What Babies Can Teach You About Leading A Healthy Life

Think about how many adults operate in modern life: we rush around, get stressed out, eat junk, and sleep poorly. That’s no way to lead a healthy life!

Babies, on the other hand, naturally know how to lead a healthy life. They listen to their intuition, and they know what they need. They breathe, eat, sleep, and poop when—and how—they need to.

Babies are completely in touch with their bodies, while adults tend to disconnect from their physical needs. As a result, we miss the signs and symptoms that our bodies are telling us about what’s wrong with our lifestyles.

If you want to understand your body’s natural processes, observe how babies operate. They have a lot to teach us about how to lead a healthy life.

Breathe Like a Baby

When a baby is born, the first thing they do is breathe. The word “inspiration” actually means, “to breathe in,” and at the most basic level, breathing connects us to the source of life.

Miguel Bethelery, a healer with a Ph.D. in molecular medicine, says “Breathing is our first food…and that’s why breathwork is so powerful.” Observe how a baby naturally breathes: they breathe in through the nose and their belly expands.

This is the first step in observing your own state. Simply look at how you’re breathing. Do you breathe into your chest all day? Do you breathe in through your mouth? Are your breaths constantly shallow? Are you breathing heavily? Do you constantly hold tension in some part of your body? All of these changes in the breath signal that your body is stressed.

Let babies be your inspiration. Breathe naturally and easily through your nose. When you find yourself falling into unhealthy, stressed breathing patterns, make a conscious effort to breathe like a baby. This simple practice will instantly put your body and mind at ease.

Eat Like a Baby

The second thing a baby does is feed when they’re put to their mother’s breast. “The baby is going to be eating the food that’s most appropriate for them,” Bethelery says. It’s equally important for us to continue to eat what’s most appropriate for us as we grow.

Look at the source of your food. Are you feeding your body what it needs? Are you eating processed foods, or real nutrition from the breast of Mother Earth—fruits, vegetables, and lean meats? Our diet gives our bodies the vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients we need to function.

Babies grow and develop properly because they’re eating what’s best for them. When we do the same, we flourish. Your body knows how to clear itself of toxins, heal itself, and thrive, as long as you give it what it needs.

Eliminate Like a Baby

The third thing a baby does is eliminate. “You need to be able to eliminate the residues of your digestion,” Bethelery says, “but you also need to eliminate poisons, you need to eliminate toxins, and you need to eliminate things that are not needed or wanted by your body.”

Look to your own bowel movements for signs of distress. Are you constipated or going to the bathroom frequently? Is your stool liquid and loose, or nice and firm? Is there mucus? Do you leave skid marks in the toilet? These are all signs there may be an issue. The quality of your bowel movements can tell you a lot about your body’s overall health.

When your body is unable to properly eliminate waste, toxins build up in your body and wreak havoc on the tissues where they’ve built up. Neurological issues, chronic fatigue, joint aches and pains, and autoimmune issues can all be connected to toxins that have accumulated in the body.

Babies don’t experience these issues because they naturally eliminate the things their bodies don’t need or want. Follow their lead. Listen to what your body tells you, and eliminate the toxins that may be harming you.

Sleep Like a Baby

The last thing a baby does is sleep. Quality sleep is one of the most important aspects of health, and babies intuitively know when they need to be restored. When they feel tired, they close their eyes and slip easily into a peaceful, deep REM sleep.

What are your sleep patterns like? Are you consistently going into a deep sleep, or are you waking constantly throughout the night? Do you feel fully rested when you wake up, or do you feel like you could sleep for another three hours?

Most of our body’s recovery processes take place while we’re sleeping. Poor sleep results in poor recovery. To help yourself get into deep, restorative REM sleep, it’s important to practice good sleep hygiene. One of the first steps for good sleep hygiene is to reduce the amount of artificial light you get after dark. About an hour before bed, shut off all screens, pick up a book, and read.

Bring Yourself Back to Health

If you want to lead a healthy life, take your lessons from babies. They naturally pay attention to what their bodies need, and they seek it at all costs. When they’re hungry, they cry. When they’re tired, they sleep. When they need to rid themselves of toxins, they poop. They breathe regularly, without holding tension.

In our modern Western culture, we’ve been taught that we need medical intervention to care for ourselves, and that our bodies will not heal on their own and we must depend on doctors. But what if we instead focus on supporting our body’s own natural healing systems and look at health holistically, through the lens of what the body needs?

These four elements—breathing, eating, eliminating, and sleeping—can indicate a person’s total health. If one of those elements is off, you won’t be performing at your optimal levels. If two of those elements are off, disease and discomfort set in. When three of those elements are out of alignment, you’re most likely in serious trouble. By noticing how you’re doing with these basics, you can bring disease (or dis-ease) back to health.