The best health services and technologies cannot restore your body and organs to their original status after a major health setback.
All employees, employers, self-employed, temporarily retired, semi-retired, and retired persons, and those on sabbatical, must be mentally and physically active to stay healthy, even if wealthy. “To be healthy is to be free,” discourses are used among South African youth to encourage healthiness, especially in corporate wellness programmes. Being healthy allows freedom to live “normally” and choose what to do. Public perception has been that wealth is health; now it is the adage: health is wealth. From pre-electric era daylight work schedules to high stress and burnout 7×24 work schedules, we are evolving to relaxed 4-day week schedules, and self-regulated work from anywhere. We have had to adapt our lifestyle to the evolving nature of work and employment. In 2019, Iceland approved a 4-day working week, eliminating inefficiencies in the work schedule, and found improved productivity. Workers reported less stress and burnout, improved motivation, better health, stronger relationships, and more time for personal lives, hobbies, and families. The societal fear of failure and obsession with stability and salaries is making way for experimentation with careers and lifestyle for health, financial freedom, happiness, and social impact.
EVOLVING WORK, EMPLOYMENT AND LIFESTYLE: In the agrarian economies before the Industrial Revolution, most people worked as farmers growing crops and raising livestock, and as artisans who manually produced goods like clothing, shoes, vessels, tools, jewellery, and other necessities. They had better control over their lifestyle. The industrialized societies created blue-collar manufacturing, construction, maintenance, and transportation jobs, and white-collar professional, managerial, and administrative jobs. These phases of industrial revolutions are 1st: Steam-based mechanical production; 2nd: Electrical mass production; 3rd: Computer and internet-based services and production; and 4th: Smart factories and cities based on robotics, automation, artificial intelligence, and information technology. With automation of services, manufacturing, logistics, etc., the cycle is complete, as people will have to switch from jobs and corporate careers to being self-employed as micro-entrepreneurs, administrators, organizers, innovators, maintenance crew, professionals, entertainers, and influencers. As people get wealthy and enjoy the privileges of automation to work, learn, eat, socialize, and get entertained, crouched in casual wear, on a sofa at home, physical and mental activity is minimal. Till now, the working age group needed a break from overwork to avoid nervous and physical breakdown. Now the youth need to do the opposite, get off their cosy sofas and beds, for a physically and mentally active lifestyle.
HEALTH IS WEALTH: The saying “health is wealth” dates back to ancient Roman poet Virgil’s “The greatest wealth is health,” and signifies that good health is more important than material possessions. Healthy individuals experience a higher quality of life and less health-related stress, restrictions, missed opportunities, and costs. While wealth can provide certain conveniences and opportunities, it cannot buy physical, mental, and emotional well-being, essential for enjoying life and achieving personal goals. The best health services and technologies cannot restore your body and organs to their original status after a major health setback. Investment in public health leading to a healthier population boosts economic productivity and prosperity.
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE IS OUR CHOICE: To quote Don Taylor at the Naveen Jindal School of Management, University of Texas, “80% of our health status is the result of our own choices; we are responsible for our health, not our healthcare system, not your insurance, not the government. Good health facilitates freedom in its truest form. It grants us the liberty to pursue our passions, hobbies, and ambitions without restriction or fear of physical limitations or illness. Healthy individuals are self-reliant and have more control over their lives, lessening the need for external help. In essence, health is the ultimate freedom. The demanding path toward better health is undoubtedly the path to self-reliance, mental comfort, and financial independence.”
A MIDLIFE BREAK: A break from work-related stress, uncertainty, or boredom can be safely taken after creating a passive source of income from property, investments, intellectual property, or inheritance. It should be adequate to sustain the current lifestyle and compensate for inflation. The formula Financial Freedom Number = annual expenses × 25 is based on a thumb rule about the total inflation-proof investment required for a 4% annual passive income. Passive income permits you to focus on what truly matters to you, pursue your passions, and foster deeper relationships, thus reducing financial and mental stress and enhancing your health. It also allows you to upgrade your knowledge and skills and reinvent yourself in an ever-changing world to remain relevant with a healthier lifestyle.
RETIREMENT: Early loss of talented and experienced persons on retirement is a huge loss to society, hence undesirable. Superannuation and all other types of retirement, partial, phased, temporary, voluntary, and premature, for any reason, such as downsizing, or by choice, is a break in career, financial status, and lifestyle. It should be used to improve or maintain financial status, enhance mental and physical health, and not let it deteriorate and cause stress. Retirement might seem like a well-deserved break, but laziness following the change in daily routine of socialising with colleagues and dealing with the mental challenges of work can also precipitate big changes in brain health, including cognitive decline, ageing, and depression. More time for oneself, family members, travel, hobbies, or a new career can improve mental health. It is important to plan your post-retirement years to follow the wise old dictum, “it is important not just to retire from something but to something.”
AGING: With age, reaction time slows, hearing and vision deteriorate, back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, depression, and dementia become more common. Aging can affect a person’s physical, psychological, and social well-being and depends on genetic, hormonal, environmental, social, and psychological factors. To delay aging and osteoporosis, remain mentally and physically active. To improve memory and cognitive health, engage in work, problem-solving, reading, learning new skills, and in intellectual, creative, and social activities. Physical activity, stress reduction measures, hobbies, travel, connecting with family and friends, motivating each other, quality sleep, healthy diet, and adequate water intake improve mental and physical health and delay aging. Avoiding tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and excessive use of painkillers, maintaining ideal body weight, oral and body hygiene, and regular dental, eye, and health checks will help you remain healthy.
PREVENTING LIFESTYLE DISEASES IS BETTER THAN CURE: Preventive aspects of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (ACAD), Diabetes, Hypertension, obesity, and other lifestyle diseases need to be prioritised at school age itself, over focusing on the early detection and management of stroke and heart attack to prevent sudden death in adults. Eliminating or controlling behavioural and metabolic risk factors, such as smoking, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, high-risk behaviour, stress, diabetes, and obesity early in life, can dramatically reduce the global burden of ACAD. Eliminating these risk factors by 2050 could decrease the rate of ACAD deaths by 82.1%, potentially saving 8.7 million lives annually, as per the Lancet Commission. It said “targeted screening programmes, integrated into healthcare systems, can detect early signs of atherosclerosis and enable timely intervention to halt, delay, or even reverse the progress of the disease, reducing the risk of cardiovascular events in later life.”
* Dr P.S.Venkatesh Rao is a Consultant Endocrine, Breast & Laparoscopic Surgeon, Bengaluru.