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Wellness Wheel: Physical Wellness
Respecting and Recharging Your Body
SELF CAREWELLNESS WHEEL
6/9/2026
Wellness Wheel: Physical Wellness
Respecting and Recharging Your Body
Dr. Peggy Swarbrick’s Eight Dimensions of Wellness paradigm addresses whole-being wellness and each week we will choose one dimension to explore. This week we focus on Physical Wellness.
Physical wellness focuses on maintaining a healthy body through regular exercise, balanced nutrition, adequate sleep, and routine medical care. It involves active, daily habits that promote vitality, such as physical movement, avoiding harmful substances, and managing stress to support overall functional capacity and well-being.
Physical Wellness acts as a foundational component in the Wellness Wheel:
Interconnection: Physical wellness affects other areas, such as emotional well-being being hindered by poor physical health; while good physical health enhances overall quality of life.
Self-Assessment: Individuals can use the wheel to assess their current habits, identify areas for improvement, and set small goals to effect change; such as increasing activity or improving diet.
Balance: The goal is not perfection in every area, but finding balance and making consistent, positive choices that contribute to long-term health.
Physical activity lowers the risk of over 25 chronic diseases, improves mood through the generation of endorphins and BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), and boosts immune resilience.
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a vital protein often described as "fertilizer for the brain." It promotes the survival, growth, and formation of new neurons and synapses, making it essential for learning, memory, and cognitive adaptability (neuroplasticity).
Cognitive Function: High BDNF levels facilitate the creation of new neural pathways, which accelerates learning and improves memory storage.
Mental Health: Low BDNF levels are strongly associated with depression, anxiety, and neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's and dementia.
Energy Balance: It plays a role in regulating energy intake and suppressing appetite.
You can boost your brain's BDNF production through daily lifestyle changes:
Aerobic Exercise: Activities like running, cycling, or swimming are primary triggers for releasing BDNF. Studies show that combining aerobic training with complex, skill-based exercises (e.g., dancing or rock climbing) maximizes brain function and connectivity.
Diet and Supplements: Certain compounds and nutrients are studied for their potential to upregulate BDNF, including omega-3 fatty acids, curcumin, and caffeine
Fasting: Intermittent fasting has been shown in some studies to stimulate the production of neurotrophic factors.
NUTRITION
We live in a time of such varied ways of ingesting nutrition. Ranging from the raw food diet, fruitarian diet, vegan diet, whole foods plant based diet, macrobiotic diet, paleo diet, carnivore diet, the 5:2 method, intermittent fasting, water fasting, dry fasting and a whole lot more.
So it is a fair question to ask that amongst all of these different belief systems and ways of viewing food and nutrition: How does anyone know what the right way to eat is?
Personalized nutrition tailors dietary recommendations to your unique biology, lifestyle, and health goals. It replaces the one-size-fits-all approach by analyzing blood markers, gut microbiomes, and DNA to create highly specific meal plans and supplement routines.
How It Works
Data Collection: Uses comprehensive assessments like metabolic blood panels, DNA swabs, and continuous glucose monitors (CGM).
AI Analysis: Big data and machine learning algorithms process how your body uniquely responds to specific macronutrients.
Actionable Output: Results generate highly customized daily food scores, grocery lists, or custom vitamin and supplement formulations.
Personalized nutrition programs have been clinically proven to improve cardiometabolic health and lower triglyceride levels better than standard generalized diets. However, as the science and diagnostics continue to evolve, you should ensure that any diagnostic methods and algorithms are validated and scientifically supported.
MOVEMENT
When we think about moving our bodies - we are again faced with the millions of ways it is possible to move and a large variety of recommendations about the best ways to achieve Physical Health and wellbeing.
There is such a large variety of ways in which body is capable of moving. And also a large variety of capacities. Each one of us is at a different level of physical ability. For some, being sedentary is the norm, and being told to do 30-45 minutes of physical activity daily is quite a challenge. For others, used to being highly physically active or robustly athletic, the 45 minute daily limit is laughable.
So just as in personalised nutrition, when it comes to moving your body, the activity you choose has to fit your way of life. The purpose of moving your body is manifold: by moving we speed up the blood flow through every vessel in our body. Freshly oxygenating every one of our trillions of cells. Red blood also brings through a vast amount of nutrients, chemicals, neurotransmitters, etc; all of which are required to energise and activate the cells of our body.
Additionally the same blood flow also works to clean the cells; removing any toxins, waste products, excess materials, anything not needed immediately, away from the cell. Housekeeping so that the cell can remain relatively uncluttered, flexible and work effectively.
The lymphatic system which is also impacted by physical movement, acts as a slow-moving, larger transportation system (different to the fast moving blood). The lymph transports heavier, larger quantities of items (fats, proteins, minerals, white blood cells, etc) around the body to the various ports to be stored or processed (immune system, the liver). By being physically active, we enhance the ease with which all of these very necessary, very important materials are transported through our body.
Movement could mean something as simple as a shake practice, taking a five minute stretch break, walking around the neighbourhood, stretching, dancing, an aerobics class, going to the gym, jogging, running, swimming, skiing, hiking, yoga pilates; pretty much anything that allows your body to have some kind of physical range of motion and that brings you a sense of fun, joy or peace.
