Category: Health

Contributed by: Rachna Arya

What is Cantaloupe?

Cantaloupe is not only an extremely refreshing snack for the summer but also a great fruit to provide a range of antioxidants, phytonutrients and electrolytes that are shown to have multiple health benefits. The nutrients found in cantaloupe nutrition can be spotted in its deep, orange colour. 

Cantaloupe Nutrition Facts:

Various nutrients that are found in abundance in cantaloupe include: 

• Protein
• Carbohydrate
• Fiber
• Calcium
• Iron
• Sodium
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin A
• Folic acid
• Zinc
• Copper
• Vitamin K
• Niacin
• Choline
• Magnesium
• Phosphorus
• Manganese

In addition, cantaloupe nutrition contains some manganese, pantothenic acid, choline, and betaine selenium.

Health Benefits of Cantaloupe:

Cantaloupe is a delicious summer fruit that supplies many health benefits, including-

Improves vision

Cantaloupe is known to support your eye health. The fruits contain Vitamins A and C, zeaxanthin and carotenoids that help to naturally filter out harmful blue light rays, and reduce the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration. 

Balances body fluids and electrolytes

With its high water and electrolyte contents, cantaloupe is a great pick to maintain adequate fluid and electrolyte levels in the body.

Manages diabetes

Being a strong source of fibre, B vitamins and electrolytes, and having a low glycemic score of four, this fruit is a good option for people with diabetes. 

Reduces dehydration

Cantaloupes are 90% water, which makes it almost as juicy as a watermelon. The high amount of liquid content helps to prevent dehydration during the summer and replenish lost fluids.

Regulates blood pressure

Cantaloupes are loaded with potassium. Studies have shown that eating cantaloupe has been shown to help relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure.

Prevents constipation

The fibre and water in cantaloupe can aid digestion and can help relieve uncomfortable symptoms of bad digestion, including bloating and constipation. A high level of dietary fibre is important in order to promote bowel movements and digestive health. 

Boosts immunity

Cantaloupe is loaded with compounds called phytonutrients that help boost the action of the immune system against many diseases. The high amounts of vitamin C, Carotenoids (Beta-carotene and Lycopene) present in this fruit have a reputation for boosting the immune system

Aids in fetal development

Cantaloupes are excellent for pregnant women and developing baby as it is loaded with folate. Folate is one of the most essential nutrients for fetal development. Adding cantaloupe to the weekly menu of the expecting mother can prevent neural tube defects in babies. It is also useful on the grounds that they have a decent measure of anticoagulants, that keep the blood from clotting. and maintains the overall health of the mother and the baby.

Acts as a potent anticancer agent

Studies have shown that the antioxidants in cantaloupe can help to fight inflammation and reduce oxidative stress to reduce your risk of cancer. Cantaloupes are highly rich in folate, which is very useful to prevent various types of cancer. However, further research is required to validate the anticancer potential of cantaloupe.

Provides skin nourishment and minimizes hair loss

The vitamin A in cantaloupe nourishes the skin, protects the skin from harmful toxins, and prevents fine lines and wrinkles. The abundant natural folic acid or folate in cantaloupe helps to facilitate the regeneration of cells and impart healthy, radiant, and glowing skin. Some studies even point out that the beta-carotene in cantaloupe can possibly be able to decrease the effects of sunburn.

Prevents cardiovascular diseases

Many heart-related problems start out with chronic, unwanted inflammation and chronic oxidative stress. Numerous studies have linked higher consumption of cantaloupe with a decreased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and stroke.

Cantaloupe is an incredibly refreshing and healthful fruit that is at its best in the summer. It contains a range of minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants that can be beneficial as part of a varied diet.

Also,  it is advised to have frequent preventive health check-ups to keep an eye on overall health, especially your cholesterol levels.

Book The Full Body Good Health Test Today!

Contributed by: Rachna Arya

What Are Antioxidants?

They are naturally occurring chemicals that fight a process in your cells known as oxidative stress, and this is thought to boost overall health. The main source is plant-based foods, including fruits and vegetables. However, they can also be found in man-made substances, such as dietary supplements. 

Examples of antioxidants include:

• Beta-carotene
• Lutein
• Lycopene
• Selenium
• Manganese
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E

Plant nutrients and chemicals like phenols, polyphenols, flavonoids, and phytoestrogens are also antioxidants. Each antioxidant has unique properties and serves a different function. So, it is a misconception that antioxidants are interchangeable with another. This is why it is necessary to have a range of different foods. 

Prospective studies have shown that higher intakes of antioxidant-rich foods contribute effectively to a lowered risk of chronic oxidative stress-related diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and deaths from all causes. At the same time, abundant evidence suggests that eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains provides protection against many scourges of ageing.

In this article, we will look at some nutrients with antioxidant activity and the foods in which they are found:

Beta-carotene

It is an important dietary compound that has been linked with various health benefits. It is an antioxidant that belongs to a group of coloured pigments called carotenoids. The human body converts beta carotene into vitamin A, which is needed for good vision and eye health, a strong immune system, and for healthy skin and mucous membranes.  

Where to get it:

Brightly coloured fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, squash, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and other green vegetables.

Vitamin E

This fat-soluble antioxidant fights off free radicals that attack fats in your cell walls. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin E has been associated with better cardiovascular health. This nutrient also plays an important role in vision, reproduction, and the health of your blood, brain and skin.

Where to get it:

Whole grains, vegetable oils, Beet greens, collard greens, spinach, peanut butter, red bell pepper, and green leafy vegetables.

Vitamin C

Also known as ascorbic acid, this powerful antioxidant can neutralize harmful free radicals. Since it is water soluble (the body does not store it), it is important to consume food that contains it, every day. Vitamin C is necessary for cardiovascular health, wound healing and prevention of cancers of the stomach, lung, and digestive system.

Where to get it:

Green vegetables, tomatoes, strawberries, potatoes, green peas and citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits, spinach and other green, leafy vegetables

Selenium

Found in soil and water, this antioxidant helps lower oxidative stress in the body, which reduces inflammation and enhances immunity. Various studies have demonstrated that increased blood levels of selenium are associated with enhanced immune response. Research suggests it can help to reduce the production of oxidised LDL and, therefore, the incidence of heart diseases as well as protect against cancer, especially of the lung, colon, and prostate. 

Where to get it:

Brazilian nuts, grains, garlic, eggs, soybeans, seafood, red meat, and liver.

Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids

Omega-3s are very powerful antioxidants that help remove toxins from the body and protect the cells and tissues from oxidative stress, allowing them to function optimally. Both essential omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial in the prevention or treatment of several cardiovascular, neurological, dermatological, and psychiatric disorders.

Where to get them:

Flaxseeds, salmon, tuna, sardines, walnut, vegetable oils, nuts, poultry

Vegetables and fruits with rich, vibrant colours often contain the most antioxidants. In general, the more intense the colour of the fruit or vegetable, the more antioxidants it has. There is no set recommended daily allowance for antioxidants, but it’s true that if you eat more of them, you’re less likely to get any number of diseases.

However, it is worth remembering that, while studies link the consumption of fruits and vegetables with better overall health, consuming added antioxidants, especially in processed foods, may not provide significant benefits.

Additionally, it is important to consult health before you consider taking antioxidant supplements.

However, there might be chances that you are allergic to any of the ingredients or might have an undiagnosed medical condition that can be aggravated by any of the ingredients. 

