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A Simple Wellness Strategy: MEDS (Meditation, Exercise, Diet, Sleep)

By // 171 Comments

I came across the simple concept of MEDS in Brooke McAlary’s book Slow: Simple Living for a Frantic World (Summary | Amazon).

It’s a wonderfully simple acronym for remembering a few of the most important elements of your health: Meditation, Exercise, Diet, and Sleep.

Enjoy!

 

Sloww MEDS Meditation Exercise Diet Sleep

A Simple Wellness Strategy: MEDS (Meditation, Exercise, Diet, Sleep)

In her book, Brooke attributes this simple concept to behavioral consultant, Nicholas Bate.¹

On a daily basis, Nicholas says we should be “giving consideration to M-E-D-S or meditation-exercise-diet-sleep.”

He explains it in a bit more detail:

“Wellness is about balance. M-E-D-S is a simple such strategy.

M is meditation. Take a bit of time out. Just to think.

E is exercise. Walk every day. Walk more. Take the stairs.

D is diet. Reduce the rubbish; increase the nutritious.

S is sleep. Get rid of sleep debt.”

 

Sloww MEDS Meditation Exercise Diet Sleep Infographic

 

How are you doing on your MEDS?

🔴 M (Meditation): This is where I’m currently failing. I’m all-in on slow living and do a lot of contemplation, but I honestly haven’t yet explored meditation (other than reading about the benefits and listening to a guided meditation a couple times). Lots of room for improvement here.

🟢 E (Exercise): Doing fairly well here. I exercise 3-5 days/week—mostly strength training, some mountain biking, and going on walks with our dog. However, exercise seems to be a constant roller coaster for me (up and down, in shape and out of shape, repeat).

🟢 D (Diet): My wife and I have taken inspiration from the Blue Zones and try to incorporate the Blue Zones longevity diets into our lives (along with elements from some of these 🔒timeless diets). We still eat some unhealthy stuff in moderation—snacks, chips, etc. And, we eat meals out every once in awhile. My latest win has been reducing alcohol consumption—I quit drinking liquor 18 months ago, beer 12 months ago, and just recently quit wine.

🟡 S (Sleep): Sleeping 7-8 hours most nights (with the occasional 6-7 hours). Sometimes I even throw in a short nap. However, now that I’m tracking my sleep with an Oura ring, I’ve realized there’s a big difference between time in bed and actual quality sleep. I often have restless nights of sleep according to my data. So, room for improvement here. Maybe meditation would help!

 

How about you? Please share your honest MEDS analysis in the comments!

 

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Footnotes & Sources:

  1. http://blog.strategicedge.co.uk/superwellness/

About Kyle Kowalski

👋 Hi, I'm Kyle ― the human behind Sloww. I’m an ex-marketing executive turned corporate dropout and solopreneur who found and created my life purpose after an existential crisis ― synthesizing the world’s wisdom to awaken and actualize the art of living. Read my story.

Sloww participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. When you purchase a book through an Amazon link, Sloww earns a small percentage at no additional cost to you. This helps fund the costs to support the site and the ad-free experience.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jenny K. Kelly

    Thanks a lot for sharing this wonderful post. I really appreciate your kind efforts. I’ve recently started to learn about meditation about 6-7 months back. It’s truly an inspiration for Beginners like me.
    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  2. leah

    Cool! I like the MEDS term. Indeed, meditation is one of the most helpful for us to be more healthy and true there are lots of benefits we can get of it and one of the most I like is the FLOW which triggers when you are in the meditation. Flow is where you are becoming happy in dealing with things that are difficult or challenging and it makes you more productive, creative, etc. Most athletes practice it and it is an awesome one.

    Reply

    • Kyle Kowalski

      Thanks, leah! Indeed, flow states are a wonderful part of life (with or without meditation). Everyone should check out Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s research and book on flow.

      Reply

    • Aakash

      Yes, meditation is a very good and very simple way to keep our body healthy and stress free, I keep doing exercise in the morning time in gym that feels me very power full and strength full. And also we have to sleep at least 7-8 hrs. Properly just for our body needs that’s keeps our body fresh and well.

