The 8 Pillars of Wellness
Your wellbeing and health rely on 8 main pillars
When one of these pillars is shortened or broken, your wellbeing and health won’t be steady; and the other pillars will be affected too.
Pillar #1: Nutrition
The foods we eat play a key role in our wellbeing and health.
A nutritious diet can help:
improve sleep
support physical and mental performance
reduce risk of chronic diseases (such as diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer)
increase your energy
support a healthy immune system
improve hair, skin, eye, and nail health
reduce bloating and improve digestion
better mental health
support weight loss, gain, or maintenance
increase muscle building and recovery
support healthy bones
Just to name a few.
This first pillar is all about eating foods and supplements that support your body while also creating a positive connection with food (because no one wants a strict diet).
Pillar #2: Fitness
Regardless of who you are, fitness should be a regularly part of your life.
While exercise can be a useful tool in weight loss, it’s meant for so much more. It’s important to have strength, endurance, stamina, and functional movement.
You may feel lost and confused on the best exercise for you. The great news is that you can discover what works best for your body, your goals, and your lifestyle.
Exercise can help:
keep your muscles and bones healthy throughout your life
you look and feel your best
increase your energy
support a healthy immune system
support skin health (yes - strength training is linked to more collagen production in the skin!)
reduce bloating and improve digestion
improve sleep
keep your heart and lungs healthy
support better functional movements and balance (helping you navigate life a lot easier)
support weight loss (if that’s a goal for you)
And so much more!
Pillar #3: Stress
Stress is normal part of life (bummer, right?)
But we don’t have to let stress run our lives. And we certainly don’t want it to last long.
When we experience ongoing stress, this is called chronic stress.
Unfortunately, chronic stress is linked to:
poor sleep
a weaker immune system
higher risk of chronic diseases
higher risk of poor mental health
unintentional weight gain
muscle and joint pain (and greater risk of injury)
poor gut health
hormonal imbalances
poorer food choices
less physical activity
Learning how to find balance, remove stressors, and use positive coping mechanisms can help lower the negative effects of stress in your life.
Pillar #4: Sleep
If you’re not prioritizing your sleep, you’re not prioritizing your health.
A lot of people don’t actually realize how important sleep is for their wellbeing and health.
Sleep is crucial for a functioning body, mind, and spirit. We need to sleep and we need to sleep long enough.
In fact, 1 in 3 adults aren’t getting enough sleep each night. That’s a lot. Unfortunately, we see it spill into all other aspects of our health.
When we don’t get enough sleep, we:
don’t let our cells heal and reproduce
don’t recovery from workouts efficiently
are more irritable, causing issues with our relationships
can’t focus well, affecting our work
tend to eat foods high in calories, sugar, and fat (these are quick energy sources)
don’t exercise nearly as much or give our full effort
are at higher risk of chronic disease and obesity
have poorer mental health
have weaker immune systems
Again, just to name a few.
Honestly, if you need to focus on one thing for now, make sure you’re sleeping at least 7-9 hours. Also make sure those hours are quality sleep. (If this isn’t possible, try to get any improvement in your sleep)
Pillar #5: Connection
Surprised socialization is here? There’s a good reason why it’s a pillar of our wellbeing and health.
Did you know that loneliness is linked higher rates of dementia, heart disease, stroke, and depression? Loneliness is so bad for us that it has similar health risks to smoking, low physical activity, and obesity.
If you’re like me and aren’t the biggest social butterfly, that’s okay. What we want are meaningful connections, not a million weak connections.
If you have a few people in your life that you feel connected to and are able to talk to regularly, this is good news!
It can be really easy to isolate yourself in your work and life. But making socialization a priority can have profound benefits on your health.
Pillar #6: Mental
Our physical and mental health are actually connected. But, our society tends to see them as two separate things.
I know a lot of people think of their physical body when they’re thinking about health, but we need to make sure our mental wellbeing is prioritized just as much.
If our mental pillar is broken, all other parts of our health go sliding down too.
So how do we prioritize our mental wellbeing? We…
support our brain health by eating foods that nourish it and getting proper sleep
give our brain time to rest (from work, from stress, from noise, from stimulation)
focusing on the positives more than the negatives
creating healthy boundaries from people, social media, and other aspects of life
adjust our days (within reason) in response to how we’re feeling
get help when we need it
When we feel good mentally, we’re more likely to do things to help us feel good physically too.
Pillar #7: Beauty
Beauty? Why is this a pillar?
Well, first, beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. When we feel good about our appearance, this can really help us feel good about other aspects of our lives too. And often, our appearance is a reflection of how we’re treating our bodies.
For example, when we practice self-care and good hygiene, we see this in our skin, nails, and hair. We genuinely feel good about ourselves.
It’s not selfish or conceited to want to look your best. I truly believe this is a form of self-care, which is why it’s a pillar of our wellbeing.
Now, the key is that you get to decide what this looks like. For some, it’s a simple morning and nightly routine to maintain the health of our skin, teeth, hair, etc. For others, it may mean a good skin and hair routine, wearing makeup, and styling our hair each day.
Ultimately, the main focus is to maintain our body in a way that makes us feel and look our best. Just like you need to maintain your house or your car, maintaining your body is also a priority.
Pillar #8: Spiritual
The last pillar can arguably be a top priority for some people.
If our spiritual health is suffering, we oftentimes have a hard time focusing on anything else.
Now, as a Christian, my faith is important to me and having a connection with God has been lifechanging.
For this pillar, whether you are spiritual/religious or not, the key here is to look within. Identify your own person values and morals that shape how you want to live your life. What you support as a part of your life or not. For many, believing there is something greater out there and that there is a purpose to our lives can bring a sense of hope and positivity to our days.
How you choose to tackle your spiritual health is up to you. Some useful daily practices include self-reflection through journaling, prayer, and/or meditation.
Regardless, being in tune with your own personal spirit and values can be transformative in your daily life.