‘In such a situation, you can also opt for genetic testing, which is a cutting-edge predictive health tool to ascertain your predisposition towards certain foods; that can have a positive or negative impact, depending from person to person.

Furthermore, you should also undergo preventive health checkups. These health checks give a complete report about your health, allowing you to take necessary precautionary measures to improve your well-being and keep a host of ailments at bay. 

Book The Full Body Good Health Test Today!

Contributed by Harleen kaur

Introduction

Once more, it’s that time of year when we rejoice and celebrate a nine-day festival worshipping Maa Durga that starts on the 26th of September with complete joy and enthusiasm. People who are thinking about keeping a fast have already begun making preparations, from assembling the puja samagri to purchasing food items that are appropriate for the vrat to eat throughout the fasting days.

On the auspicious first day of the Navratris, people rise early, take a bath, and offer prayers to the Goddess. Welcoming Goddess Durga to take shelter in their homes, with love and joy.

However, if you are fasting, you should keep some important things in mind which we will read about in this blog. At the outset, it’s important to drink enough water and eat nutritious fasting meals to keep yourself healthy and energetic. Detoxification can also happen when fasting, but only if it’s done healthfully. 

Navratri, which marks the start of winter, occurs more often between September to October months. As these months are the heralds of winter, your immune system is likely to be weakened during this time, making you more vulnerable to illnesses.

So, here we are helping you with some must-to-do tips to keep in mind while having fun during the festivities. 

Keep yourself hydrated 

Whether one is fasting or not, hydration must be tracked at all times. A healthy body needs adequate water to function properly. Hydrating beverages like coconut water, milk, and fruit juices help take care of your nutrition. However some of these beverages may be restricted during fasting, so you are urged to exercise an informed choice. 

Furthermore, buttermilk, green tea, and lemon water can be options you can opt for. It is advised to avoid beverages like coffee and tea that might dehydrate you while fasting and affect your digestive system.

Sleep well 

Getting enough sleep is important because fasting can be physically draining for your body. Additionally, adequately sleep will help you to avoid headaches and dizziness. 

It’s recommended to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep. Try to completely detox your body, relax and engage your mind in some mindful meditation.

Eat fruits 

During these periods of fasting, you are allowed to consume all fruits including dry fruits. Therefore, this is the best time to eat seasonal fruits like bananas, papaya, muskmelon, and apples which can also give you a lot of energy. Additionally, you can prepare a fruit salad or can have a bowl of yoghurt with some fruits.

Avoid oily food 

When you are fasting, it may be tempting to consume fried fasting foods, but it is best to avoid them because they can make you feel tired and bloated while consuming more fruits and nuts will keep you active and agile the whole day. 

Final thoughts 

Festivals are exciting and enjoyable. You can interact with friends, meet new people, go to musical performances, and generally have a great time. Maintaining your health and well-being throughout all the chaos might be a little challenging.

Be kind to yourself because fasting is an important part of the Navratri festival. Surround yourself with positive vibes and energy that will help you enjoy the festival to the fullest. 

Eating well, staying hydrated, practising daily meditation, and indulging in happy activities can prove to be a few of the good habits you can adopt during this Navratri.

Go ahead and make your Navratri healthier this year!

Book The Full Body Good Health Test Today!

Contributed by: Anjali Dharra

Any medical condition is an emergency that can cause severe complications and if not treated on time, might even prove fatal. In most cases, the urgent medical intervention of any health issue depends on a person’s genetic background or lifestyle adaptations. Fortunately, the importance of genes has taken a leap in recent years. 

Nowadays, genetic testing is used as a general screening tool and is performed for a variety of purposes, such as identifying carriers, and predispositions to any diseases in presymptomatic individuals, and identifying changes in lifestyle patterns that can lead to chronic complications or detecting a diagnosis. 

With the technological advancements in the medical field, the latest medical concept called pre-emptive medicine is used to predict the onset and progression of a disease. With timely therapeutic medications, the disease can be treated at an early stage before the symptoms appear. 

This therapeutic medicine approach and genetic testing together hold the certainty to identify individual traits, causes and risk factors of a disease. This predictive identification of latent disorders as well as lifestyle-related diseases might lead to personalized diagnosing of the medical condition more carefully using high-quality medical interventions and hence, aid in decreasing the occurrence or possibility of that particular predisposition.

Not only does genetic testing help in the prediction of disease, but it will also yield optimistic health outcomes to contribute to medical emergency interventions in a more beneficial way in the near future. This article aims to assess the benefits of genetic testing when it comes to preventive healthcare, as well as its impact on the rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem.

What is genetic testing?

Genetic testing or DNA testing is a medical test that checks for personalized examination of DNA and genes based on genome profile. This screening involves testing of alleles, genotypes, karyotypes, or full genome systems to find any lifestyle changes or any predisposed medical condition such as diabetes, high BP, blood sugar level fluctuations, vitamin deficiencies, cardiac and digestive problems, as well as stress and weight-related disorders. 

It works by understanding the patient’s medical history as well as his or her family’s genetic background. Moreover, the genetic testing test identifies a person’s genetic markers to predict the onset and progression of any disease. 

To confirm a particular disease, genetic testing detects cells or tissues within the DNA to look for any mutations in:

Genes

Segments of DNA that carry information and provide the physical appearance of a living organism.

Proteins

Large and complex molecules that are responsible for the structure, function, and regulation of the tissues and organs within the body.

Chromosomes

A combination of DNA and proteins that carry hereditary information.

Currently, over 1,500 predisposed diseases can be diagnosed or predicted using genetic testing, and hence, it is being rapidly recognised as an integral part of risk assessment. In some cases, it might be necessary for individuals to cope with some manageable lifestyle factors such as diet, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol consumption, to name a few. In addition to this, genetic testing is often recommended for people who are opting for certain prophylactic treatments, medical screenings, and/or planning to extend their families. 

Why is genetic testing done?

Genetic testing is a predictive gene testing technique in clinical settings. This test also includes genome sequencing, which is done at a point where genetic testing doesn’t lead to a diagnosis but a genetic disorder is suspected in an individual. 

As mentioned above, genetic testing can be performed to diagnose or predict several diseases, illnesses, and medical conditions related to lifestyle management, such as:

• To identify any hereditary carrier of a disease
• Presymptomatic testing of an individual
• To check for a proper diet and complete nutrition profile
• To test the detoxification profile including fat & water-soluble vitamins, and oxidative stress
• To test the cause of persistent blood sugar level fluctuations
• To diagnose any changes in DNA or genes
• To understand the changes in the lifestyle patterns
• To figure out disease complications and severeness
• To check for genetic lipid profile
• To check for food sensitivity and intolerances
• To identify a strong response to macronutrients
• To predict the reasons for obesity as well as eating behaviours
•  Early diagnosis of heart, kidney, brain, blood, liver, and other bodily diseases
• To identify causes of abnormal sleep patterns
• To check for exercise which suits the patient well and also endurance levels in order to maintain healthy lifestyle patterns.
• A specific response to aerobic and anaerobic activities
• To identify an immune response to injuries and recoveries

What are the types of genetic testing?

As genetic testing is helpful in predicting several hereditary diseases and disorders, there is no single test that can detect illnesses at a time. In fact, genetic testing is categorised into some types depending upon the family and current medical history as well as for what condition you are opting to test. These genetic testing types include:

Single gene testing

As the name implies, it only detects changes in a single gene to confirm a specific disorder or illness. This test is recommended by a doctor when the family genetic mutation is known.

