Know the Key Indicators of Functional Health and Work Accordingly

It is most important to know your overall health and how well all your body systems are functioning. This is because these are the two most significant indicators of your functional health. You will see that whenever you visit a clinic, the doctor you visit will ask you these two questions regarding your health to gain the proper insight into what is going on inside your body. This helps the doctor to understand several other aspects such as:

• It gives them the clue to different imbalances in your body if any
• Whether or not there are any infections inside your systems
• Whether you have any digestive problems or not and
• Even know different serious disease processes that may have developed or developing inside your body.

It is only when the doctor has a clear picture of your health, a proper diagnosis is possible and consequently, the required treatment will be provided.

The stool is the key

However, all depends on your bowel movement, which is typically the most significant indicator of your health. It is simple to deduce. If your stools are normal then it indicates that everything inside you is normal. Therefore, you must have a fair idea about your stool to know whether you are fit and fine or whether it is time to see your family physician. The features of perfect stools are:

• It will be medium to light brown in colour
• It will be well-formed and stay together
• It must be uniform and smooth when it comes out
• It must have a proper soft consistency
• It must be 2.5 to 5cm or 1 to 2 inches in diameter as this is considered as a good girth
• It must be 45cm or 18inches in length
• It must be slightly curved just like the shape of S
• It may have a mild odor
• It must sink slowly and should not dive quickly or float and most importantly
• Bowel movements must ideally happen 1 to 3 times a day.

Moreover, bowels should move easily through your intestine and out without requiring you to strain your muscles or causing any pain in your anal region. You must not sit in the toilet for a long time and wait for your bowels to move.

Any variance to the above conditions of your stool indicates it is abnormal and you are not keeping well and should not delay in visiting the doctor. The doctor will diagnose the functional imbalances within your body systems and determine the right treatment process to follow to help your body to regain the balance and direct you on the road of ideal bowel movement. As a Naturopathic Doctor, it is the job to deal with IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Sleep is another factor

Sleep is another key indicator of your health. Typically, sleep is one of the foundations of good health. It is not only vital for your survival but also necessary for several other needs such as:

• It provides rest to your eyes, muscles, nerves and even your brain
• It helps to regain the lost energy and feel fresh in the morning
• It helps in proper digestion and
• It plays a key role in every function of your body.

Typically, during the sleeping hours, your body will be benefited in a lot of other different ways as well such as:

• It will help the body to do an of detoxification
• It will also cause in recovering and repairing of the damaged and fatigues cells and tissues
• Enough and good quality sleep will boost the body immune system
• It will help in balancing the hormones
• It will help in stabilizing weight
• It will also help in regulating the circadian rhythms and therefore allowing the cells to repair them.

Over the years and till date there are several studies conducted that demonstrate the importance of good quality sleep for the desired duration. This is ideally an important predictor of long term health. Not getting enough quality sleep at night will disrupt your normal biology. You will try all sorts of things to get back to bed. People often take a cup of strong coffee, smoke a cigarette or CBD pods for that matter but these will do more harm than good.

Ideally, you will need a good sleep for 8 hours at a stretch at night. Even if you think that you can function well with 7 hours of sleep you may not know how your body will become more susceptible to chronic diseases. Such diseases may include:

• Heart attacks
• Headaches
• Migraines
• Obesity
• Type I and then Type II diabetes
• Short term memory decline
• Chronic pain and
• Autoimmune issues.

Sometimes, doctors prescribe sleep medications that may help you sleep but it will certainly not be of the desired quality that will lead to the healing phases of sleep. This will, in turn, have severe and notable negative impacts on your health overall.

Improving digestive health and sleep quality

Therefore you must improve your digestive health as well as your sleep quality to retain your overall functional health. Here are a few proven ways to do it.

When it comes to your digestive health you can:

• Avoid the major inflammatory foods such as wheat, refined sugar, and cow’s dairy
• Take high-quality probiotics supplements
• Incorporate natural probiotics into your diet
• Incorporate prebiotics into your diet
• Consume healthy fats and
• Take L-Glutamine as a supplement.

When it comes to improving your quality of sleep you must follow these steps:

• Have your dinner before 7 pm
• Exercise daily
• Stop taking or reduce caffeine intake
• Follow a soothing routine an hour before bed by turning off technology
• Have a hot bath and read a book having a cup of calming tea
• Sleep in a dark, cold, and quiet environment and
• Make sure to go to bed between 10 pm and midnight, closer to 10 pm is better.

However, if you feel that there is no change in your digestion, stool condition and sleep after following these steps, consult your doctor to address the causative factors so that your function health is optimal.

About Author:

Karen Anthony is a health expert. She loves to share her Health tips with friends. She recommended CBD pods are sometimes useful for mental health. She also manages her reviews the health-related details provided by authentic sources.