Wake Up Gen Y - you are crashing!!

"Its peak winter in Delhi these days. Its hard to instill a discipline to work out in the morning or late evening in such cold foggy weather.", said my colleague P (aged 27). I would have bought her argument in usual times but the times were not usual, not for me at least.

Monday morning 8th Jan one of our Product guys R (still in his early 30s) just crashed and fell on the floor in the midst of a meeting. He was stable minutes later but we rushed him to ER at a major hospital in the hopes of root causing the issue where to our dismay the doctors discharged him in an hour without doing any profound diagnosis. The same afternoon one of our Marketing guys D (still in his late 30s) buckled his knee just walking around in the office. He was in excruciating pain and had to go to see an orthopedic to figure out what just happened. The same evening I developed a fever out of nowhere. By 9 pm, I had taken a Crocin but the fever and chills showed no respite. At 11 pm, I called ER and asked for help. The doctor on call suggested taking another Crocin. The fever finally came down and the shivering stopped by 1:30 am. During those 3 hours, 10:30 pm to 1:30 am I struggled under my blankets - I cried, I hallucinated, and I pondered alone about the events of the day. Why were we all crashing?

I could not get over the fact that as energetic, as smart and as dynamic we all maybe - when our bodies crash, we crash. Our confidence goes for a toss and we are not capable of doing much for ourselves forget about being of service to our loved ones or to the world at large. An entire generation of educated Indians (more specifically living in India) do not do much to take care of their health. We just take it for granted. When the same Indians end up in jobs abroad, somehow a significant percentage of them become health conscious and start training for marathons no less! I am also one of those examples - in the 7 years I lived in the Silicon Valley, I ran or swam at least 3-4 times in a week; I completed 1 triathlon and 2 marathons. Needless to say, I practiced meticulously for each of those events for months and created time for practice in my busy work schedule.

So what is it? Why does health not matter? Health must matter because life matters. We must make health matter to us and to people around us. Here are some things we can do so we do not crash -

1) Find time for minimum 20-30 mins of work out - it could be a brisk walk or a jog, a game of tennis or badminton or soccer - whatever gets you going; if all else fails find time to dance in the night. Tip: I often dance with my kid in the evening - doubles up as exercise and quality fun time with kiddo.

2) Learn about health issues - whenever you hear about a health issue whether its yours or someone in the family or a coworker - find time to read about and understand the issue, its causes, prevention and the right emergency response. This is a good way of knowing what to do when such a health issue hits you.

3) Do not procrastinate or postpone root causing any health issue or symptoms that are bothering you. We Indian are quite silly - for something as meaningless as a cold/viral fever we visit a doctor but for some symptom which could be a serious issue we wait weeks or months before visiting a doctor. This could be crucial time wasted. You do not want to find out that you are at a later stage in a disease just because you did not find time in your busy schedule for a month!

4) Annual checkups - Yes they sound boring but hey the best way to say a deep "Hi" to your body is to figure out whats in great shape, whats okay and what parts of your body really need your attention and care. This one is just a solid preventive health plan but somehow we are more concerned about getting our cars and motorcycles serviced than scheduling full body checkups.

5) Rest when sick - One of the fallacies of the connected world is that even when we are sick our mobile phones and gadgets are not. Somehow all kinds of breaking news type of things happen at work when we are sick and what that means is that we bring the office to our bedrooms. Back to basics is a good philosophy in life guys! You were physically or mentally stressed and possibly caught some infection therefore you are sick = In order to recover you must get rest. Real rest means sleep, relax, lie down, lounge, read, or watch some TV but in order to do any of this first make sure your phone is on silent. Stressing and getting work done from your mobile is not called resting. This point is so simple, but we Gen Y adults don't seem to get this one at all!

6) Eat healthy & Drink in moderation - Eating out and especially different cuisines with their unique flavors can be really fun - at our house we enjoy it but no more than once a week. On a daily basis, eating a healthy diet at the right time is important. Fruits or fruit juice make for a good breakfast along with carbs/protein of your liking such as eggs, upma, poha, idli, etc. Either a salad or soup can be easily incorporated in your regular lunch or dinner menu. Having lunch between 1-3 pm is very important. Even on the day R crashed, I found an engineer who works closely with him chowing down at 5 pm in the cafeteria. I asked him if he remembered what happened this morning - he said he knew and was very concerned about R. Immediately, I reminded him that he didn't seem concerned enough or he would not be repeating rookie mistakes. Drinking alcohol if one must - must be done in moderation; and without mixing drink types. This is really simple but so many youngsters just don't get it. I have seen people gulp down glasses so quickly without munching anything - that getting tipsy and a hangover seem to be a given. But guys that's not all - you don't know the damage you are causing your body by drinking in excess. Alcohol is not a must to party. If you do tend to enjoy it, do learn the art of sipping nice and slow. You know it still tastes the same - whether you have a small sip or a big gulp :)

7) Mental health is equally important as physical. People have always been struggling with issues like short-term stress or anxiety caused by an incident/individual at home/work/etc. to depression. Now, you do not need to struggle. Mental health issues are well understood, and it is easy to walk in to any major hospital and meet a counselor, psychologist, or therapist who will be able to help you. Here again the challenge is enough people are not seeking medical help. Do not live in denial. If you think you need help or not sure - there is no harm in seeing a doctor. Sometimes opening up to a friend or family member can help - he/she can take you to a doctor and be your supporter in starting a treatment.

8) Last but not the least, a daily dose of sound sleep (6-8 hours) is a must. I know a few people who boast of sleeping 4-5 hours so they can get their best work done late night or their best work-out done super-early morning. These are all shams. Your body, your cells need time to re-calibrate, to grow, etc. Do not shortchange your long term health and longevity for short term progress on your daily checklist.

Whatever your ambitions are, whatever your road in life, remember this - "Health is Wealth!" and "Without health, you have no chance at wealth or happiness!". That's all, my young Indians. I think you get my message. Make the most of your life and for God's sake take care of yourself.