Panel genetic testing

This type looks for changes in multiple genes in one set. A doctor suggests panel testing to diagnose a number of medical concerns, including cancer.

Genome/Large-scale genetic testing

This test is further segregated into 2 types; exome sequencing and genome sequencing.

Exome sequencing: This test looks for all the genes in the DNA or genes that are particularly responsible for some medical conditions.

Genome sequencing: A test that diagnoses the complete DNA structure of an individual or a detailed genome test to detect any mutation in the body.

Chromosome testing

A test that looks for mutations in the chromosomal structure of an individual. These tests are karyotypes and chromosomal microarrays.

Gene expression

In the human body, genes are expressed at different levels. This level between healthy and diseased cells is detected with the help of a gene expression test. This test could also be essential for diagnosing changes in cancerous gene expression.

What are the factors that affect genes?

The human body has several controllable and uncontrollable factors that affect gene expression. Gender, family history, and age are some of the uncontrollable risk factors, whilst diet, exercise, smoking, and exposure to chemicals are factors that can be controlled. All these controllable and uncontrollable factors are counted among multifactorial inheritances and make a person susceptible to several genetic disorders, such as autoimmune diseases, cancer, mental health, anxiety, and depression.

How is genetic testing done?

Collecting a blood sample is the easiest and fastest way to diagnose any predispositions to diseases. The collected sample is sent to the laboratory and processed with one of the genetic testing types as per the selected or recommended gene test by a doctor. 

Apart from blood, the DNA sample can be extracted via cheek swabs, hair, saliva, skin, tissues from the placenta, and amniotic fluid, to name a few.

What types of genetic testing results do you get?

The genetic test shows any mutations in DNA or genes and can result in three major risk scores either positive (high), negative (low), or uncertain (moderate) results.

Positive/High-risk score genetic testing

If a person is diagnosed with positive genetic testing, it means a genetic change is found which causes the disease. However, a high-risk score doesn’t always mean that he/she develops a disease.

Uncertain/Moderate risk score genetic testing

An uncertain genetic test is one where there is not enough information about the genetic mutation or it is hard to determine whether the disease is acute or chronic. However, this moderate risk score can be altered into high or low risks by certain changes in lifestyle adaptations either in a bad or good way respectively.

Negative/Low-risk score genetic testing

If a person is diagnosed with negative genetic testing, a low-risk score won’t guarantee the individual that he/she has no disorder. A low-risk score might be because of a wrong test or because there is no genetic cause for an individual’s disease. 

A true negative genetic test will be when the genetic mutation is known but the person has not inherited the same disease.

What are the pros of genetic testing?

Genetic testing plays a vital role in the predictive healthcare system and helps healthcare professionals determine presymptomatic diseases with high accuracy by examining the DNA or genes.

In addition to diagnosing predisposed disorders, genetic testing has many more advantages than that. These are:

• Early detection of asymptomatic genetic disorders
• Providing detailed information about an individual and his or her family’s health
• Aiding genetic counsellors understand exposure to certain genetic and lifestyle factors causing severe complications. 
• Guide genetic counsellors to take necessary preventive health measures on time for controlling the onset and progression of diseases by suggesting certain lifestyle modifications.

Contributed by: Anjali Dharra

Introduction

In this contemporary era, every individual knows and thinks that doing exercise is one of the quintessential things to stay healthy. But how often do you really need to head to kickboxing classes, hit the gym, roll out a yoga mat, or get a home workout?

There might be the possibility that your son works out three times a week, while your brother plays tennis every weekend. Your wife goes on daily walks, and your daughter practices dancing and yoga. And, you occasionally go cycling, finally taking fitness seriously. 

Now is the time you need to put your good intentions into action and for that, you need to set a fitness goal while being concerned about how often you should work out and how much exercise is enough. for achieving the fitness goals that make you healthy and active if performed in appropriate way and duration. 

Because you are the only one who knows and can decide how much physical activity is the best for your body.

Are you one of the 80% of Indians who have joined a gym or committed to an exercise program several times and backed out after a few weeks because you didn’t have an idea which exercise is good for you? If yes, you are not the only one. 

There are a large number of people who indulge themselves in mild to intense physical activities without getting doctors’ or fitness experts’ advice. 

So here’s your guide to everything you wanted about how much exercise is actually good for you that gives you some health benefits and where to draw the line.

Why exercise?

There are five main reasons people opt to work out: work, health, recreation, competition, or appearance.

Your requirement for exercise will vary depending on your motivation, where you are beginning from, and how quickly you want to reach your fitness objectives. 

Your personal preferences, schedule, and the equipment you have access to, all influence the kind of exercise you choose to do.

No matter what your goals are, here we are helping you with how frequently you should work out and how to develop the best fitness routine. 

So read on and pay attention to the below-mentioned routine exercises.

Walking

Walking is a great way to improve or maintain your overall health and well-being. If your goals are weight management, good mental health, quality sleep, happiness, healthy digestion, and extending life span, walking is a must. 

You will be glad to know that a brisk walk means 100 steps per minute and it can bolster your cardiovascular fitness, and reduce your chances of developing diabetes, arthritis, cancer, and depression, to name a few.

Moreover, walking strengthens your bones, lessens your excess body fat, boosts muscle endurance, and improves your immunity.

It is recommended to walk briskly for at least half an hour a day regularly. And it is not recommended to exceed the time without consulting your physician.

Cycling

Cycling is an official sports activity that helps your body in staying healthy and active in several ways. If you want to boost the strength in your legs, stamina, muscle endurance, joint health, and immunity, look no further than cycling. 

30 minutes of pedal cycling is optimal to achieve your fitness goals. Cycling is also a good option for people who have sore hips, back, and knees. 

It has been observed in some studies of older cyclists that cycling keeps muscles and immunity youthful for years.  

Do this energetic and exciting activity within limits as suggested by health experts for effective results. 

Running

Running itself is a rigorous exercise so it is often recommended for a shorter period of time. If you want to make your heart healthier, have a good metabolism, have stronger bones, have an active brain and mood, and have optimal body weight, running is the best.

15 minutes or as little as 5 minutes of running is adequate for attaining your fitness goals. For continuous inspiration, you can download some running apps on your phone which can ease you into running. 

So, grab a good pair of running shoes and start today only but remember to do it in moderation and exceed your limits to avoid any complications in the future. 

Yoga/Pilates

In recent times, a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices have taken a leap over other physical exercises in this modern world such as Yoga and Pilates.

30 minutes of daily yoga can help in achieving your health goals such as body balance, amplifying lower body flexibility, calmness, strength, and reducing back pain, to name a few.

Choose from the simplest yoga asanas to moderate ones to allow your body to slowly adapt to the more intense asanas as time passes.

Swimming

Swimming is another sporting activity that requires the full energy of the body. Many women prefer swimming to running because swimming buoys the body, relieving pressure on joints. 

It’s difficult to become overheated in water, even after vigorous exercise. Swimming is also good for decreasing blood pressure, soothing the mind, increasing your appetite, and building back, core, and shoulder strength.

20 to 30 minutes of swimming is sufficient for an individual looking for the above-mentioned fitness goals. It is highly advisable to promise yourself to do swimming at least three times a week for effective and efficient results.

Weight training

Weight loss, nowadays, is a very common goal for many individuals. You can get a healthy weight by selecting moderate exercises for health but for effective and better results, one must spend at least an hour on moderate exercises. 

