Health Message (May 31, 2025)

Happy Sabbath Saints,

Five Old-Fashioned Health Habits. There’s no need to search for the latest health trends. These habits that have been proven over time work just as well today as they always have. When you integrate them into your daily schedule, you’ll experience a healthier balance and sense of well-being.

1.     Get fresh air and sunshine. Exposure to sunlight and fresh air increases the levels of serotonin in your brain, which helps overall mood and provides feelings of contentment. Going outside into nature when you’re overwhelmed can instantly provide feel-good chemicals in the body that can switch your perspective from “I hate my life” to I’m grateful for life. These difficulties will get better in time.”

2.     Drink more water. Your health will benefit when you choose to drink water instead of sugary drinks or sodas that are high in fructose and calories. It brings nutrients to your cells and protects your organs and joints, dispels waste from the body, and maintains internal body temperature. Please make it your go-to beverage, it’s the body’s most vital component.

3.     Stay active. Regular exercise not only helps manage weight gain, but it also has rapid effects on mental health. Staying active improves mood, cognition, focus, and sleep quality while also reducing stress, anxiety, tension, and risk of depression.

4.     Get out of your head. A lot of people think that taking time to write down their thoughts and feelings is pointless. Journaling helps increase motivation, creativity, emotional intelligence, memory, and communication skills. If writing doesn’t work for you, try prayer. When you’re feeling purposeless or worn down by the unpredictability of life, talk to God and tell Him exactly how you feel. This will put your mind at ease over time.

5.     Take a break to read or rest. Reading literally changes the wiring of the brain in a way that allows you to response to people and situations with more attention, insight, and empathy. Take a quick nap. Sometimes a quick rest and reset is all you need to feel more rejuvenated and hopeful again.

If your life is busy, you will find it hard to implement these, though you recognize the need for the change. Try 7 minutes of wellness a day. Make the effort in baby steps. Before you know it, a 7-minute self-care session will turn into 14 minutes, then 30, and eventually, you will have an entire chunk of time blocked off in your schedule each day to improve your health and wellness.

The more you focus on your health, the more you’ll find that some things in your schedule can be moved, altered, or taken out completely—making more room for good, healthy habits to take root. Romans 12:1-2 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Blessings,

Sandra Jackson