Health resources

Probably everyone who thought about maintaining and strengthening their health faced the problem of deciding where to run, what to grab. For the most part, this is due to the fact that the very concept of “health” is defined and worked out much worse than the concept of “disease”. It is known that the correct formulation of the question contains most of the solution.

According to the charter of the World Health Organization (WHO), health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not just the absence of diseases and physical defects. The problem with this definition is that it does not answer and does not even raise the question of how to achieve this very well-being on all these fronts (I repeat, the problem with determining health is actually more significant than it might seemat first sight).

For effective health management, it is convenient to perceive this concept as a resource of vitality, or you can also say - a resource of health (in the modern world it is an analogue of natural vitality). Further, it is convenient to break this generalized resource into separate key categories that can be measured and which are convenient to work with:

- Nutrition : the initial resource, substance and energy, which allow the body to exist and function. To evaluate nutraceutical status (food diary, analyzes) and cost-effectiveness (BMI, percentage of fat, analyzes) in most cases is not difficult.

- stamina: one of the first physical parameters convincingly related to the level of health, largely thanks to the creator of the test named after himself, Comrade Cooper. It is also easy to measure endurance (IPC, VO2 max), for example, using the same Cooper test or alternative analogues.

- Strength : in recent years, more and more evidence has been accumulating that strength indicators are also quite tightly associated with life expectancy and its quality.

- Mobility: we can say that this is a resource that allows you to effectively and safely use strength and endurance, due to the ability to safely perform movements with a sufficiently large amplitude. The term mobility instead of flexibility (total mobility in the joints of the whole body) I chose consciously, because in this matter, the total chain does not always allow us to notice a weak link. Measured using special tests.

- Habits: automation resource. They can be either positive or useful (contributing to saving resources and improving safety - hygiene habits; rational regime of the day, work and rest), and negative or harmful (which lead to excessive spending of resources and simply cause direct harm - I think they need no introduction ) In my opinion, this group also includes a sufficient amount of sleep. You can measure using a detailed checklist with a weighted score for different habits.

- Psychological resource: all those characteristics of the psyche that ensure human adaptability and even some excess of it, the very WHO well-being from the definition of "health". It is measured using various psychological tests and questionnaires, as well as using objective research, for example, the state of the autonomic nervous system, which indirectly indicates the state of affairs in higher nervous activity.

If the listed categories are combined into a single diagram, you can get a map or diagram of health resources:



Each of the resources can be evaluated, say, on a ten-point scale (and these points will differ, say, for an athlete and a brainworker, it is necessary to evaluate them on a scale), and the total presentation will show the general level of human health and weak links, primarily requiring correction.

For example, if you evaluate the resources of a weakened person with chronic diseases, the picture may look something like this:



And here, why not start increasing the resource, everything will give a noticeable return.

For example, patients with severe chronic illnesses, such as rheumatoid arthritis, constantly feel fatigue due to their illness. This leads to a gradual decrease in their motor activity, because there is no desire to move and there is an expectation that physical activity will tire even more.

There is a vicious circle: worse health - less movement - a drop in objective endurance indicators - worse health - even less movement, etc. If such patients even simply give pedometers and conduct a small educational program about the benefits of movement , they begin to move more and as a result feel better, fatigue decreases.

From the point of view of the mentioned resources, such actions lead to an increase in physical performance through an increase in endurance, plus a psychotherapeutic effect due to the fact that the problem is described, rationalized, and a positive attitude is formed to improve it.

Well, many (if not most) representatives of office plankton have something like this:



This condition is called the third state of health, between the health itself (or the diagnosis of "almost healthy") and the disease. Well-being and working capacity are lame at the same time, but it is quite difficult to identify specific pathologies (although there is no healthy pathology with some persistence, there are underexplored ones)), there is still nothing to cure at this point, therefore narrow specialties often cannot do anything with such complaints, you need to wait manifestations of diseases, so that there is something to treat.

True, there is an alternative - to increase health resources and enter the "green" area, then the risks of disease manifestations are reduced or the cure is faster and more complete.

Planning

According to the System Restriction Theory, the total strength of a system is determined by its weakest link. The resource map allows you to identify the weak link and direct efforts to strengthen it, which gives the greatest effectiveness. Thus, the scheme can be used as well as popular planning tools, for example, the Eisenhower matrix or SWOT analysis.

Also, the scheme will help in self-education on this topic: if in doubt, how to properly assess your resources on one line or another, it makes sense to pay close attention to educational program on this topic. In this way, a more harmonious development can be ensured, as focusing on a single topic (for example, you are a fan of running, rocking, or yoga) often leaves gaps in other areas.

For example, having good indicators in strength or endurance, people often do not provide good flexibility and quality (technique) of movements, which subsequently leads to injuries and prolonged rehabilitation, during which the very resources, strength and endurance are greatly reduced. Or, conversely, being carried away by various practices of flexibility and having good mobility in the joints, but lack of strength in the muscles, you can end up with the same problems with the musculoskeletal system and then engage in rehabilitation. Moreover, the rake that can be circumvented is almost immediately visible if you know where to look.

Seventh resource

It should also be borne in mind that in addition to personal health resources there is also such a resource as a social environment (it is not for nothing that not only physical, mental, but also social well-being appears in the WHO definition). A lot of research confirms that our environment greatly affects our habits and lifestyle choices, this resource should also be considered.



If you want to change your lifestyle towards a healthier one, you should make sure that there are enough motivated people in your environment, preferably with practical experience, you can choose a circle of communication even taking into account the lagging links, strengthening your position on the right fronts.

I hope the topic turns out to be interesting and useful, it will lead to some new thoughts or will allow a systematic look at the question :)