This might sound like a lot but remember people are spending hours doing this and sometimes may lead to major setbacks as they are not aware of how much exercise is good for their bodies.

Excess fat is something you can’t selectively shed from your thighs, belly, and butt. Don’t look for instant results, in fact, indulge yourself in slight to moderate physical activities as well as choose a healthy diet plan. 

Note: Try to cut down on the calories you take and burn your calories with interesting exercises without hampering your body, health, and desires.

Final thoughts

Fortunately, for every individual trying to improve their overall health and well-being, a little bit of moderate exercise goes a long way. It boosts your mind and mood, lowers your stress levels, staves off illnesses, and as a result, contributes to an overall sense of well-being.

Walking, running, swimming, cycling, yoga, and weight training are some of the commonly known exercises often suggested by health experts, gym trainers, doctors, as well as dieticians. 

Because these are the basic physical activities that people do most often but they don’t know in what way they should do them and for how long. 

Doing exercises for hours is not that effective, but doing it appropriately and at an optimal time can change your way of thinking and living.

So think twice before you start or indulge in an exercise form. Know about your body’s strength and capacities. Start with mini to moderate exercises and live a healthy lifestyle.

To know about the real worth of your body, you can go to pre & post exercises health screening tests to keep track of your body vitals and any alterations in the same after post exercises. 

Furthermore, you are also eligible to predict your medical conditions in advance with the one and only genetic testing method.

Book The Full Body Good Health Test Today!

Most of us know that exercise is good for our health. But if you’re new to physical activity or you’re picking it up again after a period away, the idea of exercising can be intimidating.

Experts believe that the best exercise for your health is the kind that you’ll do regularly. And studies have shown that enjoyment is a major factor in sticking with any type of physical activity. When you discover ways of moving your body that bring you joy, physical activity becomes a treat, rather than a chore.

Exercise is something that almost everyone can do. Its benefits can be felt right away, and you don’t have to train for anything major to reap the rewards – small, consistent sweat sessions are enough to stay healthy.

Below, we’ll explore the best exercises for your health and how you can start working out.

First of all, how much exercise do you need?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity every week.

During moderate-intensity aerobic activity, you should feel out of breath, but still be able to hold a conversation. Dancing, treading water, canoeing and yoga are great examples of moderate-intensity aerobic activities.

In vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, you will be too winded to speak more than a few words at a time. Jogging at a fast pace, biking uphill, jumping rope and cross-country skiing are great examples of vigorous-intensity aerobic activities.

The CDC also recommends that adults include activities that strengthen muscles, like weightlifting, on two or more days of the week.

While all this may seem like a lot, how you spread your exercise time throughout the week is up to you. You could work out for 30 minutes five times a week, fit in hour-long workouts three times a week, or do fast-paced HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workouts for 15 minutes five times a week. You can decide what works best for you.

What are the types of exercise?

If you’re new to exercising, you may want to try several different kinds of physical activity to discover what you like. Remember, don’t only focus on what kind of movement you can do, but also ask yourself what kind of movement you enjoy doing. When you enjoy an activity, you’re more likely to keep doing it.

And you can like more than one type of exercise. In fact, it’s better to vary your exercise routine with more than one kind of physical activity so you can work different muscle groups in different ways.

Cardio

Cardio, also called aerobic exercise, is any form of movement that gets your heart rate up, your blood pumping and your lungs working. It activates and strengthens your cardiovascular system, but also improves the health of your whole body and mind. Cardio can lower stress, improve sleep and flood your brain with those feel-good endorphins. It’s also an excellent tool when it comes to weight loss.

Cardio can be the most easily accessible form of exercise – and the simplest. A brisk walk or yard work can count as cardio, as long as you start to get hot, sweaty and out of breath. While the classic image of cardio is someone huffing and puffing on a jog, there are so many activities to choose from when it comes to cardio:

• Walking and hiking: Walking is one of the best cardio exercises out there because it can be done almost anywhere and with little equipment. All you need is a pair of comfortable, sturdy shoes. If you’re just starting out, walk 5-10 minutes per day and work your way up to 30 minutes or more per day. Regular walking can help you lose weight, prevent disease, strengthen bones and muscles, and improve your mood. Hiking allows you to explore and enjoy nature, and often burns more calories than walking by involving steeper, more uneven paths.
• Running: Like walking, you just need a pair of well-fitting shoes to start running. No matter where you run or how fast you go, regular runs can improve your cardiovascular health, your bones and muscles, and your mental health.
• Dancing: For a fun, exciting workout, try dancing. While dance can bring the same cardiovascular benefits as other forms of cardio, it can also help increase flexibility as you move your body in new ways. And the social aspects of dancing, not to mention learning the choreography, strengthen our cognitive function.
• Cycling: Cycling is a great way to target and strengthen your lower body while working your heart and lungs. And the task of staying upright on a bicycle, stationary or not, helps your balance and posture. Riding a bike is also a great alternative to one of our most popular sedentary activities: driving. The next time you have somewhere to go – the grocery store, a friend’s house, the post office – try riding your bike instead.
• Swimming: When you swim, you get all the cardiovascular benefits of aerobic exercise, with none of the impact. Working out in the water gives your joints a break while still strengthening muscles throughout your body. And you can burn calories without all the sweat.
• Jumping rope: Nothing gets the heart pumping like jumping rope. It’s an incredibly efficient cardiovascular workout that you can squeeze into any busy schedule. You can get all the heart healthy benefits you need from just 10-15 minutes of jumping rope. And it’s fun!

Strength training

Strength training is a great way to build muscle and lose fat. This type of exercise involves subjecting your muscles to some form of resistance through lifting and moving heavy objects or straining against gravity. There are so many forms of strength training based on equipment and how much weight you are lifting.

• Body weight exercises: When you’re getting started with strength training, exercises that use only your body weight are usually enough for you to start getting stronger. Pushups, planks, squats, lunges and burpees are all great options. Doing these exercises without additional weight also allows you to practice and perfect proper form, which is essential for preventing injuries in the future.
• Weight machines: Using weight machines allows for more opportunities to practice your weightlifting form before you lift unassisted. Machines can also help you target specific muscles and give you a more controlled range of motion.
• Free weights: Lifting weights is considered a functional exercise, meaning it can make you better at daily tasks like climbing the stairs, carrying grocery bags and cleaning around the house. It trains entire muscle groups to improve strength, balance and coordination.

A comprehensive strength training routine can include a combination of all three types of weight-related exercise.

Stretching

Stretching increases and maintains your flexibility, or your body’s ability to move in different ways without injury. Stretching regularly can help you perform better physically, use your full range of motion and avoid injuries. The best time to stretch is after a workout, when your muscles are warmed up from movement, but you can still benefit from stretching at any time.

• Static stretching: This kind of stretch is achieved through lengthening your muscles as far as they will go without pain, and then holding that position for 15-30 seconds. There are two types of static stretching, active and passive. In active stretching, you contract one muscle to allow the opposite muscle to relax. Lying on your back and lifting your leg straight up into the air makes your thigh muscle contract, while your hamstring can lengthen and stretch. In passive stretching, you use an external force, like your hand, to help your body stretch. When you bend your knee and use your hand to hold your foot behind you to stretch your thigh muscle, that is a passive stretch.
• Dynamic stretching: Before a workout, try dynamic stretching to get your muscles warmed up and ready for activity. Dynamic stretching is more active than just touching your toes. Movements include toe touches, high knees, butt kicks and lateral shuffles.