      Thanks
      Regards
      Aakash

      Reply

  5. Ankit Kiraula

    I can feel you
    My meds status is:
    Mediation- nope
    Exercise- 6 times a week sometimes 7 times.
    Diet- Diet is going great, in the morning having boiled vegetables every alternate day, new experiment haha.
    Sleep- sleep is going great too now it’s a habit of mine to pass out by 10:30pm and and get up by 4:45-5:00am.

    Thank you so much for the article.
    Regards
    Ankit

    Reply

    • Kyle Kowalski

      Nice work, Ankit! Like you, I still need to add the meditation piece. Regarding sleep, the latest research is saying 7-8 hours of sleep is absolutely critical, so I’d try to add another hour in there if you can.

      Reply

      • Sulakshna Pawar

        Hi Kyle, your short article on M.E.D.S. is awesome and an inspirational block for me…. I am a professional… Have two kids…But I never took out few minutes to do exercise…I am 39 years old… I read articles and blocks on benefits of Meditation and Exercise… But Now onwards Out of 24 hours I will take out 15-20 minutes to do meditation and Exercise… Thanks once again… Keep posting such articles…. All the best….

        Regards

        Reply

        • Kyle Kowalski

          That’s great to hear, Sulakshna! You’ve hit a key point. Many of these activities don’t require a ton of time. It’s amazing what just a little dedicated time each day will do.

          Reply

          • Iulia Stoica

            Hi,

            Thank you very much for this article.
            Regarding meditation, I recently started to follow American Academy of Mind-Body Healing on youtube. It’s EFT tapping for physical pain and emotional distress. I do it mostly at night to help me sleep, but it’s a great alternative technique to create a balance in my energy system daily.

            Best regards and stay safe.

  8. Piyush Maheshwari

    Nicely articulated, thanks Kyle.
    M – I am doing meditation though not regularly but 3-4 times in a week.
    E – I do Yoga 2-3 times in a week.
    D – I am vegetarian and home food lover. Also I don’t eat out much, only 2-3 times in a month. And I also avoid junk food.
    S – This is my concern. I sleep 4-5 hours usually.
    But now I focus on my improvement areas.
    Thanks again.

    Reply

    • Kyle Kowalski

      Very nice, Piyush! Good to have awareness about the lack of sleep. I seem to be getting enough sleep lately, but I tend to stay up too late. Need to shift my sleep routine up a couple hours.

      Reply

  12. Kiran

    I would consider this lockdown as a blessing, since it gave me enough time to self-reflect. I am exploring more, learning new things. Trying to get out of the self-built cocoons which had some norms without any facts or proofs. I am in for the MEDS concept.

    M- Tried hard to incorporate it as a part of my daily life-cycle. Still struggling to get in terms with it.
    E- do different workouts on a daily basis. 3 times running in week.
    D- My wife and i have decided to adapt healthy eating habits. Its too early to celebrate since we have started it a fort night ago.
    S- Cannot sleep more than 6 hours in the night, but would definitely adapt the powernaps during the day. This was one of the norms i considered having bad implications on my professional front. After reading the articles, i feel that its good to make it a habit.

    Reply

    • Radha gupta

      M- Tried hard to incorporate it as a part of my daily life-cycle. Still struggling to get in terms with it.
      E- do different workouts on a daily basis. 3 times running in week.
      D- My wife and i have decided to adapt healthy eating habits. Its too early to celebrate since we have started it a fort night ago.
      S- Cannot sleep more than 6 hours in the night, but would definitely adapt the powernaps during the day. This was one of the norms i considered having bad implications on my professional front. After reading the articles, i feel that its good to make it a habit.

