To live a good life

To live a good life,

one needs a healthy mind,

that dictates terms of living,

with patience and discipline.

Some say, work till old age,

others try retire after 40s,

yet, it's an interesting thing,

body doesn't differentiate aging. 

It's not the personal or professional space,

only matters is mental activities and rest,

either being at office, or living in home,

it's the lifestyle, that makes a difference. 

Sleep and stress, two important parameters,

that help us navigate through experiences...

Sleep, a time where body recuperate, 

and stress, that promotes inflammation. 

Our brain produces toxic wastes,

using lymphatic system for drainage, 

that only a deep sleep can activate,

or insomnia would lead to ailments. 

But, people now do late night shifts,

some take pride being night owls,

being young, one can get away,

but face struggles with declining health. 

An uninterrupted deep sleep is essential, 

our afternoon naps would not recover,

it needs 4 cycles of NREM and REMs,

atleast 6 hours, upto 8 hours of slumber.

So, don't remain active till late nights,

slow down gracefully, after age 25,

don't fall victim, pressured by peers, 

listen to your body, for brighter future. 

But we might face many hurdles,

as we try to heal, rest and recover,

conditions like sleep apnea, due to obesities, 

or nocturia dues to underlying disease.

Many more have anxieties in mind,

having trouble to calm themselves down,

others are addicted to drugs or alcohol,

messing with brain while initiating sleep. 

Even increased screen time,

is one of the prevalent culprit,

might manifest as migraine, 

forcing them into medications. 

so, avoid mindless scrolling, 

protect your circadian rhythm,

for healthy functioning of hormones,

let your bed be your sanctuary. 

Then, take care of stress,

relaxing through deep breathing,

expanding lungs, that stretches diaphragm, 

or vibrate vocal cords through chanting.

As they both increase vagal tone,

stimulating parasympathetic nervous system, 

relaxing brain, shifting to prefrontal cortex,

from the emotional, primal limbic system. 

Any pro inflammatory conditions, 

like obesity or high body fat volume,

will be stressful to our body,

bringing myriads of disease.

But, don't feel ashamed of your weight,

it's also stressful, to have negative image,

love your body, but be more practical,

working for achieving a healthy body weight. 

So, strive to build good habits,

but don't rely on emotional side,

the limbic system, desires short term results,

it doesn't have patience or resilience. 

Give Prefrontal cortex, the upper hand,

say no to these instant gratification,

for, it's mature, more logical one,

help us create plans, for long term. 

So, to live a good life,

one needs some sacrifice,

do have fun and some indulgence,

but, body prefers more discipline. 

Inspired by Youtube podcast discussion between Dr. Pal and Dr.Sidwarrior