If you experience pain when stretching, talk to your doctor or a physical therapist. They can suggest stretches that won’t hurt and will help you increase flexibility slowly.

Balance exercises

Keeping your balance is an essential skill in multiple sports and daily activities, and it only gets more important as you get older. Working on your balance now can help you prevent falls later in life and avoid the injuries that often come with them.

• Yoga: Better sleep, better mood, better flexibility – yoga has a lot of benefits. A huge part of any yoga practice is balance. Yoga challenges your body to maintain balance as it flows through dynamic poses and maintains different positions. In doing so, you release tight muscles and strengthen those essential stabilizer muscles, both of which lower your risk of falling.
• Tai chi: A low-impact exercise that can be done almost anywhere, tai chi is an excellent way to control stress and improve balance. The flowing movements from one pose to the next allow you to practice shifting your weight from one foot to another with your arms outstretched.

What exercise is best?

Finding the exercise that works best for you and your lifestyle can seem overwhelming, but you don’t need to stick to just one. Everybody needs a few different types of workouts to get all the mind and body benefits of exercise. Engaging in different workouts also keeps exercise exciting and helps you continue challenging your body to grow stronger, avoiding a fitness plateau.

How you spend your exercise time depends on your goals and what you’re trying to achieve.

Exercising for your age

Everyone, whether 8 years old or 80, benefits from regular exercise. And it’s never too late to start. If exercise hasn’t been a part of your life up to this point, it’s still possible to get fit no matter how old you are – and there are tremendous advantages to doing so.

As you age, exercise allows you to stay limber and active while also reducing your risk of injury . You can maintain the energy to continue doing the things you love – like exploring new cities by foot, playing with your grandchildren and walking your dog.

This is when exercising for balance becomes especially important, so you can avoid falls and prevent injury. Cardio should still be included for a well-rounded exercise routine, but target heart rate – how fast your heart can safely beat during a workout to prevent injury and get the most benefit – decreases as we age. You can opt for lighter cardio in the later stages of life.

The CDC recommends that children and teens (ages 6-17) exercise for at least one hour every day. Children of any age exercise through play, but as they get older, they made need more structure and encouragement to get moving. To help kids get the exercise they need to be healthy, try the following tips:

• Take them to parks, playgrounds and pools regularly
• Sign them up for sports teams through their school or the local park district
• Set a good example with your own commitment to physical activity

Adults also need play sometimes and running around with your kids helps you get a good workout in too. When children learn the importance of regular exercise early on, they can establish lifelong healthy habits around fitness.

Exercising for your life stage

Our circumstances and situations change throughout our lives, and our exercise needs change with them. Whether starting a new job, going through a pregnancy, caring for your kids or moving to a new neighborhood or city, you might not always have the same amount of time to exercise as you’ve had in the past. That’s okay! You shouldn’t put extra pressure on yourself to maintain an exercise routine that doesn’t work for you anymore.

When life gets busy, one key thing to remember about exercise is this: it’s not about how much exercise you do, but how often you do it. One study, done in 2016, demonstrated that 10 minutes of fast-paced aerobic exercise had the same cardiometabolic benefits as 50 minutes of steady, continuous aerobic exercise.

Fitting in 15-20 minutes of physical exertion each day, wherever you can, is enough to still get some benefits of fitness. Remember, exercise is just one part of our lives, it’s not the center of them.

Exercising as part of recovery

Following an injury or medical diagnosis, you can use exercise to regain and maintain strength. However, it requires patience. Resuming all your regular activities too quickly can put you at risk of reinjuring yourself. So go slowly at first. And while exercise may be the last thing you want to do when you’re in pain, regular workouts can actually help address any chronic pain you’re feeling.

You can work with your primary care doctor or a physical therapist to develop a plan that helps you get back on track. They can make sure you do exercises that work the proper muscle groups, while also being safe for your condition.

Exercising at home

Working out in public can be intimidating, especially if you’re just starting out. But you don’t need a membership at a gym or a ton of fancy equipment to get or stay fit. Just an open spot in your house where you won’t collide with or knock anything over, and a pair of comfortable shoes. You may also want a yoga mat to provide cushion if you have a hardwood floor.

You can start with small, easy movements, like marching in place and arm circles, and then ramp up the challenge as you get more comfortable. There are tons of apps and videos online to help you make the most of at-home workouts, or you can develop your own routine involving strength training exercises that use your body weight. Once you’re working out at home regularly, consider investing in a set of free weights so you can keep building strength.

How to start exercising

Starting anything new can be tricky, but exercise may seem especially daunting. Start slow and go at your own pace. The journey is worth it. Exercising is one of the best things you can do for your physical and mental health – and to avoid chronic medical conditions.

Set SMART goals

It’s easy to get lost in the vast world of fitness, to lose sight of why you started and quit. This is where goals come in. Setting goals for yourself can act as a roadmap to help you navigate what exercise means to you and how it fits into your life. Goals are a fantastic motivational tool, but only when used properly. When developing exercise goals, make them specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable and timely. These are called SMART goals.

You’re more likely to achieve SMART goals than you are goals that are too big, too vague and too ambitious. For example, it’s fine to have a goal of getting stronger, but how do you get there? Creating goals around slowly increasing the amount of weight you lift or the number of repetitions you do can help you find your way. And, setting short-term goals that you then achieve will help you feel a sense of reward that keeps your motivation high.

Maybe you want to shed a couple pounds to look and feel better. Exercising to lose weight can be a great goal, but it’s easy to fall into harmful habits and patterns. Just remember that it takes time to lose weight, so be patient with yourself.

Sometimes doctors will recommend exercise to alleviate or improve the symptoms of certain conditions. The ill effects of high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis can be improved and prevented through regular physical activity.

Find people to help you meet your exercise goals

One of the greatest resources you can use when you want to start exercising or exercising more often is other people. Whether they’re a friend or a professional, people can help you get started and stay on track when it comes to your fitness journey. If you’re looking for a little help, look to those around you:

• Ask about personal training or fitness classes at your local health club. Whether you prefer working out one-on-one or in a group, sometimes we all need a little company. Many gyms offer classes in everything from water aerobics to dance, and it’s a great way to find a fitness community.
• Seek support from your friends and family. If you bring up exercise, you might be surprised at who wants to join you. Working out with someone is a great way to make sure exercise happens, even when you’re feeling unmotivated.
• Talk to your primary care doctor. If you have any medical conditions, your primary care doctor can recommend the types of exercise that make sense for you.

Slowly increase activity levels

It’s never too late to start working out, but it can be confusing to know where to start. A good initial fitness goal is to decrease the amount of time you spend sitting down. Stand up every hour to stretch or walk around for 10-15 minutes. Then continue building activity into your routine.

In the beginning it can be as simple as slipping in exercise during routine activities. Instead of driving the five minutes to the store to pick up a few things, you might try walking. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. If it’s nice outside, ride your bike to work.

If you’re getting together with a friend for coffee, suggest that you get your beverages to go and then head off for a walk – even if you’re just wandering around a mall. Or, when you’re getting caught up on your shows after work, stand up and do some stretching.

Fitting in exercise around the things you already do will make it seem easier and less disruptive to your daily routine. You’ll be more motivated to continue increasing your activity time, and slowly exercise will become part of your daily routine as well.

