness” are terms that are often used either together (“health and wellness”) or interchangeably. These concepts are, indeed, inextricably linked to the other: you cannot have health without wellness, just as you cannot have wellness without health. But there are important differences in meaning between the two words. So what is the difference between health and wellness?

Health and Wellness Definitions

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines these terms this way:
  1. Health: the WHO describes health as a “state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
  2. Wellness: Well-being, or wellness, is defined by the WHO as “a positive state experienced by individuals and societies. Similar to health, it is a resource for daily life and is determined by social, economic and environmental conditions. Well-being encompasses quality of life and the ability of people and societies to contribute to the world with a sense of meaning and purpose.”
A simple way to think about the connection between health and wellness is that wellness is the active process required to grow, change, and achieve the ultimate goal, which is overall health. Wellness is not just the process of working towards physical health. Wellness, which is multifaceted and multidimensional, includes physical, social, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and financial wellness. To start or keep progressing on your personal wellness journey, we recommend these self-care essentials. Think of the products below as a helpful tool in your toolkit to make sure you’re tending to each element of wellness.

6 Types of Wellness

Emotional Wellness

Emotional wellness involves using effective strategies to reduce stress, set healthy boundaries, prioritize rest, maintain meaningful connections, and focus on mindful awareness. To help support a balanced mood and a restful night’s sleep, try Quantum Nutrition Labs Sleep & Mood, a botanical supplement that promotes deep sleep, emotional balance, relaxation, healthy mood, and mental tranquility.

Physical Wellness

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommend six key strategies for physical wellness:
  1. Get active. Regular physical activity is crucial to a self-care routine.
  2. Maintain your muscles.
  3. Find a healthy weight.
  4. Eat a healthy diet. This includes proper hydration.
  5. Mind your metabolism.
  6. Build healthy habits. Build healthy habits to be your best self.
To support your journey getting active and maintaining your muscle strength and flexibility, you can also add Innovative CBD OVA Muscle Rub, an organic menthol topical pain ointment and muscle rub for sore muscles, joints, back and shoulder pain, to your routine.

Social Wellness

All humans need companionship and social connection: social wellness is just as much a part of health as physical and mental wellness. If anxiety makes it difficult for you to meet friends or participate in social activities you enjoy, try adding a supplement like Solgar Stress & Anxiety Relief w/ Ashwagandha and Saffron, which contains clinically studied ingredients that support stress reduction and anxiety relief, to your wellness regimen.

Mental Wellness

Expanding and strengthening your mental health, acuity and cognitive functioning can help improve focus, concentration, memory, and problem solving skills. To further support your cognitive health, look for supplements packed with ingredients that support brain health. Start with Ancient Nutrition Focused Brain, a powerful blend of superfood ingredients traditionally used to enhance cognitive function, including Regenerative Organic Certified lion’s mane, ginkgo biloba, and bracopi brahmi leaf.

Spiritual Wellness

Spiritual wellness describes the experience of feeling connected to a sense of purpose. However you find ways to tend to a spiritual wellbeing, be sure to start from within. Meditation and mindfulness practices are an easy, flexible way to start improving your spiritual wellness, beginning from the inside. You can enhance moments of meditation or mindfulness with aromatherapy blends, such as Pranarom Meditation Essential Oil Diffusion Blend, a blend meticulously crafted to foster a serene and contemplative atmosphere, featuring a harmonious blend of spikenard and frankincense.

Environmental Wellness

Your environment plays a notable role in your health and wellness. The products and things that surround you at work and at home can affect all elements of health. Keep your environment clean with non-toxic products like Zum Zum Clean Granite & Countertop Cleaner, a gentle yet effective formula that takes your kitchen, counters, and more from dirty to pristine without ammonia, bleach or artificial acids.

Financial Wellness

Financial wellness can help reduce stress and plays an important role in all other elements of health and wellness. Stick to a budget while still accessing the best supplement products by checking NHC.com's Sales and Deal's page for monthly discounts.
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About the Author

Lori Bray-Levinsohn, CHHC

Lori Bray-Levinsohn, CHHC, is a Certified Holistic Health Coach and received her Certificate from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). At IIN, she studied dietary theories, contemporary health issues and topics, and Eastern and Western nutrition with some of the world’s top health and wellness experts. While recognizing each client’s bio-individuality, Lori works with people, helping them discover their primary & secondary nutrition choices as they create a healthier lifestyle.

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