Staying healthy and disease-free has become an ultimate goal for many these days. People hit gyms, take up yoga and meditation classes; take up fitness challenges such as Ironman, Walkathon, etc. However, the majority of the working population from the age group of 18 to 55 are usually far too caught up in excessively busy schedules.
Competitiveness and being under constant duress to produce results bring us more stress than satisfaction. In the race to achieve goals and perform with looming deadlines, self-care is completely neglected as we do not give ourselves any breathing space to take a step back and just rest.
Many of us feel disorientated, are constantly plagued by illness and find ourselves underperforming because we are under an immense amount of stress. An unhealthy lifestyle naturally follows, which after some time begins reflecting in our physical and mental health. The recent deaths of young police constables due to heart attacks while they were on duty are a much-needed wake-up call. Stress and an unhealthy lifestyle should not be taken lightly.
Two months ago a police constable in his late 30s died from a heart attack on duty. Sources from the Verna police said that the constable collapsed suddenly at the police station due to cardiac arrest. Similarly, a week ago, another police constable in his 30s collapsed while on duty at the government job fair at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Taleigao.
A few months ago a famous South Indian actor Puneet Rajkumar and another Bollywood actor Siddharth Shukla both died due to cardiac arrest. These cases of younger people dying prematurely from heart attacks are alarming.
People who work in the field like the police, home guards, soldiers, journalists, etc, need to be more cautious about their health and should try to live stress-free.
When contacted, Director General of Police Jaspal Singh (IPS) said that most Goan police are fit, and they have to undertake parades and other physical training regularly.
These heart attack cases are exceptional. Goan police are healthy and physically fit. He further said, “I encourage police to take up physical fitness activities to stay fit.”
Rtd Commander Narayanan said that in the defence forces, physical and mental fitness is given a lot of importance, and these personnel are always seen doing various activities. Local police, however, do not have a regular physical exercise regime.
Police personnel stay active during their training period, and once they are stationed at police stations, most of them do not exercise to stay fit, making them more vulnerable to health issues. “I feel regular exercising is necessary for anyone to achieve good health," he added.
Joy Pereira, a dietician, said that according to Ayurveda, a balanced diet with a good amount of exercise and rest is necessary for anyone to stay healthy. Many youngsters have heart attacks due to the intake of unhealthy, high-calorie junk food, excessive drinking, smoking, excessive stress, no exercise, not consuming food at the right times and not sleeping on time.
He further said that to set everything right, one needs to bring order and discipline in his/her life, that is, give up vices, exercise regularly, meditate, eat a good diet, get enough sleep and engage in recreational activities.
To conclude, if people want to stay healthy and keep lifestyle diseases away, then they will have to take time out for themselves and become involved in various activities which will keep them physically fit and mentally stress-free. Remember, without our physical and mental well-being, we can achieve nothing. Success is a pointless endeavour when it is earned at the cost of your health and life.