Take care of yourself

Exercise isn’t just another chore to check off your to-do list, though sometimes it may feel that way. It’s a lifelong investment. So, exercise has to be approached in such a way that you can keep it up for years to come.

If you throw yourself into too-frequent workouts, you may injure yourself or lose interest after a few months or years. If you do find yourself feeling ambivalent about the activity you once loved, don’t panic. Take a break, and allow yourself to devote time to other areas of your life. You may regain your passion down the road. Or you can switch it up, and try different types of exercise for a while.

To make exercise a sustainable habit, try the following tips:

• Stretch before and after exercising
• Drink plenty of water – unless you’re running marathons, you probably won’t need a sports drink
• If you find that you have pain that’s caused by exercise, talk to your doctor. They’ll be able to provide suggestions to ease the pain (so you can continue to get the big benefits of exercise). Or they may refer you to a specialist such as a physical therapist who can help you work out better.
• Keep up with preventive care, and you’ll be able to see the impact that changes in your lifestyle are having on your overall health.

Get in a groove

Momentum is a necessary part of exercise, both literally and metaphorically. While you need momentum to keep you moving, you also need momentum to keep hitting your goals. How do you build and maintain momentum?

• Be consistent: One of the most important aspects of exercise is consistency. Running 10 miles every once in a while isn’t going to be nearly as beneficial to your fitness goals as running shorter distances 4-5 times a week.
• Build routines: Schedule workouts in your calendar so they’re harder to skip.
• Notice improvement: Maybe you’re able to run that extra mile this week, or you can lift the 15-pound weight instead of the 12. Notice and celebrate each stride you make, and it will be a lot easier to keep coming back for more.

Get moving for your health

Exercise has the power to improve not only our health, but every area of our lives. If you’re not sure how to get started on an exercise program, or you’re not sure that you’re healthy enough for exercise, we can help.

When is the pandemic “over”? In the early days of 2020, we envisioned it ending with the novel coronavirus going away entirely. When this became impossible, we hoped instead for elimination: If enough people got vaccinated, herd immunity might largely stop the virus from spreading. When this too became impossible, we accepted that the virus would still circulate but imagined that it could become, optimistically, like one of the four coronaviruses that cause common colds or, pessimistically, like something more severe, akin to the flu.

Instead, COVID has settled into something far worse than the flu. When President Joe Biden declared this week, “The pandemic is over. If you notice, no one’s wearing masks,” the country was still recording more than 400 COVID deaths a day—more than triple the average number from flu.

This shifting of goal posts is, in part, a reckoning with the biological reality of COVID. The virus that came out of Wuhan, China, in 2019 was already so good at spreading—including from people without symptoms—that eradication probably never stood a chance once COVID took off internationally. “I don’t think that was ever really practically possible,” says Stephen Morse, an epidemiologist at Columbia. In time, it also became clear that immunity to COVID is simply not durable enough for elimination through herd immunity. The virus evolves too rapidly, and our own immunity to COVID infection fades too quickly—as it does with other respiratory viruses—even as immunity against severe disease tends to persist. (The elderly who mount weaker immune responses remain the most vulnerable: 88 percent of COVID deaths so far in September have been in people over 65.) With a public weary of pandemic measures and a government reluctant to push them, the situation seems unlikely to improve anytime soon. Trevor Bedford, a virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, estimates that COVID will continue to exact a death toll of 100,000 Americans a year in the near future. This too is approximately three times that of a typical flu year.

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I keep returning to the flu because, back in early 2021, with vaccine excitement still fresh in the air, several experts told my colleague Alexis Madrigal that a reasonable threshold for lifting COVID restrictions was 100 deaths a day, roughly on par with flu. We largely tolerate, the thinking went, the risk of flu without major disruptions to our lives. Since then, widespread immunity, better treatments, and the less virulent Omicron variant have together pushed the risk of COVID to individuals down to a flu-like level. But across the whole population, COVID is still killing many times more people than influenza is, because it is still sickening so many more people.

Bedford told me he estimates that Omicron has infected 80 percent of Americans. Going forward, COVID might continue to infect 50 percent of the population every year, even without another Omicron-like leap in evolution. In contrast, flu sickens an estimated 10 to 20 percent of Americans a year. These are estimates, because lack of testing hampers accurate case counts for both diseases, but COVID’s higher death toll is a function of higher transmission. The tens of thousands of recorded cases—likely hundreds of thousands of actual cases every day—also add to the burden of long COVID.

The challenge of driving down COVID transmission has also become clearer with time. In early 2021, the initially spectacular vaccine-efficacy data bolstered optimism that vaccination could significantly dampen transmission. Breakthrough cases were downplayed as very rare. And they were—at first. But immunity to infection is not durable against common respiratory viruses. Flu, the four common-cold coronaviruses, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and others all reinfect us over and over again. The same proved true with COVID. “Right at the beginning, we should have made that very clear. When you saw 95 percent against mild disease, with the trials done in December 2020, we should have said right then this is not going to last,” says Paul Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Even vaccinating the whole world would not eliminate COVID transmission.

This coronavirus has also proved a wilier opponent than expected. Despite a relatively slow rate of mutation at the beginning of the pandemic, it soon evolved into variants that are more inherently contagious and better at evading immunity. With each major wave, “the virus has only gotten more transmissible,” says Ruth Karron, a vaccine researcher at Johns Hopkins. The coronavirus cannot keep becoming more transmissible forever, but it can keep changing to evade our immunity essentially forever. Its rate of evolution is much higher than that of other common-cold coronaviruses. It’s higher than that of even H3N2 flu—the most troublesome and fastest-evolving of the influenza viruses. Omicron, according to Bedford, is the equivalent of five years of H3N2 evolution, and its subvariants are still outpacing H3N2’s usual rate. We don’t know how often Omicron-like events will happen. COVID’s rate of change may eventually slow down when the virus is no longer novel in humans, or it may surprise us again.

In the past, flu pandemics “ended” after the virus swept through so much of the population that it could no longer cause huge waves. But the pandemic virus did not disappear; it became the new seasonal-flu virus. The 1968 H3N2 pandemic, for example, seeded the H3N2 flu that still sickens people today. “I suspect it’s probably caused even more morbidity and mortality in all those years since 1968,” Morse says. The pandemic ended, but the virus continued killing people.

Ironically, H3N2 did go away during the coronavirus pandemic. Measures such as social distancing and masking managed to almost entirely eliminate the flu. (It has not disappeared entirely, though, and may be back in full force this winter.) Cases of other respiratory viruses, such as RSV, also plummeted. Experts hoped that this would show Americans a new normal, where we don’t simply tolerate the flu and other respiratory illnesses every winter. Instead, the country is moving toward a new normal where COVID is also something we tolerate every year.

In the same breath that President Biden said, “The pandemic is over,” he went on to say, “We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it.” You might see this as a contradiction, or you might see it as how we deal with every other disease—an attempt at normalizing COVID, if you will. The government doesn’t treat flu, cancer, heart disease, tuberculosis, hepatitis C, etc., as national emergencies that disrupt everyday life, even as the work continues on preventing and treating them. The U.S.’s COVID strategy certainly seems to be going in that direction. Broad restrictions such as mask mandates are out of the question. Interventions targeted at those most vulnerable to severe disease exist, but they aren’t getting much fanfare. This fall’s COVID-booster campaign has been muted. Treatments such as bebtelovimab and Evusheld remain on shelves, underpublicized and underused.

