Moderation and routine are key! Being healthy on a daily basis

I would often notice that a day in the life of my parents would seem like a repeat of other day in their lives. A basic breakdown of a typical day goes something like this:

1. Wake up and slowly ease into consciousness
2. Eat a sensible breakfast
3. Get a shower, complete other daily morning hygienic tasks
4. Get dressed and evaluate what is needed for the workday
5. Go to work
6. Eat a sensible lunch (about 5 hours after breakfast)
7. Return to work
8. At about 5 pm return home from work
9. Change into comfortable clothes and attend to duties around the living area
10. Eat a sensible dinner (about 5 hours after lunch)
11. Go for a walk
12. Have some tea or a healthy dessert
13. Preform nightly hygienics
14. Read or partake in another activity conducive to winding down for the day
15. Fall asleep

This may seem monotonous, but it actually provides a template that sustains life. Your always on top of your game mentally because your well nourished. Never going 6 hours or more without eating helps keep your metabolism high. This also produces good sleeping patterns. Staying up all night some nights and sleeping all day may seem exciting in your youth, but it is not healthy to constantly teeter totter with over-sleeping and sleep deprivation.

There isn't one correct routine. There are many ways to create a routine to maximize effectiveness for your life. It may be difficult for people with obligations that fluctuate often like a doctor on call, or a split shift food server. But you can apply basic routines to where they can fit with your schedule.

If you are in recovery you stand to gain the most from routines. As an addict you've probably spent days at a time as a slave to your substance of choice. Not going to bed until you run out, or not resting until you find more. Often times drug addicts don't realize the mental strain they put themselves through just to maintain their addiction, not to mention the physical problems that may be being caused. A routine can help restore mental equilibrium, and you could enjoy waking up with the sun for a change instead of going to bed then, or dreading the suns rise.

I admire this ability my parents have acquired. Their routines are basically small steps that combine to achieve a larger goal of stability and over-all health. Everyday is never exactly the same for my parents, and unforeseen health problems or obligations can interfere with different steps in their routine. This isn't just true for them, but is a challenge to anyone and their new or existing routine. Working around your routine the best you can with the obligations your given is the trick to having success. My parents stick to theirs the best they can, and there is a sense of comfort that comes with the familiarity of their routines. I am lucky to have such intelligent people as role models, but anyone can have success with this.

Being able to depend on what happens next in life can be very satisfying. With drugs you are never guaranteed an enjoyable next step. You always incur risk with a drug lifestyle. Start standing a chance to gain something and apply a simple step of a new routine in your life and stick to it! Slowly build your routine up until you find what suits you best. Good luck!