Perfectionism may seem like a desirable trait to you, but in order to improve your health, sometimes it's good to do something small. An all-or-nothing attitude ends up with nothing more often than not. See what this means concretely in terms of sleep, weight, water, diet and sun exposure.
"If you're trying to do everything that's right, you're going to end up with an all-or-nothing attitude," says Martin Binks, a psychologist at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham. In that case, if you can't do anything perfectly, decide not to do anything. And yet, small changes are the most effective.
You are not perfect, so forget about perfection! See more moderate health recommendations that still have a positive effect:
Fruits and vegetables
Gold standard: up to 9 pieces of fruit and vegetables a day
Illnesses that are banished by a simple glass of water
Quite enough: Five
This is enough to reduce the risk of stroke in women by 31%, according to a study from Harvard. "Five pieces provide enough antioxidants and fiber to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. And they will also have a good effect on body weight," Dr. Rosa Mo is a professor of nutrition at the University of New Haven.
Cardio exercises
The gold standard: 30 minutes of cardio, five or more days a week. Just enough: 17 minutes a day.
A new study from Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital found that women who exercised just two hours a week for 17 minutes a day reduced their risk of heart disease and stroke by 27 percent. "You don't have to do it all at once. At least 10 studies have shown that breaking exercise into shorter segments of 10 minutes is just as effective. It's also good to pick up the pace suddenly for half a minute or a minute and repeat it a few times during the exercise. Research at McMaster University in Canada showed that people who exercise very intensely for 2 to 3 minutes in the form of 30 seconds of sprinting improve their cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance as well as those who exercise moderately for 40 to 60 minutes.
Sunbathing
The gold standard: Apply SPF 30 or a cream with a higher protection factor and keep reapplying. Just enough: Use SPF 15.
Most women don't apply any sunscreen even though doing so would greatly reduce the risk of skin cancer and skin damage, says dermatologist Dr. Doris Day. The cream with SPF 15 blocks 93% of the air, and the one with SPF 30 97% lasts a little longer. Unless you lie in the sun all day, a cream with SPF 15 on your face, neck, hands and other exposed parts of the body is quite sufficient. Be especially careful of the midday sun.
Drink vodka
Gold standard: Eight glasses of 2 dl of water a day. Quite enough: Drink with meals and when thirsty.
Drinking water isn't the only way to avoid dehydration. Other beverages (including caffeinated ones such as coffee and tea) and foods contain water (such as soups and fresh fruits and vegetables). We get 20 percent of the water we need in food. The American National Academy of Sciences found that healthy women get enough fluids (on average, they drink 11 glasses a day) because they often drink with meals when they feel thirsty. The only exceptions are very active women who sweat a lot or live in a very hot climate - they have to make more of an effort.
San
Gold standard: 8 hours at night Just enough: 7 hours.
The second day it will be a little harder to get up and keep your spirits up, but your health won't be compromised, says Dr. Susan Zafarlotfi, director of the Institute of Sleep/Wake Disorders Clinic at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. But if you sleep less than that, you could eventually weaken your heart, get high blood pressure, diabetes and gain weight. A Case Western Reserve University study of 68.000 middle-aged women found that those who slept five or fewer hours were three times more likely to be seriously overweight and 15 percent more likely to be obese than those who slept an average of seven hours. "Sleeping less than six hours, even for just a few nights, results in poorer decision-making and reduced attention," says Dr. Zafarlotfi. If it becomes a habit, the risk of depression and diabetes increases.
Healthy weight
Gold standard: Body mass index between 19 and 25. Just enough: Make it your goal to lose 5 to 7% of your current weight.
The American National Institutes of Health during one study determined that this much loss of body mass reduces the risk of diabetes by 58 percent. "A number of other studies have shown that this is enough to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as the risk of heart disease," says Dr. David Arterburn, who studies obesity at the University of Washington.
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