SLEEP
Sleep is as essential to human survival as eating, drinking, and breathing. It is a vital biological process that repairs tissues, consolidates memories, balances hormones, and regulates the immune system. Consistently getting the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep is the foundation for optimal physical and mental functioning.
Key Benefits of Sleep
Getting adequate rest provides numerous essential benefits for your body and mind:
Brain Function & Mental Clarity: During deep sleep, your brain catalogs and consolidates memories, clears out toxins, and supports cognitive abilities like problem-solving and focus.
Physical Repair & Recovery: Being inactive allows your body to heal injuries, synthesize proteins, and undergo essential tissue growth and muscle repair.
Immune Support: The immune system releases proteins called cytokines, which help fight off infections and inflammation. Sleep gives your body the downtime it needs to use these defenses effectively.
Heart Health: Rest periods allow your cardiovascular system to recover. During sleep, blood pressure and heart rate naturally decrease, reducing long-term cardiovascular strain.
Weight Management: Sleep regulates the hormones that control appetite (ghrelin and leptin). Lack of sleep can disrupt this balance, leading to increased cravings and higher risks of obesity.
Emotional Well-being: High-quality sleep acts as an emotional reset, helping you manage stress and lowering the risk of mood disturbances or anxiety.
The Impact of Sleep Deprivation
Chronic lack of sleep—getting less than 7 hours per night—can severely compromise your health. Over time, insufficient rest increases the risk of developing long-term conditions, including:
Type 2 diabetes
Heart disease and high blood pressure
Weakened immunity and susceptibility to infections
Impaired coordination, increasing the risk of accidents
Personally, I find that as soon as I wake up if I’m able to get out into the sunlight and move my body, it helps me to regulate my circadian rhythm so that by night time my body automatically starts winding down, ready for bed.
I’m not sure why my tiny little eight year-old was on YouTube researching sleep but here is a link to her video about sleep hygiene and her thoughts of about what it constitutes (I guess it's never too early to start improving your Physical Wellness!) :
Click here to watch a video that my daughter made when she was 8 and researching sleep hygiene.
*she's referring to drinking sour cherry juice due to its high tryptophan content
Main Components of Physical Wellness:
Physical Activity/Movement: Integrating regular movement into daily life, such as walking, stretching, or biking, to increase energy and maintain mobility; and yoga which enhances both strength and mental clarity. Physical wellness involves respecting your body through consistent practices. Fifteen minutes of walking daily after meals is a brilliant start; and as your body acclimatises, it will naturally form a habit and allow small incremental increases to the amount of time you spend walking. Eventually, you will no longer need to rely on motivation, but muscle memory will set the alarm when it’s ‘walking time’.
Nutrition: Eating a balanced diet that fuels the body and supports long-term health like the Mediterranean diet. Personalised nutrition means eating in a way that is sustainable (easy for you), comfortable (for your digestive system) and as healthy as you can make it. However, this style of eating may not always be ‘balanced’ so supplementing where necessary may be needed to address any deficiencies.
Sleep Hygiene: Ensuring adequate, restorative sleep to allow for mental and physical recovery. Making sure you follow your circadian rhythm: waking up and exposing your eyes to natural light to stimulate morning hormones; not exposing yourself to artificial bright lights close to bed time.
Medical Care: Proactively managing health through check-ups (dental, optical, hearing, feet, bloodwork) screenings, and seeking help for illnesses or injuries sooner rather than later. Managing prescriptions and getting a second opinion to confirm that you are on the best program for your needs.
Substance Avoidance: Avoiding tobacco, alcohol, recreational and other drugs to minimize long term health risks. While sugar, processed, inflammatory foods and caffeine aren’t considered ‘substances’, they may have a very drug-like negative effect on your health, so it is well worth keeping an eye on your body’s reaction after these items.
Small steps to kickstart your Physical Wellness journey:
Add movement: Take the stairs, walk during breaks, or park farther away when you go to the shops. Find any reason you can to get up and move, especially after meals, to help utilise all the glucose in your blood stream.
Prioritize rest: Set a consistent sleep schedule. Create a night-time routine that your body begins to recognise as its wind down time. Lowering light exposure, switching off from devices/technology, having a calming cup of herbal tea (chamomile, valerian, ashwagandha based), read something relaxing or uplifting, use aromatherapy oils that promote relaxation around bed time, use weighted blankets to provide somatic grounding, and create a no interruption rule to support your body’s down regulation time.
Small changes: Start small with mini daily activities, rather than committing to big, sweeping changes and expecting perfection immediately. Change takes time, but you definitely have to celebrate all wins big or small as you make your way to your goal.
Self-Care: Take time for self-care to manage stress levels which directly impact your physical health.
To learn more about the Wellness Wheel and its practical applications, SAMHSA produces a Step-By-Step Guide to Wellness called Creating a Healthier Life. This guide has helpful resources to help you break down the dimensions of wellness and apply them to your lifestyle. You can use this workbook to more deeply understand the dimensions, to set goals, and develop an action plan for creating lifestyle habits that will strengthen your eight Dimensions of Wellness.
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