Have you ever driven your car without oil? I hope not, because you probably don’t have that car anymore. Or at the very least, you had to replace the engine. The oil in your car is pumped through the engine to help keep the metal parts from rubbing together and causing damage to your engine. Most cars have a sensor light that will warn you that your oil is low.
Your body also needs certain elements to keep it running smoothly. Unfortunately, it’s not just one thing—it’s a combination of things. And when you are low on any of these, there’s not necessarily any blatant warnings.
For example, you need food to fuel your body. Food gives you the energy to move. Our bodies need physical movement to prevent our muscles from atrophying. On the other hand, rest is also essential to functioning at an optimum level. Did you know that lack of proper sleep can cause your skin to age more, bring on depression, make you more prone to accidents, cause weight gain, and weaken your immune system? A severe lack of sleep can sometimes induce a psychotic episode that might produce hallucinations, disordered thinking, or paranoid delusions. On top of that, the temperature in our body also needs to be regulated. Sometimes, we need to cool down, and other times, we need to warm up, depending on our activity or the season.
Our bodies require a lot of care, and there aren’t a bunch of warning signals that light up to indicate where we are deficient, which leaves us at risk to run ourselves into the ground. Sometimes, our spouse can speak the truth into our life when we are being negligent with our bodies. However, we also have a responsibility to understand our own bodies and develop a system that helps us detect when our body needs a fill up.
If we don’t, our family, friends, and others will suffer the consequences in some way. Some people who are normally very kind and patient can get very impatient or crabby when they are low on sleep. This could mean unnecessary yelling around the house or bickering over things that aren’t worth it or would never have come up if someone had gotten the proper amount of sleep.
People with low blood sugar start to shake, sweat, and get disorientated if they don’t eat regularly and can experience a loss of consciousness if not addressed.
Even though it’s your body, what you do with it affects those you love. You should monitor yourself and determine when you are depleted of something, then figure out how to fill yourself up. You don’t want to break down or start rubbing people the wrong way with a caustic attitude or demeanor. While nobody is guaranteed a long life, you have a responsibility to your family to take care of your body so you can have a better chance that it will run smoothly for a long time.