MEDS: Meditation, Exercise, Diet, Sleep (+ Infographic)

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

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

Enjoy!

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.”

How are you doing on your daily MEDS?

🟡 M (Meditation): Above, Nicholas Bate says “take time out just to think” which would technically be reflection or contemplation. Meditation would be taking some time out just to not think—just to be (be aware, be present, etc). While I’m all good on thinking, reflection, and contemplation, I could use more meditation.

🟡 E (Exercise): I do some amount of exercise 3-5 days/week—mostly strength training. I need to increase frequency of cardio like mountain biking and going on walks with our dogs. After growing up in competitive swimming and competitive running, exercise as an adult seems to be a constant roller coaster for me (up and down, in shape and out of shape, repeat).

🟢 D (Diet): All things considered, my wife and I eat pretty well and are at healthy weights. My big win here has been quitting alcohol for 200+ days now (after decades of drinking). Most recently, I also quit caffeine, which is probably helping my sleep. Speaking of sleep…

🟢 S (Sleep): I’ve radically revamped my sleep. In prior years, I was going to bed at 1-2am most nights. Now, I consistently go to bed between 9:30-10:30pm and wake up between 6-7am. I track my sleep with an Oura ring, so I can see all my sleep data and trends. The big thing I need to work on is increasing my amount of deep sleep each night.

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

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