      Reply

  15. Tanveer Ahmed

    MEDS Sounds wonderful. Just read it and I am gonna try it for sure.
    Thank you very much for writing beautifully 🙂

    Reply

  19. SK Zubair

    Thanks a lot for “The Great tips for being healthy”.
    My M-E-D-S report is
    Meditation : Good
    Exercise : 3 – 4 dsys a week
    Diet : i am very lazy in eating, eating stomach full is a dream of my family haha.
    Sleep : this is currently seems to be worse from 2:00am to 07:00 am.
    🙂

    Reply

  29. Claudia Bailey

    Great article, made me painfully aware of certain deficits to improve on… Here is my MEDS report:
    M – I’ve tried it, I’m inconsistent, and perhaps that’s why I can’t tell any difference. It’s been three months.
    E – I don’t
    D – Everything in moderation, of course! When I restrict things, I crave them, so what’s the point? My family has always done more cooking at home than eating out, but we enjoy both.
    S – I too am a night owl, but I do most of my catch up on weekends… when I can.
    So basically, I afford to improve on all fronts. Oy vey

    Reply

  30. Aditya Garg

    Thanks for sharing the post, I really appreciate your kind efforts. I am also facing the same meditation issues. I used to see benefit of meditation videos but on the ground I failed to implement.
    Recently started to walking practice however I believe lot more pending to be achieve

    Again Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

    • Kyle Kowalski

      You’re welcome, Aditya. I may try Naval Ravikant‘s recommended meditation:

      – Sit for 60 minutes every day for at least 60 days
      – First thing in the morning
      – Sit up with back straight
      – Whatever your mind wants to do, you just let it do

      “Eventually you will get to a mental state of inbox zero.” — Naval Ravikant

      Reply

  31. Lakshmi

    Thanks Kyle for the wonderful article on MEDS, my concern is related to sleep eventhough I sleep for 7 to 8 hours a day my sleep timings varies day by day

    Reply

  32. Sudip Majumder

    Great Article and I am far away from reality.
    M- Living stressful life(personal & Processional). Difficult to concentrate for Meditation
    E- Not regularly
    D- Trying to control food habits and also avoid sweets.
    S – Have at-least 7 hrs sleep from 11 PM.

    Reply

  34. Jyoti Pratap

    Its a best way to lead a healthy life. We have to adapt it as a habit.
    I do meditate, nature walk, little bit of exercise and also having an healthy diet daily.
    But I have to improve my sleeping habit..so I m working on it and I will definitely Work on this MEDS strategy. Thanx.

    Reply

  36. Sindy

    Nice article. Honestly I do not make meditation.
    I’m trying to do exersice 3-4 days a week and also I’m trying to eat healthy, but I need to get better.
    Thanks for sharing !!

    Reply

  37. Teng Yue

    Thanks for sharing. I can make myself know more about meditation. I also begin to plan to do some meditation, and continue to do healthy things. I always work hard and refuel. It will get better and better.

    Reply

  38. Raja Sharma

    Hi kyle ! I did not have meditation yet but now I think I should have meditation and I do exercise when I feel tired 😊and about diet if I say so for diet I take only vegetables and chapaties sometimes I take paneer and rice when I feel weak . I sleep 6 to 7 hour in a day.🙂thanks !!

    Reply

  39. Ivannia

    M – no acostumbro a meditar.
    E – trato de salir a caminar de lunes a viernes, por lo menos 1 hora al día.
    D – trato de tener una dieta balanceada.
    S – En ocasiones logro dormir 7 horas, pero no es frecuente.
    Debo mejorar en varios aspectos, mi salud está pasado la factura.

    Reply

  40. Sonal Jain

    Thanks For Sharing This Nice Article On MEDS.
    Meditation : I tried so many times but I’ll not able to do.but I know it help to make me cool and energetic.
    Exercise:I try to make wake daily 10 to 15 min regularly.
    Diet:As I am vegetarian and eat healthy food on time so that it can digest completely.
    Sleep: I’ll take 8 hours sleep that keep me fresh and energetic.
    Thanks a lot.

    Reply

  43. rinku pal

    These are the good thing in our life meditation I do everyday in any thing I just do my very focusly this my meditation. I can’t sleep 6 to 7 hours this is my lack point. I do exercise everyday for fit body and glowing every day. And the last is diet part I don’t diet but I eat healthy

    Reply

    • Kyle Kowalski

      That’s great, Rinku. I also try to be meditative in anything I am doing. As my dad would say, “Do what you’re doing while you’re doing it. Don’t do what you’re not doing while you’re not doing it.”

      Reply

  44. Mithlesh Gupta

    this is very helpful but i have to do work in night shift and not a fix time to sleep it will be more or less by hour for everyday so could you please guide on “Sleep”, how i manage my sleep.

