Too many comforts may prove harmful to our health, whereas fewer amenities may help achieve good health. This is the outcome of a survey conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO). The entire world is trending towards comfortable lives. What is even more worrisome is that India is on the top in the list of countries affected by this trend.This is the age of mechanization and automation. Gone are the days when everything was done by hand, which meant that a physical effort was required for whatever we did. Even today, we do the same kind of work, but in less time and effort. These methods might look attractive, and we may accomplish more tasks in less time, but the flip side of this is that it is adversely affecting our health.
Earlier, every household work was done by the women with their own hands – grinding flour, grinding masala, cleaning the grains, washing clothes, cooking food, etc. There was an inbuilt mortar-pestle in each home that was used for grinding chutneys and masala pastes. There was a grinding stone for grinding flour. But today, all of these are done in a mill or bought from a store directly. Chutneys and other culinary items are made using a mixer-grinder at home. This ensures that kitchen work takes less time, but the amount of physical labor required to do daily chores has drastically decreased. Earlier, all the grains and pulses were cleaned at home. Now, we can easily buy them from a store. Clothes were washed by hand, and now we either use washing machines or give them out to laundry.
In the past, people either walked or cycled to go from one place to another. There was very little use of motorized vehicles. But today, we use bikes, cars, buses, trains, or planes to travel anywhere. This ensures that we can travel several kilometers in a short span of time.On the same lines, the modes of communication were also quite different. It took a lot of time to convey a message to someone. Now, it is done instantaneously.
What used to be done earlier, and what we do now is phenomenally different. Despite the abundance of comforts, we observe a continual deterioration in personal health.There is increasing interest in being agile and activity-oriented. But at the same time, many people are getting accustomed to a life of leisure and comfort. Psychologists say that activity should not be confined to just the brain. Activity is beneficial only when you like it, and it is healthy. The first condition for enjoying perfect health is to create a lifestyle that can relieve you of the stress generated in daily life. If the pressure is not counteracted, then you will be riddled by many diseases. We know that healthy food, regular exercise, physical and mental activity, and relaxation are essential for good health. In addition to these, cleanliness is an important aspect too, and we need to maintain it. Diseases do not come to our lives by themselves; we allow them to enter our lives by creating conditions conducive to them. So, we need to get rid of all the factors that enable breeding and spreading diseases.
The pace at which life moves is becoming so fast that we are compelled to use some device or another to keep up. We cannot always label it as a convenience because we are not in control of these situations. Whatever artificiality we have embraced in our daily life is proving to do more harm than good. Living in air-conditioned homes instead of enjoying fresh outdoor air and decorating homes with plastic flowers instead of green plants will not improve air quality and undoubtedly not as beneficial as being close to nature.
With the increase in comforts in daily life, the lethargy within us is also blooming at the same rate. This enemy has created harm in the lives of most people, and the statistics speak for themselves. Among a population of 135 crore people, 45 crores of them have come into the clutches of some or the other disease. A recent study done by the WHO has revealed that India is in the first place concerning diabetes (caused by inadequate physical work and laziness). To add fuel to the fire, India is also in second place in obesity among children. Though there is a craze among a few people to become fit, and we see treadmills in many homes, diseases like diabetes, thyroid, acidity, and gall bladder stones have become household problems.
When it comes to health, women are found to be weaker than men. Based on research done by the WHO recently, Indian women walk lesser than men. Statistics show that women walk 3,684 steps on an average in a day, while men walk 4606 steps. WHO recommends that a person walk 10,000 steps every day, but many people cannot meet this target due to the current modern lifestyle. This is especially impossible for those who are desk-bound in their jobs and are sedentary. The intention of presenting this information is not to cause worry. Doctors recommend that being aware of one’s calorie consumption and burning can solve the problem. When you eat foods of your choice, thus resulting in extra calories, you will have to ensure that you burn that extra energy by adequate physical work. Instead of traveling in a car, you may use a bicycle or opt to walk whenever possible.
We should be aware that the mind plays a vital role in all lifestyle-based ailments. Even when we exercise to stay fit, the workout benefits do not reach the body as intended if we are prone to stress. When under pressure, a person tends to resort to bad habits like drugs and other addictions. This provides yet another doorway to diseases. It is imperative that we adapt ourselves to changing times and find ways to keep healthy. It is best to include asana, pranayama, and exercise as part of the daily routine.
“Minds, like bodies, will often fall into a pimpled, ill-conditioned state from mere excess of comfort. – Charles Dickens”
Source: Akhand Jyoti Magazine Nov-Dec 2020