If you’ve fallen off the wagon or are a novice to wellness, you might not know where to begin when it comes to changing your habits. After deciding you want to make a change, the next step is to believe you can actually do it and come up with a plan. Here’s a list of some simple tips and tricks that can help you get a fresh start on a healthy lifestyle.
1.Learn Relaxation Techniques.
Relaxing your mind and body can help ease stress. It can also relieve anxiety, depression, and sleep problems. A simple technique you can use is to practice breathing exercises. Did you know that it is scientifically proven that slowing our breathing helps us calm down, and that taking a few minutes to do breathing exercises can help relax our mind and bodies — thus making it easier for us to cope with stress and anxiety?
Here is one (of many) simple breathing exercises you can do to relieve stress anywhere and anytime. Try using it daily, whether you are feeling stressed or not.
The Box Breath Technique: This technique is named for the 4-sided approach in which each “side” or step is the same amount of time, as if you were visually creating a box with your breath.
* Exhale all the air from your lungs while counting to four.
* Hold for a count of four, keeping your lungs completely empty.
* Inhale a deep, full breath for a count of four.
* Keep your lungs full for a count of four.
* Do this for at least four rounds.
The importance of water - It’s pretty obvious that having adequate water in your body is critical to nearly every part of it. Not only will maintaining your recommended daily intake help you to maintain your current state of good health, it could also improve it in the long run. The amount of water you need will depend on the environment and climate you live in, how physically active you are, and whether you are suffering from an illness, ailment or any other health problems.
Here are some ways to make sure that you drink enough water:
Try starting your day by drinking a glass of water as soon as you wake up.
The idea behind the rule is that because our bodies lose water at night, it is necessary to rehydrate each morning to refuel and replenish our bodies. Some people go straight for the caffeinated soda or energy drinks to wake up, but those are loaded with sugar. Drinking water in the morning will leave you feeling more awake and relaxed.
Carry a water bottle with you wherever you go. Keep taking sips from it as and when you feel the need.
• Track your water intake.
• Have water with each meal throughout the day.
• Replace other drinks with water.
• Flavor your water with fruit slices.
According to experts, quality sleep is vital to our physical and mental health. And being sleep deprived can have lasting effects, so it’s time to make sleep a priority.
Some ways to help get proper sleep are to go to sleep at the same time and get up at the same time 6-or-more days of the week. Make your goal to get at least 8 hours of sleep daily. Turn off electronics 1-2 hours before bedtime. Have a relaxing routine before bed. Try taking some cbd before bed.
4. Move your Body
Regular physical activity is one of the easiest ways to reduce risk for chronic disease and to improve your quality of life. Exercise has powerful effects on both the body and the mind. Take 20-30 minutes to do some simple stretching in the morning before work or try some yoga. Make time for regular exercise in your routine.
5. Include self-care as a daily routine.
Self-care doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming, and should be all about the small ways that you tune in and take care of yourself. Self-care is more than just hour-long bubble baths and spa days. Self care allows you to be more present for yourself and those you love.
Examples of everyday self-care might include an extra 15 minutes in the morning to take a walk, enjoy a cup of tea, read a book, listen to a podcast, or meditate.
Taking a brief walk after eating can help lower the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart problems, according to a recent study published in Sports Medicine. Light walking after a meal – even for 2 to 5 minutes – can reduce blood sugar and insulin levels, the researchers found.
These “mini-walks” could also be useful during the workday to break up prolonged periods of sitting at a desk. Making mini-walks a normal thing during the workday could be easy and acceptable at the office. Each small thing you do will have benefits, even if it is a small step. It’s a gradual effect of more activity, better health.
Sports Medicine: “The Acute Effects of Interrupting Prolonged Sitting Time in Adults with Standing and Light-Intensity Walking on Biomarkers of Cardiometabolic Health in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.”
Incorporate more Greens into your diet. A healthy body starts with a healthy diet. When fueling the body properly, it gets the nutrients it needs to keep it strong and the mind sharp. We all know the importance of incorporating greens into our diet. However, sometimes it’s hard to sit down and eat a salad every day. If you don’t enjoy salads or can’t seem to find the time to make a decent one, consider making a green smoothie. They’re easy to make, tasty, nutritious, and portable!
Believe that you can change. Half the battle in finding success is telling yourself you can do something. Ignore your negative self-talk and replace it with a visualization of you finding success in the changes you want to make.
9. Make a plan with goals and take baby steps.
Just like you have a schedule you have to follow at work or at home with certain tasks you have to complete. Your new healthy lifestyle should also have tasks and a plan to follow.
Why goal setting is important:
Setting healthy goals is one way to come up with a plan on how to kickstart your new healthy lifestyle. Setting goals gives you something to work for and helps keep you motivated to work hard. By setting goals for yourself you give yourself something to focus on. Additionally, goals allow you to measure your progress and see how much you have achieved.
When setting your goals, be realistic with yourself. If you want to quit smoking, lose 50 pounds and run a marathon it’s not going to happen overnight, or it might not even happen in a few months or a year. Not reaching those goals might be discouraging and cause you to give up altogether. Instead, start small and focus on one goal at a time to avoid overwhelming yourself. If you want to lose weight, make small goals on how to do it. Such as working out at least three times a week and adding more vegetables to your plate when you want seconds. Keep a journal or track it in your phone to make sure you achieve those small goals weekly. When those goals just become part of your weekly routine add a new small goal such as only eating out twice a week or adding a weight lifting class to your routine. These small goals are easier to achieve and will eventually lead to meeting your main goal.
These are just some of the many tips toward living your healthiest life. If you incorporate just a couple of these into your daily routine, you will start to notice the positive changes in your life.