At the same time, hundreds of Americans are still dying of COVID every day and will likely continue to die of COVID every day. A cumulative annual toll of 100,000 deaths a year would still make COVID a top-10 cause of death, ahead of any other infectious disease. When the first 100,000 Americans died of COVID, in spring 2020, newspapers memorialized the grim milestone. The New York Times devoted its entire front page to chronicling the lives lost to COVID. It might have been hard to imagine, back in 2020, that the U.S. would come to accept 100,000 people dying of COVID every year. Whether or not that means the pandemic is over, the second part of the president’s statement is harder to argue with: COVID is and will remain a problem.

A few months ago, I got food poisoning. The sequence of events that led to my downfall began with a carton of discounted grocery-store sushi purchased and consumed on a Thursday, which led to me waking up a little queasy on a Friday, which devolved into a 12-hour stretch of me vomiting and holding myself in a fetal position, until my legs ached from dehydration. On Saturday the smell of my partner cooking breakfast still made me gag; I sipped water, napped fitfully, and nibbled little golf balls of white rice.

But Sunday, glorious Sunday, I awoke to a marvelous lack of pain and fatigue. The brain fog was gone. My skin felt plump with fluids. Enthralled by recovery, I found myself behaving with uncharacteristic serenity. When I dropped and broke a ceramic bowl while unloading the dishwasher, I didn’t curse and freak out. Instead, I swept up the shards with cheer. I wouldn’t sweat the small stuff. I was my normal self again, and it felt sublime.

Yet as I relished in my newfound bliss, a foreboding thought gnawed at me: I knew that as the hours passed and the specter of illness retreated, my fresh perspective, too, would fade. So much of my exuberance was defined by absence, the lifting of the burden of aches and puking. It would only be a matter of time until normal felt normal again, and I’d be back to worrying about all the petty minutiae I always worry about.

People have different baselines of health, and some might be more or less appreciative of whatever condition they’re in. Even so, humans have long lamented the ephemeral joy of relief. The feeling manifests in all kinds of circumstances: meeting a deadline, passing a test, finishing a marathon. And it can be especially acute in matters of wellness. “Health is not valued, till sickness comes,” wrote the 17th-century British scholar Thomas Fuller. Or as the 19th-century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer bemoaned: “Just as we do not feel the health of our entire body but only the small place where the shoe pinches, so too we do not think of the totality of our well-functioning affairs, but of some insignificant trifle that annoys us.”

So many of us, in other words, are very bad at appreciating good health when we’re fortunate enough to have it. And anyone experiencing this transcendent gratitude is unlikely to hold on to it for long. Indeed, by Monday morning, the afterglow of recovery had worn off; I was engrossed in emails and work again, unaware that just 60 hours prior I could barely sit upright in bed, let alone at my desk. This troubled me. Am I cursed to be like this forever? Or is there anything I can do to change?

To some extent, I’m sad to report, the answer might well be no. While certainly some people can have experiences of major illness or injury that change their entire outlook on life, the tendency to revert to forgetfulness seems to run pretty deep in the human psyche. We have limited attentional resources, the UC Davis psychology professor Robert Emmons told me, so in the interest of survival, our brain tends not to waste them focusing on systems that are working well. Instead, our mind evolved to identify threats and problems. Psychologists call this negativity bias: We direct our attention more to what’s wrong than what’s right. If your body’s in check, your brain seems to reason, better to stress about the project that’s overdue or the conflict with your friend than sit around feeling like everything’s fine.

Read: Does ‘counting your blessings’ work?

A second psychological phenomenon that might work against any enduring joy in recovery from illness is hedonic adaptation, the notion that after positive or negative life events we, basically, get used to our new circumstances and return to a baseline level of subjective well-being. Hedonic adaptation has been used to explain why, in the long term, people who won the lottery were no happier than those who didn’t; and why romantic partners lose passion, excitement, and appreciation for each other over time.

Arguably, adaptation need not be seen as any great tragedy. For health, in particular, there’s an element of practicality in the human capacity to exist without fussy attentiveness. This is how we’re supposed to operate. “If our body isn’t causing us problems, it doesn’t actually pay to walk around being grateful all the time. You should be using your mental energy on other things,” Amie Gordon, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, told me. If we had to sense our clothes on our bodies all day, for example, we’d constantly be distracted, she said. (This is actually a symptom of certain chronic disorders, like fibromyalgia—Lauren Zalewski, a writer who was diagnosed with both fibromyalgia and lupus 22 years ago, told me that it makes her skin sensitive to the touch, as if she constantly has the flu.)

All that said, there are real costs to taking health for granted. For one, it can make you less healthy, if as a result you don’t take care of yourself. For another, maintaining some level of appreciation is a good way to avoid becoming an entitled jerk. Throughout the pandemic, for instance, there has been “this language around how the ‘only’ people dying are ‘old people’ or people with pre-existing conditions,” as if these deaths were more acceptable, Emily Taylor, a vice president for the Long-COVID Alliance, a group that advocates for research into post-viral illnesses, told me. Acknowledging that our own health is tenuous—and that certainly, many of us are going to get old—could counter this kind of callousness and encourage people to treat the elderly and those with chronic conditions or disabilities with more respect and kindness, Taylor argued.

In my view, there’s something to be gained on an individual level, too. In recent years I’ve seen friends and loved ones deal with life-altering injuries and diagnoses. I know that one’s circumstances can turn on a phone call or a moment of inattention. To be healthy, to have basic needs met—to have life be so “normal” that it’s even a little boring—is a luxury. While I am living in those blessedly unremarkable times, I don’t want my fortune to escape my notice. When things are good, I want to know how good I’ve got it.

Read: How to be thankful when you don’t feel thankful

What I want, really, is to hold on to a sense of gratitude. In the field of psychology, gratitude can be something of a loaded term. Over the past decade or so, articles, podcast episodes, self-help books, research papers, celebrities, and wellness influencers alike have all extolled the benefits of being thankful. (Oprah famously kept a gratitude journal for more than a decade.) At times, gratitude’s popularity has been to its own detriment: The modern-day gratitude movement has been criticized for overstating its potential benefits and pushing a Western, wealthy, and privileged perspective that can seem to ignore the realities of extreme suffering or systemic injustices. It’s also annoying to constantly be told that you should really be more thankful for stuff.

But part of the reason gratitude has become such a popular concept is due to bountiful research that does point to genuine emotional upsides. Feeling grateful has been associated with better life satisfaction, an increased sense of well-being, and a greater ability to form and maintain relationships, among other benefits. (The research on gratitude’s effects on physical health is inconclusive.) For me, though, the pull is less scientific and more commonsense anyway: Learning to genuinely appreciate day-to-day boons like having good health, or food in the fridge, seems like being able to tap into a renewable source of contentment. It’s always so easy to find stress in life. Let me remember the things to smile about, too.

One way to make the most of gratitude may be to reframe how people tend to think of it. A popular misconception, Emmons told me over email, is that gratitude is a positive emotion that results from something good happening to us. (This might also be part of the reason it can be hard to appreciate conditions like health that for many people remain stable day after day.) Gratitude is an emotion, but it can also be a disposition, something researchers call “trait gratitude.” Some people are more predisposed to feeling thankful than others, by virtue of factors like genetics and personality. But Emmons says this kind of “undentable thankfulness” can also be learned, by developing habits that contribute to more of a persistent, ambient awareness, rather than a conditional reaction to ever-changing circumstances.

