«The 4 Pillar Plan»: The four pillars of a healthy lifestyle

British doctor and author Rangan Chatterjee developed a plan that is holistically designed to serve your health. Now you might think that you have already read many such tips. dr In his research, however, Chatterjee combines the latest scientific findings with centuries-old Ayurvedic traditions.

He came to the conclusion that there are four pillars of health. Anyone who takes care of them has a good chance of being healthy and content for a long time. Best of all: His tips for the respective categories are not that difficult to implement.

You don’t have to move to a meditation monastery to become more serene. Just a few minutes of mindful switching off can help you to calm down. These short breaks are more necessary than ever in our hectic everyday life. Whether meditation, breathing exercises or yoga – all of this helps to calm down and get rid of pent-up stress. Chatterjee advises taking a short time each day to create a break from your busy schedule. Just looking out the window has positive effects on the central nervous system.

Tip: Chatterjee recommends 3-4-5 breathing: inhale for three seconds, hold your breath for four seconds, and exhale for five seconds. If you breathe out longer than you breathe in, it activates the relaxation part of the nervous system.

There are countless diets – who should keep track of them? dr Chatterjee emphasizes in his book that any nutritional strategy, which tends to be complicated, is actually completely unnecessary. With his tips he would like to motivate the readers to orientate themselves on the basics. He recommends eating five servings of different vegetables and fruits a day.

In addition, you should set yourself a fixed time window of twelve hours for food intake – once this is over, you shouldn’t eat anything anymore. This particularly discourages late-night snacking while you binge Netflix. Many already know this system as intermittent fasting. This not only helps control weight and blood sugar, but also the immune system.

Tip: dr Chatterjee recommends drinking around eight glasses of water a day. This is already doing your health a big favor and avoiding dehydration.

According to the four-pillar plan, each person should do strength training at least twice a week. In addition, special attention should be paid to the buttocks, after all, many spend most of their time sitting down. You don’t need a gym subscription to stay fit: take the stairs instead of the lift from time to time and go for a leisurely walk during your lunch break to practice Dr. Reach Chatterjee’s recommended daily goal of 10,000 steps.

Tip: Do you want to move more, but don’t know how? fThere are fitness exercises on Chatterjee’s blog – or on YouTube.

Do you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep? Sleep disorders are often due to everyday things – stress, overwork, emotional tension – or the smartphone. It is best not to use any electrical devices at least 90 minutes before going to bed, then the brain can switch off better. Because the exposure to the blue light of the screen reduces the production of the hormone melatonin (responsible for tiredness) in the body.

Otherwise, you should also avoid nerve-wracking activities before going to bed. Distressing conversations, checking your finances or answering e-mails should no longer take place late at night. Set up your bedroom comfortably and look forward to falling into your nest.

Tip: After dinner, write down everything you want to do the next day. Once you close your agenda, focus on your recovery – it will make you more productive than anything else!