Maximizing your quality of life through optimal health
As life goes on, achieving happiness and wellbeing can get increasingly difficult as our list of priorities like work, school, family, finances, and more become harder to balance. How do you know if you are on track?
One effective measure, our quality of life, tallies the influences that impact our physical and mental wellbeing on a daily basis. It can include wide-ranging factors, from material living conditions to social supports and access to fundamental rights. Our list of priorities differs from person to person, but one of the pillars supporting our quality of life that we all share is health.
Measuring quality of life through indicators
Income is frequently used as the primary indicator of quality of life, and governments often consider it when making policies (particularly GDP, since employment and income are traditionally tied to standard of living).¹ But taken alone, it does not paint a complete picture.
A large majority (82%) of Canadians believe that indicators like health and safety are very important measures of happiness in their lives.² To promote a holistic way of thinking about what determines quality of life, the Department of Finance Canada developed the Quality of Life Framework for Canada that divides indicators into five domains: Prosperity, Environment, Society, Good Governance, and perhaps most importantly, Health.
Health’s vital role in quality of life
We may take it for granted, but health plays a particularly large role because of how it ties into all the other aspects of our lives.
Whether at work or play, what we do and how we do it depends on the status of our health. Changes such as chronic anxiety or back pain can create significant barriers in our work and social spheres and hinder how we participate in activities. Likewise, our work and play can be the cause of health status changes. For example, harmful repetitive movements or a sudden workplace injury may lead to declining health. Interactions from any aspect of our lives have the potential to cause us undue stress or lead us to make poor health trade-offs. It’s a cyclical process.
It’s easy to see why maintaining healthy practices is so vital to living our best – it allows us the opportunity to put our time and energy into the things we value most. What isn’t always clear, however, is how to make sense of all the healthy practices out there. In the Quality of Life Framework for Canada, health indicators are divided into two categories: individual health (Healthy People) and healthcare systems (Healthy Care Systems).
Navigating individual health practices
Individual health encompasses our objective health as it appears on paper and an individual’s self-rated health. How we feel, whether in general or at any given moment, influences the activities we participate in and the enjoyment and satisfaction we receive from them. A healthy quality of life goes beyond a clean bill of health.
By the same token, we can still feel healthy even with health problems, so long as we have the energy and tools to live the way we want. For example, a physical disability may change how we perform day-to-day tasks, but access to devices and services designed to help us overcome associated barriers may alleviate the negative impacts we face.
As individuals, our health relies on the healthy choices we make that keep us feeling at our best. Consistently exercising healthy practices grants us the physical and mental capabilities to do the things that enrich our lives and give us purpose. But we can’t do it all on our own.
Navigating healthcare systems
Access to healthcare and support is essential for managing good health. For someone with clinical depression, for instance, the ability to access an array of supports and tools – counselling, therapy, medication, and effective management strategies – may significantly help combat the challenges they otherwise find impossible to manage on their own.
Healthcare systems also foster education about practices that promote good health and wellbeing and those that do not. In turn, we can share the knowledge with others and form communities, which can further strengthen our quality of life.
Trade-offs
Reaching a high quality of life involves trade-offs, regardless of which indicators you consider. Health is no exception. We often make poor health decisions for the benefit of other aspects of our lives, such as taking a high-paying but stressful job, engaging in riskier activities we enjoy, or sacrificing sleep to get ahead on a project. Trade-offs may pose little risk in moderation, but long-term health sacrifices can cause big problems down the line.
Even though maintaining optimum health can seem overwhelming, it’s okay to start out small. Replacing a sugary snack or adding evening walks to your routine may seem insignificant at first. But over time, simple decisions lead to significant improvements in our mental and physical state. And these improvements allow us to put more energy into the things that matter to us.
To realize your best quality of life, reflect on the indicators that are important to you and your happiness, and consider how your health fits in with them. Finding a stable balance can take time, but your health is a worthwhile investment that can help you live your best life for as long as possible.