The greatest gift a person can have is a healthy and good lifestyle, but as of new days in our busy schedules and lives, we aren’t giving much importance to our lifestyle or way of living. Like irregular sleep schedule because of excessive screen time, lack of physical activity, academic/social stress, etc. All of this are harmful, but we have made this our routine. And as a result, this are affecting our physical/mental health. Healthy lifestyle is not only about being perfectly fit looking but also following or living a life which allows us to live a healthier & meaningful life. Health, however, is not merely the absence of disease; it also includes physical, mental and social well-being (Dima-Cozma et al., 2014).
In today’s fast moving world the meaning of a healthy lifestyle has also changed. Once being healthy was associated with physical strength or the absence of illness but today it is necessary to have a much broader understanding of well-being
Our lifestyle is formed by our daily routines, choices, surroundings and the pressures we experience. Long working hours, academic competition, constant connectivity and the growing dependence of digital devices has made it difficult to maintain a proper balance between work, study, rest and personal life. sometimes, we get so focused on completing our responsibilities, so we forget that our own health is what enables us to fulfill them in the first place.
A healthy lifestyle cannot be limited to merely a particular diet or exercising for a certain number of hours; it is a set of habits that contribute to the wellness of one’s body and mind. Dima-Cozma et al. (2014) define lifestyle as behavioural strategies and routines, attitudes, values and social factors, whilst highlighting nutrition, physical activity, stress control and social support as important constituents of a healthy lifestyle. This definition of lifestyle implies that health is not something we should focus on when we become ill, but it is something that should be taken care of in our everyday lives.
On the other hand, a healthy lifestyle does not mean to live a perfect life. There will always be busy days, stressful situations, late nights and many other events that we cannot follow our ideal routine; what matters is to develop habits that can maintain our health in a long run. Small decisions, when repeated consistently, can become a way of life.
Thus, living a healthy lifestyle should not be considered as a temporary challenge or a social-media trend, but rather as an investment in our physical, mental and social wellness.The very first thing our healthy lifestyle begins with is our diet or what we eat. There is a very big shift in dietary plan due to rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles. People prefer highly processed convenience food rather than nutritious diet, which is leading to consuming food high in energy, fats or sugar. A balanced diet should include foods rich in fibre, protein, carbohydrates, iron, etc. According to WHO, a person above the age of 10 years should consume at least 400 grams of fruits and vegetables each day (World Health Organization, 2025). WHO also works closely with development partners & government to promote food system that supports healthy diet. Eating fashionable foods or completely avoiding one particular food is not about healthy eating, but taking proper and nutritious diet regularly and accordingly. Lifestyle is a lifelong commitment rather than a short-term approach to weight loss. Opie (2015) emphasizes that diet is only one component of a healthy lifestyle, alongside other important lifestyle factors such as regular exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight.
Physical activity is another essential part of healthy lifestyle. Exercise is often related with weight or appearance, but its meaning goes far beyond that. One of the leading factors for noncommunicable diseases mortality is physical inactivity. The people who are not sufficiently active have a 20% to 30% increased risk of death compared to people who are sufficiently active (World Health Organization, 2024). Regular activities are equally important for all age groups, whether it is children, adults or pregnant and postpartum women. It improves physical and mental health, enhances brain health and improve overall well-being.
In children it promotes bone health, physical fitness & cognitive development. In adults it reduces depression, anxiety, and risk of cardiovascular disease and hypertension. But according to WHO 31% of adults and 80% of adolescents do not meet the recommended level of physical activity (World Health Organization, 2024). And also women are less active than men by 5% points (World Health Organization, 2024). Research on healthy lifestyles also places regular physical activity alongside nutrition as an important part of building and maintaining health (Dima-Cozma et al., 2014). But keeping our busy/tight routine aside our physical health is as important as mental health so, it should be made an habit to be physically active.
And one of the biggest drawbacks of our generation, “Gen Z”, is the sleep cycle. It begins as “just five more minutes” of scrolling smartphones, and bedtime is automatically pushed. These online streaming platforms, gaming’s, communications have ruined the cycle completely which is biggest drawbacks of a healthy lifestyle. WHO has reported that problematic social media use among adolescents is associated with less sleep and later bedtimes, potentially affecting overall health and academic performance (World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, 2024). Due to early colleges, and school, people have to wake up without taking enough rest and this is the reason they aren’t attentive and always sleepy in classrooms. The problem isn’t technology itself but difficulty of maintaining boundaries around it which is very hard for Gen Z’s including me.
But this needs to be corrected for a healthier and attentive mental health, by setting a fixed bedtime, avoiding scrolling before sleeping and keeping phone away from bed. WHO also recommends consistent sleep routines and limiting electronic devices before sleeping (World Health Organization, 2026). Most importantly sleep should not be only treated as something that can be sacrificed whenever we run out of time but as a basic health requirement for maintaining a proper and good lifestyle.
Another drawback is stress, academic pressure, not spending time with friends & family. A person can have nutritious diet & exercise regularly but still they struggle due to these things. Managing stress, taking breaks for ourselves are very important. Lifestyle medicine also recognizes stress control and social support systems as important components of a healthy lifestyle (Dima-Cozma et al., 2014). When people will try to fix their mental well being they may automatically find it easier to maintain other healthy habits.
Our relationships and social support are also part of a healthy lifestyle. A healthy life therefore cannot be understood only through food, exercise or physical appearance. The way we manage stress and maintain social connections also contributes to our overall well-being (Dima-Cozma et al., 2014).
Ultimately, a healthy lifestyle is not about creating an image-perfect body, chasing after every health trend or changing things up overnight. It is about knowing that our health is impacted by the choices we make on the daily and recognizing that what we eat, how active we are, how well we sleep, how we deal with stress, how much time we take for ourselves, the way we care for our relationships and so much more determine the life we live. Lifestyle, as described by Dima-Cozma et al. (2014), goes beyond just physical activity, including the likes of nutrition, stress management and social support.
In a world where the screen competes with sleep and fast food fights with healthy eating, a healthy lifestyle can sometimes be overwhelming. However, this does not mean we should be perfect all the time but instead embrace the return to normalcy after those moments we feel we have messed up.
A sustainable lifestyle change is one that you can commit to in the long-term instead of trying something new for a few weeks because it was trending.
Our definition of being healthy needs to go beyond just the image. Sure, fitness is an amazing attribute, but how we rest, think and handle our personal and social life matters too. Opie (2015) similarly talks about the long-term impact of lifestyle, describing that although diet plays a role, it is only part of a healthy lifestyle. Our health needs to be a journey and not a destination.
Although we cannot control some aspects of our lives which contribute to our wellness, we can control most of our day-to-day habits and how we respond to the circumstances. Making a choice to pick healthy meals, take a walk or put away the phone before going to bed can have a great impact on the way we live.
Living healthily should not be about chasing an image set by social media or fighting over who has a healthier version of something between us and our friends. It should be about embracing our sustainable change in which we care for our bodies, minds and relationships. Apart from being fit, a healthy lifestyle is about having the best we can for the life we choose.
By: SITWAT ZEHRA
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