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Kyle Kowalski

      Good question, Mithlesh. I’m not a sleep expert, so I’m sure there are better resources out there on this than me. That being said, I would imagine that sticking to as much of a routine as possible would be a critical component to better sleep. If you’re able to work night shifts consistently that may help. If not, then maybe a few night shifts in a row at least. It may also be worth researching “polyphasic sleep” which breaks a normal 7-9 hour sleep into two or more segments.

      Reply

  48. NIKHILA BAGAI

    Great article, made me aware of certain points to improve on… Here is my MEDS report:
    M – I used to do it earlier, but stopped doing for long time now. Will start again, and yes it helps a lot.
    E – I do brisk walk daily and try to complete target of at least 10,000 steps a day.
    D – I’m a foodie. when I restrict things, I crave them. But still trying to develop a healthy diet lifestyle. Because, that’s the need of the hour.
    S – I am a night owl, but I do most of my catch up on weekends… when I can.
    So basically, I too need to improve on all fronts.

    Reply

  50. Saivta

    “MEDS” is really an important part of healthy life and MEDS are:
    Meditation: Nope
    Exercise: Yes, I do 4 or 5 days a week and walk for about half an hour on treadmill due to lockdown so can’t enjoy nature while walking.
    Diet: I try to follow healthy diet but sometime failed to do so.
    Sleep: My favourite thing, I sleep for about 6 to 7 hours.

    Reply

  51. Rupesh

    “MEDS” its really most important part of life.
    its very helpful to manage present stressful condition.

    Reply

  52. Marlon Dizon

    I agree on all of these. The only challenge with sleeping nowadays is having your mobile phone still active while taking the chance to induce sleep. Hope to get out on this bad habit.

    Reply

  55. Ronit Singh

    Hi Kyle,

    I really loved the article and it is very helpful. But I’m really having trouble with setting up my routine. I’m confused how to set up my daily schedule. Currently it is so random and messed up, I can’t think of any productive thing for me.

    It would be great if you can help me with that.

    Thanks

    Reply

  56. K S SRIJEET

    Thanks Kyle,
    For providing such wonderful article. After having an insight into article which helped to reframe my MEDS.

    Reply

  57. Marcelo de Menezes Vieira

    Kyle, thanks for sharing your experience. M – I used to practice an 1 hour session of yoga 2 times a week and I went very well for 3 years, but since pandemia starts situation was not the same. E – I keep a 2~3 times a week exercise. I am doing it on line. I believe that do not stop was a great gain at this topic. D – I started a diet at 2019 and a lot of great results were good in my life. My strategy is create a healthy habit, discover the flavor of fruits, drinks and get energy to do what I like in life. S – Usually I sleep well. But I am always monitoring the time to go sleep as I like to watch soccer games and usually the games ends late night. But here I try a chamomile, or “erva cidreira” tea. A melatonin suplement helps as well. That it!!!

    Reply

  66. Jeet Dey Tapader

    Hey, Thanks for sharing that amount of wonderful advices. I am a fond of meditation and I love the way it feels when I daily practice it. I do meditate daily for minimum of 30 minutes. I do work out for 5days a week(150 minutes each week). I do sleep for 6 to 7 hours, though I’m a night owl still I take the adequate sleep. All I want to get a healthy habit of diet. I am a foodie, and I like to explore foods.

    Reply

  73. Patricia Fears-Williams

    This is very informative , and it made me do a self-evaluation. I haven’t explored meditation, but now I will. I try to do light exercises, lately I hurt most days because I need a full left knee replacement, I use to walk in the park every other day for hours before the doctor stated I was bone on bone. Diet , I try to eat healthy from time to time even that’s a little hard when you work from home and you are the only person here, I tend to snack more of the wrong foods, and I know I don’t get enough sleep only 4 to 5 hours if that, all of this is very important, in fact extremely important to me now because I’m now older and it’s so hard just to lose 5pounds.

    Reply

  75. Dunita Harris

    M – Meditate daily
    E – I walk 5 miles a day
    D – I try to eat healthy (work in progress)
    S – Sleep 6 to 7 hours

    Reply

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