Going back to roots means trying to align yourself with the way your ancestors lived, which is in alignment with nature. The idea is to realign to your biological clock by sunset. Here is how you can do it.
Having an early dinner can help you stay healthy
HIGHLIGHTS
- Have an early dinner and drink less water after sunset
- Focus on getting good night's sleep, avoid use of gadgets before bed time
- Foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner should be the ones you grew up eating
A healthy lifestyle is the magic drug which can help you live a healthy and fit life. For living a healthy lifestyle, you need to have a strong immune system which depends on how fit you are. Good health can be determined by your ability to use your body and mind around 10 or 15 years down the line. The decisions that you make today in terms of the food you eat, exercise, daily sleep quality and stress management are all different determinants of your health. Lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho recently went live on Facebook to talk about a back to roots lifestyle plan which can simply help you become healthier without any side effects.
Back to roots lifestyle plan
Going back to roots means trying to align yourself with the way your ancestors lived, which is in alignment with nature. The idea is to realign to your biological clock by sunset.
Early dinner
All you need to do is have your dinner as early as possible, after the sunset. If you are used to having dinner by 9 pm or 10 pm or later, try to shift the time ahead to evening.
This will require you to make a few lifestyle changes but it's going to be worth the effort. Apart from not eating anything later in the night, you should also try not to drink water, mentions Luke in the video. This will help in reducing the number of visits to the loo at night, especially when you are asleep.
Refraining from drinking too much water late in the night prevents disturbed sleep and can help you have better quality of sleep. Waking up 3 to 4 times in a day can disturb your sleep cycle.
However, it is also important to listen to your body. It is not necessary that you make this lifestyle change into a fad.
Khichdi can be a wholesome option for lunch and diner
Photo Credit: iStock
Also read: Here's How Your Lifestyle Choices Can Affect Ageing
What to do between dinner and bed time
Between your dinner and bed time, give up using your cell phones, TV, laptops, etc. Exposure to bright light could be a reason why you are unable to sleep at night. Even if you are able to sleep, exposure to bright light at night can hamper the quality of your sleep. This is the reason why some people wake up tired even after 8 to 9 hours of sleep.
You can utilise the time between your dinner time and bed time by communicating with the family or your partner. You can also read a book or do some deep breathing exercises, meditation or prayer.
You need to know that this does not happen within a day or two. You need to train your body to get aligned with your biological clock. Fix your bed time at the same time every night and your wake up time at the same time every day. Build discipline in your body. It might seem like a struggle for the first few nights, but eventually, your biological clock will be automatically reset.
How to start your day
When you go back to your roots, you have to start your day in a particular way as well. When you begin to wake up at the same time every day, you will have the time to plan your day. Plan your day in the same way you plan your finances and work commitments.
Thereafter, you can do oil pulling, do your toilet rituals, and some yoga. You can only do a couple of yoga asanas followed by pranayama and meditation. All this can be done within half an hour as well.
It is important to include exercise in your daily routine for a healthy lifestyle
Photo Credit: iStock
How to plan your meals
People who practice intermittent fasting or dry fasting do not have to worry about breakfast. For others, you need to eat the staple breakfast which you grew up eating. It can be idli, dosa, poha, parantha, eggs, toast, oats, etc. Watch your portion control but do have a satisfying breakfast.
Lunch should be simple and wholesome, something which you have grown up eating. It can be simple khichdi, dal rice with ghee and a roti if you want.
Also read: 7 Lifestyle Choices You Didn't Know Were Harming Your Immunity: Know Them Now
Your post lunch snack should be comparatively lighter as you are going to have an early dinner. You can have a seasonal fruit along with some nuts and seeds. Cut off caffeine post noon to avoid hampering sleep quality.
For dinner, you can have khichdi prepared with rice, bajra, jowar or any other grain of your choice. Khichdi is a wholesome food which is great for your digestion, gut health and much more.
Work towards maintaining the same breakfast, lunch and dinner time. This back to roots lifestyle plan can help you feel much healthier.
(Luke Coutinho, Holistic Lifestyle Coach - Integrative Medicine)
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