What does this look like, practically speaking? “I don’t know that we can, with every breath we have every moment, feel grateful that we’re breathing. That’s a pretty tall order,” says Gordon. “But that’s not to say that you don’t build in a moment for it at some point in your day.” If you’re recovering from a cold, for example, you can practice pausing whenever you’re walking out the door to appreciate that your nose isn’t stuffy before just barreling on with life. Another tactic, from Emmons, is to reflect upon your worst moments, such as times you’ve been ill. “Our minds think in terms of counterfactuals,” he said, which are comparisons between the way things are and how they might have been. “When we remember how difficult life used to be and how far we have come, we set up an explicit contrast in our mind, and this contrast is fertile ground for gratefulness.”

Read: Don’t teach your kids to fear the world

You can also think of gratitude as an action, Emmons has written. This hews closer to the historical notion of gratitude, which as far back as the Roman days was associated with ideas like duty and reciprocity—when someone does something kind for us, we’re expected to return the favor, whether that’s thanking them, paying them back, or paying it forward. In that sense, being grateful for your body probably means doing your best to care for it (and, probably, refraining from risky behaviors like rolling the dice on discounted grocery-store sushi).

In 2015, Lauren Zalewski, the writer with fibromyalgia, founded an online community that supports people living with chronic pain by helping them to cultivate a grateful mindset. She tells me that before her diagnosis, she took her health for granted and “beat her body up.” Now, she eats vegan, takes supplements, does yoga, stretches, sleeps more, and gets sun regularly—these are the small things she has personally found helpful for managing her constant pain. “So while I am a chronically ill person,” she muses, “I consider myself pretty healthy.”

Looking back on my food-poisoning incident, I think I was primed to ruminate more deeply than usual on the topics of sickness and health. In the past two and a half years, I’ve watched COVID-19 show that anyone can get ill, perhaps seriously so. Now, as the head of the World Health Organization tells us that “the end is in sight” for the pandemic  (and President Joe Biden controversially declares the pandemic over), it’s tempting to imagine that humanity is on the brink of waking up the morning after a hellish sickness.

It’s probably delusional to hope that even a global pandemic could prompt some kind of long-term collective mental shift about the impermanence of health, and of life. I didn’t become a radically different person after recovering from puking my guts out a few months ago either. But maybe the simple act of remembering the health we still have in the pandemic’s wake can make a small difference in how we go forward—if not as a society, then at least as individuals. I’m sure I’ll never fully override my tendency to take my body for granted until it’s too late. But for now, each day, I still get the golden opportunity to try. And I’d like to take it.

Until recently, running was a major part of Emma Zimmerman’s life. The 26-year-old freelance journalist and graduate student was a competitive distance runner in college and, even after she graduated, logged about 50 miles per week. So she tentatively tried to return to her running routine roughly a week after a probable case of COVID-19 in March, doing her best to overcome the malaise that followed her initial allergy-like symptoms. Each time, though, “I’d be stuck in bed for days with a severe level of crippling fatigue,” Zimmerman says.

Months later, Zimmerman still experiences health issues including exhaustion, migraines, brain fog, nausea, numbness, and sensitivity to screens—a constellation of symptoms that led doctors to diagnose her with Long COVID. Though she can’t know for sure, she fears those workouts early in her recovery process may have worsened her condition.

“I had no idea that I should try to rest as hard as I needed to rest,” she says.

Stories like Zimmernan’s—illness, improvement, exercise, crash—are common in the Long COVID world. And they highlight what many researchers, patients, and advocates say is one of the most powerful tools for managing, and potentially even preventing, Long COVID: rest.

The only guaranteed way to avoid Long COVID is not to get infected by SARS-CoV-2. But if someone does get sick, “Rest is incredibly important to give your body and your immune system a chance to fight off the acute infection,” says Dr. Janna Friedly, a post-COVID rehabilitation specialist at the University of Washington who recovered from Long COVID herself. “People are sort of fighting through it and thinking it’ll go away in a few days and they’ll get better, and that doesn’t really work with COVID.”

Researchers are still learning a lot about Long COVID, so it’s impossible to say for sure whether rest can truly prevent its development—or, conversely, whether premature activity causes complications. But anecdotally, Friedly says many of the Long COVID patients she sees are working women with families who rushed to get back to normal as soon as possible. It’s hard to give one-size-fits-all guidance about how much rest is enough, but Friedly recommends anyone recovering from COVID-19 stay away from high-intensity exercise for at least a couple weeks and avoid pushing through fatigue.

For people who have already developed Long COVID, rest can also be useful for managing symptoms including fatigue and post-exertional malaise (PEM), or crashes following physical, mental, or emotional exertion. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends “pacing,” an activity-management strategy that involves rationing out activity and interspersing it with rest to avoid overexertion and worsening symptoms.

In an international study published last year, researchers asked more than 3,700 long-haulers about their symptoms. Almost half said they found pacing at least somewhat helpful for symptom management. Meanwhile, when other researchers surveyed about 500 long-haulers for a study published in April, the overwhelming majority said physical activity worsened their symptoms, had no effect, or brought on mixed results. That may be because long-haulers have impairments in their mitochondria, which generate energy cells can use, recent research suggests.

Before Long COVID existed, researchers and patients encouraged rest and pacing for the management of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The condition’s hallmark symptoms include PEM and serious, long-lasting fatigue—diagnostic criteria that many people with Long COVID now meet. A study of more than 200 people with Long COVID published in January found that 71% had chronic fatigue and almost 60% experienced PEM.

For years, clinicians tried to treat ME/CFS patients by gradually increasing their physical activity levels. But that practice has since been shown to be not only ineffective, but often harmful, because people with ME/CFS “have a unique and pathogenic response to overexertion” due to cellular dysfunction, explains Jaime Seltzer, director of scientific and medical outreach at the advocacy group MEAction. Most people with ME/CFS prefer pacing over exercise-based therapy, one 2019 study found.

To pace effectively, people must learn to pick up on cues that they’re overdoing it and unlearn ingrained ideas about productivity, Seltzer says. “If you’re doing laundry, for example, there’s nothing that says you have to fold every single item in one sitting,” she says. Breaking up tasks may feel odd, but it can be crucial for preserving energy.

People with new Long COVID symptoms should keep a log of their diet, activity, sleep, and symptoms for a couple weeks to learn their triggers, Friedly says. For those who can afford one, a fitness tracker or other wearable can also be helpful for assessing how much exertion is too much, Seltzer says. Once someone has an idea of behaviors that improve or worsen symptoms, they can use that information to plan their days and divide activities into manageable chunks.

For many people who test positive for COVID-19, however, even taking a few days off from work to isolate is a financial and logistical challenge. Many people have no choice but to return to physically taxing work or responsibilities like child care as soon as possible. “Rest is absolutely advice that’s weighted socioeconomically and politically,” Seltzer says.

People with Long COVID or ME/CFS may be able to secure workplace accommodations, such as working from home, taking on a role that can be done sitting instead of standing, or applying for disability if necessary. Seltzer also suggests leaning on friends, faith groups, or mutual aid networks for help with some tasks. Beyond that, Friedly recommends looking for creative ways to use less energy throughout the day. When she was living with Long COVID symptoms, she bought many pairs of identical socks so she’d never have to waste time and effort searching for a match.

Things like that “may seem small,” she says, “but if you add those up throughout the day, they make a big difference in terms of how much energy you’re expending.”

Write to Jamie Ducharme at [email protected].