Staying healthy is a prerequisite of maintaining an added stress-free life brought about by complications. If we fall sick due to germs and unhealthy living, we do not perform at our best. It is then important to know the nature of our physiological and
psychological needs to maintain our state of staying healthy. The hierarchy of needs which was first defined by Abraham Maslow in 1943 as an article in his publication Theory of Human Motivation very well explain the steps in which we should go through to achieve a state of well being.

Physiological

The first step in staying healthy is to be able to obtain the basic things which our body needs to function in the proper manner in which our body was designed to be.

Proper breathing, food, water, sleep, excretion are the things needed by a person to stay healthy.

Among all things, this is perhaps the most general and common standard for human existence in which an absence of these would result to outright illness and complications on the other areas of needs of the human being.

Safety

The next level of need which the body needs is the safety of these physiological parts from external and internal stimuli which may cause them to malfunction or dysfunction. These internal factors include the germs and bacteria which invade our bodies and wreak havoc in our physiological processes. External forces may be any of the environmental objects which may pose a threat to our whole being.

Safety of the body is needed after being able to provide the same with the necessary starter supplements. Keeping the body safe from harm and by keeping a proper form of hygiene would definitely help in maintaining safety of the body.

Love

Love is the affection and concern received by the self from the different social constructs surrounding him. Staying healthy would also need a form of affirmation and care from the others as we are social creatures. A lack of proper affection may lead to complications in the next two higher levels of needs, going towards the psychological area of existence.Love may not always be the romantic love that one seeks, but rather the love of just being accepted as an individual with a distinct personality.

Esteem

Esteem has to be the desired effect of the individual after the immediate acquisition of the previous aspect of love. A person with esteem may be able to do more things beyond his known personal limit. It manifests a person’s will to fight and the urge to carry on with things to overcome challenges. Sometimes, esteem is based and dependent on the people believing in him.

Self Actualization

After all the previous physiological needs have been met, the final and most important need of self actualization is required. The psychological need of self-actualization is needed to finalize and solidify the four other levels of needs of every individual. In this aspect, the brain is the focal and controlling factor in holding all the other four together to achieve homeostasis. No matter how capable the body is to do healthy tasks, if the mind is unhealthy, then everything else will deteriorate afterwards.

Staying healthy by following the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is an essential step by step needs assessment to stay focused on what area’s of existence are most important to be attained fully first before proceeding to the next in attaining a perfect state of well being.