ROCHESTER — Balancing sleep, diet, stress and exercise can be difficult when managing other aspects of one’s life, such as work, family or school.
These different areas of one’s wellness can intersect with the others. Sometimes, this manifests into a negative feedback cycle, said Dr. Donald Hensrud, a Mayo Clinic internist and editor of the The Mayo Clinic Diet.
“Weight is a good example where people, over time, they may gain a little bit of weight, they don’t feel as energetic, they may be less physically active, their eating habits may change a little bit,” Hensrud said. “It becomes kind of a vicious cycle that can get worse over time.”
These factors — sleep, diet, exercise and stress — are related to each other. This means a positive feedback loop is possible, too, Hensrud said; working on one area can improve the others.
“The whole point of this is that one behavior can influence another and it can become a positive experience rather than a spiraling-down, negative experience,” he said.
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Hensrud said this idea has played out in some recent Mayo Clinic research. In one study, Mayo employees enrolled in a resiliency program through the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center were more likely to have increased physical activity and better dietary habits.
Contributed / Mayo Clinic
“Another study showed that employees who were members of the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center who are physically active for a year reduced their stress and improved their quality of life,” Hensrud said. “So there is evidence demonstrating the interaction of these things.”
When considering making a lifestyle change, such as getting more rest or exercising more, Hensrud has a couple of pieces of advice.
1. Be kind to yourself.
Being kind to yourself is the number one rule, Hensrud said.
“Related to that is (to) not expect perfection and not do too much too fast,” Hensrud said. “If people are kind to themselves and don’t expect perfection, then that can make it easier to stay on a program.”
Being kind to yourself includes recognizing that you have time to make progress toward feeling better, no matter what your goal is.
“You’ve got a long time, the rest of your life to work on this,” Hensrud said. “There’s no hurry.”
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2. One thing at a time.
Taking baby steps into making a change, such as getting more exercise or adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet, can be effective in the long run.
“It gets back to the too much, too fast issue,” Hensrud said. “Physical activity, for example, start out just a few, you know, 10, 15 minutes a few times a week. … Start out slow with baby steps and then gradually work up.”
3. A good mindset goes a long way.
Attitude toward a behavior change can make or break the experience. It’s hard to stick to a new habit that you view as restrictive, negative or tough to do, Hensrud said.
“How people approach behavior change in general and … how they approach it initially can make all the difference in the world,” he said. “If people approach this in a positive manner, that can get them off on the right food and can help sustain it, also.”
4. Measure how you feel in the moment.
Something that can build into that positive mindset is focusing on how a change, or changes, is making them feel in the moment. Hensrud said people often set a long-term goal for their progress, but that should be something that’s kept “way in the back of your head.”
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“People jump ahead, which is understandable,” Hensrud said. “They jump ahead to where they want to be, but it does take some time, and behavior change is difficult. So it’s natural to want to be at the end of the journey.”
Having smaller, process goals — the aforementioned baby steps — can make those new habits easier to sustain, Hensrud said. Smaller goals also provide an opportunity to focus on how better exercise, better sleep or better stress management makes you feel in the short term.
“Mindfulness is one way of practicing being in the moment and not focusing too much down the road,” Hensrud said. “By focusing on the benefits of quality of life and how people feel … when they first start to change habits, then that can make them more perpetuating.”
