In most games, you have a health bar. It will change as you level up, change skills, or take hits. In the real world, HP, which focuses primarily on your physical well-being, is also an essential metric to monitor. HP is often your base stats (your base level of fitness, any chronic illnesses, etc.) but little things (time with loved ones, a hangover or cold, acute stress, etc.) will impact you in the moment.

A few things that can impact your HP:

• Food. If you are eating food that doesn’t meet your body’s needs, your HP will take a hit. Whether it’s food allergies/intolerances or just a vitamin or macronutrient imbalance, what you eat or don’t eat can have a significant impact on your overall health. This isn’t one-size-fits-all, so test to see what helps you feel your best.

• Exercise. Whether it’s a brisk walk or a 5k run, your body needs to move. Start with where you are now and build as you can. Bonus points if you can get outside or take a friend along. We’re animals and there’s research that shows time in nature and community is very beneficial.

• Rest. You need to rest your body and mind. This gives you the time to regen from the day. If you’re staying up late gaming to relax and then feel like garbage the next day, are you actually relaxing?

• Your mental health. If you’re dealing with mental illness or chronic or acute stress, this can chip away at your HP as well as your MP.

It’s easy to forget that at our most basic, we’re just animals with tools. We need basic things to keep us moving. HP is also one of the easier stats to manipulate so take advantage of that to the best of your ability!