Physical Wellness Health Assessment: Part I - Exercise, Rest, and Health Habits

To a do physical wellness health assessment of the body you will look at the areas of exercise, rest, health habits, hydration, nutrition and supplements and identify where and how you need to make changes.

Because there are several sub-domains involved in this domain, this physical wellness health assessment may require a wellness wheel of its own. Use the previous instructions to draw a physical wellness assessment wheel with six sections either on the back of the wellness health assessment wheel you already made, or use a separate piece of paper or page in your wellness journal.

Label the physical wellness health assessment sub-domains: exercise, rest, health habits, nutrition, hydration and supplements.

Exercise:

1. Do you get at least 30 minutes of exercise per day through walking or other means?
2. Do you get 30 – 60 minutes of aerobic exercise at least three times a week.
3. Do you get regular exercise (yoga, tai chi. pilates) that develops strength, flexibility and balance?

Rest and Relaxation:

1. Do you get at least 8 hours of sleep per night?
2. Do you get to bed by 10pm?
3. Do you meditate or practice some form of deep relaxation that reduces stress?
4. Do you have a hobby or pastime that you engage in frequently?

Health Habits:

1. Do you always wear a seat belt when in the car?
2. Do you always protect your brain by wearing a helmet in activities such as biking or skiing?
3. Do you floss your teeth daily?
4. Do you drink no more than seven alcoholic drinks per week, or three drinks per occasion (women) or 14 drinks per week or four drinks per occasion (men)?
5. Are you a non-smoker?
6. Do you practice safe sex?
   

Nutrition, hydration and supplements will be covered in the next post

Score each section in the physical wellness assessment by taking the number of yes answers and expressing them as a percentage of the total number of questions. Then put a line at the level representing that percentage in the appropriate section of the physical wellness wheel – see how to do a wellness health assessment..

How to Do a Wellness Health Assessment

The first step to wellness is to take a wellness health assessment to determine where you are now in each of the holistic wellness dimensions. Once you know where you are and where you need to be, you can make a plan to close the gap.

The next seven posts will examine what your wellness health assessment needs to cover in each of the seven holistic wellness dimensions – body, mind, emotions, relationships/social, spirit, vocational and environmental.

Record Your Findings
When doing your a wellness health assessment, it is helpful to record it in the form of a wheel with seven sections, each named for one holistic wellness dimension. Let the hub at the centre of the wheel represent zero and the rim of the wheel represent 10, the highest level possible in that dimension. Put a dotted line between these two extremes to represent how you are currently doing in that dimension.

As you assess each dimension, it may be helpful to make a few notes beside each section on the wellness health assessment sheet to identify where you are now regarding behaviours your need to change in order to become a 10.

Look for Balance
Once you have completed all the sections, look to see how balanced the wheel is. If it was a bicycle wheel, how smooth a ride would you have? Can you connect the balance, or lack of it, in your wellness health assessment wheel with the smoothness and balance in your life right now?

Take Action
Does one area leap out as requiring urgent attention? What one thing could you do to raise the score in that holistic wellness dimension by one point? Can you commit to doing that this week? Make that commitment and plan how and when you will do it?

For example, your physical wellness health assessment may show that you are not getting enough daily exercise. You realize that if you walk for another 15 minutes a day you will meet the minimum criterion of 30 minutes a day. You decide that before or after work you will get off the bus a few stops earlier and walk the rest of the way to work or home.

Realize Balance is Not Static
Holistic wellness is a journey, not a destination. We strive to achieve balance in life, but there will never be perfect balance. The demands of life are never equal. Sometimes you will have to focus on one or two holistic wellness dimensions for a while to the detriment of others. That’s O.K. – just don’t get stuck there.

Prepare Your Wellness Health Assessment Wheel
Go ahead and make your wellness health assessment wheel now. Draw a circle, divide it into seven equal sections and write the name of each wellness dimension along the rim of each section.