Health as a part of our being.
Health can be defined as the combined conditions of all bodily organs and their functions. It is also a level of functional and/or metabolic efficiency of an organism, often implicitly human. At the time of the creation of the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1948, health was defined as being “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.
Defining health has not been the focus of many publications since. Some publications avoid giving definition to a term so all-encompassing. Others simply say that the definition is “a bad one”. In laymans terms, health would be well-being in all aspects of a person’s inner life.
Health as a subject is too broad of a matter to be easily categorized. NIH gives the following categories for health: General Health, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Child & Teen Health, Drugs and Medication, Mental Health, Natural Medicine, Sexual Health, Wellness & Lifestyle
Keeping healthy
Keeping healthy isn’t a one time thing we can do. Safe strategies for maintaining health include:
Social Activity
Our bodies health does depend on our social life. Good social relationships go toward keeping a healthy mind and body. Pleasant experiences release endorphins in the brain, and they are beneficial to overall health.
Hygiene
Hygiene is a must if we would want to stay healthy. Hygiene practices include bathing, brushing your teeth, washing hands washing hands frequently, washing food, taking care when preparing food, and many others. These small steps may mean the difference between healthy and sick.
Stress management
Prolonged psychological stress may negatively impact health, and has been cited as a factor in cognitive impairment with aging, depressive illness, and expression of disease. Stress management is one of the things you can do to enormously improve your health. Relaxation techniques are physical methods used to relieve stress. Psychological methods include cognitive therapy, meditation, and positive thinking which work by reducing response to stress. Work related stress can be reduced in various ways, including a job change if necessary.
Environmental health
Where and how we live can impact our health enormously. Among the most common problems are: Climate change and its effects on health. Hazardous materials management, including hazardous waste management, contaminated site remediation, the prevention of leaks from underground storage tanks and the prevention of hazardous materials releases to the environment and responses to emergency situations resulting from such releases.
Noise pollution control.
Safe drinking water.
Vector control, including the control of mosquitoes, rodents, flies, cockroaches and other animals that may transmit pathogens.
Role of science in health
Once again, health as a science cannot be defined. The sience of health is bipolar: the study and research of the human body and health-related issues to understand how humans (and animals) function, and and using that knowledge and research in medicine.
