Your Health and WellnessChapter 1, pages 4-31

Health

• The combination of your physical, mental/emotional, and social well-being

Physical Health

• How well your body functions.

• Having a high level of physical health means having enough energy to perform your daily activities, deal with everyday stresses, and avoid injury.

Physical Health

5 important lifestyle factors to keep a healthy body include:•Get 8-10 hours of sleep each night•Eat nutritious meals and drink 8 cups of water each day.

• Engage in 30-60 minutes of physical activity every day

• Avoid the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs.

• Bathe daily, and use floss and brush your teeth every day.

Mental/Emotional Health

• How you feel about yourself, how you relate to others, how you meet the demands of life, and how you cope with the problems that occur in your life

Mental/Emotional Health

People who are mentally and emotionally healthy:•Enjoy challenges that help them grow.•Accept responsibility for their actions.•Have a sense of control over their actions.

• Can express their emotions in appropriate ways.

• Usually can deal with life’s stresses and frustrations.

• Generally have a positive outlook.

• Make thoughtful & responsible decisions.

Mental/Emotional Health

Spiritual Health•Mental/Emotional health also includes spiritual health, a deep seated sense of meaning and purpose in life.

• Being spiritually healthy does not necessarily mean that you belong to a religious group, but involves having a sense of purpose and a sense of values.

Social Health

The way you get along with others.Maintaining healthy relationships involves:•Seeking and lending support when needed•Communicating clearly and listening to others

• Showing support and care for yourself and others.

Health Triangle

• A visual reminder that all aspects of health are of equal importance.

• If you concentrate too much or too little on one area, the triangle becomes unbalanced.

Wellness

• An overall state of well-being or total health.

• Wellness comes from making decisions and practicing behaviors that are based on sound health knowledge and healthful attitudes.

• Maintaining wellness means keeping a balance among the three components of health.

Health Continuum

• Your health changes throughout your lifetime.

• Your health at any moment can be seen as a point along a continuum, or sliding scale.

• The continuum spans the complete range of health, from loss of health and wellness at one end to high-level wellness at the other.

Influences On Your Health

• It is your responsibility to make healthy decisions and take actions to ensure your well being.

• Some common influences include:

1. Heredity2. Environment3. Attitude4. Behavior5. Media & Technology

Influences On Your Health

1. Heredity• All the traits and

properties that are passed along biologically from both parents to the child.

Influences On Your Health

2. Environment• Sum total of your

surroundings – your family, where you grew up, where you live now, and all your experiences

Influences On Your Health

2. Environmenta) Physical Environment• Includes home,

neighborhood, school, city, state, and country

Influences On Your Health

2. Environmentb) Social Environment• Includes family, friends

and other people with whom you come into daily contact.

Influences On Your Health

2. EnvironmentPeers• People of the same age

who share a similar range of interests.

Peer Pressure• The urge to follow along

with the crowd.a) Positive peer pressure

supports healthful decisions.

b) Negative peer pressure increases your health risks.

Influences On Your Health

2. Environmentc) Cultural Environment• Culture is the collective

beliefs, customs, and behaviors of a group.

• It includes influences placed upon us by society, religion and ethnic beliefs.

It may include:• Language you speak• Foods you eat• Your spiritual beliefs• Traditions you practice

Influences On Your Health

3. Attitude• The way you view a

situation.• Optimists are people

who “see the glass as half full” (positive) and are usually in better health than pessimists (negative) who “see the glass as half empty.”

Influences On Your Health

4. Behavior• How you choose to

respond to your environment.

• You have total control over your own behaviors.

Influences On Your Health

5. Media & Technology• One of the most

powerful influences on your health.

• Media are the various methods for communicating information.

• This content is delivered via technology, such as radio, television, the Internet, and through print media.

Risk Behaviors

• Actions and behaviors that can potentially threaten you health or the health of others.

• You can control most risk behaviors.

Risk Behaviors

1. Tobacco use2. Alcohol and other drug

use.3. Sexual behaviors that

may result in HIV infection, STDs, and unintended pregnancies.

4. Unhealthy eating habits.

5. Physical inactivity.6. Behaviors that

contribute to unintentional injuries and violence.

Cumulative Risks

Risks that increase gradually and may add up to a negative consequence that is greater than expected.•Related risks that increase in effect with each added risk (i.e. smoking, eating fatty foods, sunburns, etc.)

• Several risk factors that are combined (i.e. using cell phones while driving)

Cumulative Risks

You can protect your health and minimize the possibility of risk by:1. practicing positive health behaviors (i.e. wearing seat belts, checking water depth before diving, wearing a helmet)

2. Practicing prevention, taking steps to keep something from happening or getting worse (i.e. yearly medical and dental checkups)

Cumulative Risks

One of the most effective strategies for protecting your health is practicing abstinence, the deliberate decision to avoid high-risk behaviors (deciding not to do something).

Lifestyle Factors

Personal behaviors and habits related to the way a person lives, that help determine his or her level of health.

Lifestyle Factors

1. Get between 7-8 hours of sleep per night.

2. Eat breakfast every day.

3. Eat nutritious foods from the various food groups each day.

4. Do 30-60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week.

5. Maintain your recommended weight.

6. Refrain from smoking and using tobacco products.

7. Do not use alcohol or other drugs.

Health Education

Providing of accurate health information and teaching health skills in such a way as to influence people to change attitudes so that they make positive decisions about their health.

Healthy People 2020

A nationwide health promotion and disease prevention plan designed to serve as a guide for improving the health of all people in the United States.•The plan is revised every 10 years

• The title changes according to the year in which the plan’s goals apply.

Healthy People 2020

Goals of Healthy People 2020 include:1.Promote the best possible health in order to end preventable death, illness, injury, and disability.2.Eliminate health disparities.

3. Make wellness a way of life and enhance quality of life for individuals and communities.

4. Promote healthy places and environments.

Health Literacy

A person’s capacity to learn about and understand basic health information and services, and to use these resources to promote one’s health and wellness.

Health LiteracyFour qualities of a health-literate individual include:1.A critical thinker and problem solver – a person who can develop evaluation criteria for health information before making decisions

2. A responsible, productive citizen – someone who acts in a way that promotes the health of the community.

• This person chooses safe, healthful and legal behaviors that are consistent with family guidelines and that show respect for the individual and others.

Health Literacy

3. A self-directed learner – someone who searches for health information to make health-related decisions

4. An effective communicator – a person who is able to express health knowledge in a variety of ways.