7 Wellness Tips to Improve Your Daily Life
Each day is an opportunity to improve your health and wellness. And while you may think about making healthier choices often, we get it. You’re busy, you’re tired, and your job requires 60+ hour work weeks at times. But, don’t make the mistake of believing that wellness is not attainable for you. It is! And it’s all about the choices you make. So, here are some simple daily tips, because healthy choices can quickly become second nature.
1. Hydrate First Thing in the Morning
Water plays a critical role in our lives and drinking water throughout the day is recommended. So, why the mention of H20 in the morning? Well, as we sleep our bodies utilize water to function, heal, and prepare us for the day ahead. Upon waking, be sure to hydrate! Consuming about 16oz of water in the morning can get the metabolism started, help the body flush toxins, and provide water to the brain (which is 76% water!) to help you wake up. Another benefit? A nice glass of water can help fill your stomach to prevent overeating at breakfast and throughout the day.
2. Get Your Heart Rate Up and Blood Flowing
The best way to increase your heart rate and circulation is to get up and get moving. During a busy day, you may not be able to pry yourself away from work for very long, but you can get up and walk throughout the day and take short breaks to stretch. Need to speak with a coworker down the hall? Get up and walk over. Is your favorite place to eat lunch a block or two away from the office? Walk to lunch and get your blood flowing! Experts say that 20 minutes or so of brisk walking during the day is a really good thing.
3. Make Time for Yourself
Doing something you love each day or taking a chunk of time out every day to stretch or simply breathe can do a lot for your mental health. When you take time for yourself, you’re allowing your body and mind to recharge. Doing so can enable you to work better with others and feel more satisfied with your daily life. Small things you can do include; spending 10 minutes each day simply being quiet, writing down goals, reading an inspiring book or taking a yoga class.
4. Get a Little Bit Social
After a busy day meeting up with a friend might the last thing on your mind. But did you know that our social relationships have a huge impact on our physical and mental health? Though they may be subtle, our interactions and relationships can provide health benefits and help boost our mood. Need some motivation to work on your fitness? Make plans with a friend for added support.
5. Sweat It Out
There are a variety of ways you can achieve a sweat-session daily. Our advice is to participate in different activities throughout the week. For instance, if you usually hit the gym on Tuesday and Thursday start adding an infrared body wrap session into your weekly routine.
We sweat for a variety of reasons such as a hot day, warm temperatures, a physically exerting workout, sickness, fever and sometimes fear or nervousness. Humans have between 2 and 5 million sweat glands that produce this water-based secretion onto the skin through a duct system. Benefits of perspiration include fighting off germs, detoxification, preventing illness, rejuvenating the skin and even healing wounds.
6. Practice Gratitude and Seek Joy
A study done by neuroscientists at USC showed the researchers that when our brains feel gratitude, the areas responsible for feelings of reward, moral reasoning, fairness and economic decision making (to name a few) are activated. The study also indicated that those who habitually practice the act of gratitude could be more empathetic to others. When you focus on what is working in your life, it’s easier to create more of it.
You have choices. You can focus on the positives about a situation and the things you’re grateful for, or you can choose to concentrate on the negative and complain, bringing more of those negative thoughts into action. We aren’t saying there’s no room to be unhappy, experiencing all emotions is healthy. What we’re saying is, the practice of gratitude can completely change your life and allow you to experience joy more often.
7. Follow the 80 20 Rule
Indulging in treats now and then is no biggie, limiting them is key. If you are active, hydrated and eating healthy food most of the time, you can treat yourself now and then! Splurged on a not-so-healthy meal yesterday? Not to worry. Make sure today’s meals are back on track and choose healthy options that are aligned your wellness goals.
Start small! You may not be able to incorporate every single one of these tips into your life instantly, and that is OK! Start with the wellness tips that you are most interested in, excited about or feel you could improve your health. Then, make that tip a habit and move on to the next. These little changes to your daily lifestyle can have an enormous impact on your well being. Before we go, we can’t forget about the most important tip… Get started!