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Sometimes our hectic lives get the best of us that we resort to what is convenient instead of what is important to our health.
A lot of this occurs because we assume that healthy living takes greater time and effort which couldn’t be further from the truth.
Instead we decided to find the 17 best healthy living tips and habits that are evidence based to help improve our lives today!
Table of Contents
17 Simple Healthy Living Tips That Will Change Your Life!
A. Morning Healthy Living Tips
Healthy Living Morning Routine
1. Wake up Earlier
Rise and shine! As much as we all like hitting that snooze button to get a few more minutes of sleep or choose to just “go with the flow” when it comes to getting up in the morning, lots of studies have shown that it’s actually very advantageous to get a head start on the day.
According to a research study published by The Journal of General Psychology, people who tend to wake up early have found to procrastinate less than compared with those who stay up late at night.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, StarbucksExec Howard Schultz are just a few that wake up between 3-5am while Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffet and Elon Musk make sure to get 8 hours of sleep by waking up between 6-7am.
By waking up earlier than most, many can start there day by relaxing rather than waking up frazzled because they are late.
On top of that, science has proven that it actually reduces caffeine dependence, sharpens your focus and short-term memory, decreases irritability and pain, improves mood and immunity as well as helps with better safety and job performance.
Hey if it can help me get one step closer to being just like Oprah?! You wake up, you wake up, EVERYONE WAKE UP!!! (LOL, sorry had to).
2. Positive Affirmations
You know those people who you say, “woke up on the wrong side of the bed?” Yeah, well maybe it’s because they didn’t stop to say a few nice things to themselves.
Anyone who is familiar with author, teacher and lecturer Louise Hay, knows that what she recommends looking at yourself in the mirror and telling yourself how much you love and appreciate yourself on a daily basis.
Choosing to practice positive affirmations, which is essentially repeating positive phrases or statements where by challenging negative self talk, has been shown to be a great healthy living tip.
MRI evidence suggests that certain neural pathways are increased when people do self-affirmation tasks with the prefrontal cortex (basically front part of your brain) getting activated. This allows one to better view their “otherwise-threatening information as more self-relevant and valuable.”
As a result, we profit through a decrease level of health-deteriorating stress, an increase in physical behavior, supposed “threatening messages” are met with less resistance, an ability to influence healthy eating patterns and it has been linked to high academic achievements.
Broadly speaking, it makes us more resilient to difficulties when they arise and thereby able to cope and prevail.
3. Stretching
Do you notice the difference when you wake up in the morning now as compared to when you were younger? I don’t seem to get up as fast without a few “ah” or “owe” noises to accompany my morning jolt.
But apparently doing a few stretches in the morning can change that.
Harvard researchers have noted that flexibility declines as we age but a good daily stretching routine can improve our muscular give thereby reducing risk of injury.
The American Heart Association agrees that stretching is great for flexibility and encourages those to stretch when the muscles are warm, considerably in the morning, immediately after waking up from a nice and warm toasty sleep.
And experts at the American Council of Exercise reiterate the benefits and also add that stretching decreases stress, reduces pain and stiffness, enhances range of motion, minimizes wear and tear of joints, improves blood flow and improves health and quality of life.
B. Exercising Healthy Living Tips
Healthy Living Exercise
1. In the morning
There is lots of research that says working out in the morning is great for a variety reasons one being weight loss! (Alright now I have your attention! lol).
Apparently, exercising when you have fasted (haven’t eaten the whole night) causes your body to use your reserved body fat for energy which helps you to lose pounds.
But remember this has to be done before eating breakfast (which is a must!) so that your body breaks down adipose (fat) tissue into free fatty acids and converts them into fuel.
2. Put your gym clothes on
Have you ever not wanted to go to the gym but as soon as you get your lululemon tights on your ready to run?
This is a great tip when it feels like getting exercise in isn’t going to happen because a) you’re to tired and b) yeah, your lazy. But somehow the effort to put them on makes you feel compelled to get out and has been shown to be an effective way to get in those 7000-10000 steps.
3. Housework
You know vacuuming and cleaning the house is not only benefiting the appeal of your home but it also is shown to aid in your health.
Studies have shown that easy activities such as walking, gardening and yes houseworkknown as non-exercise activity thermogenesis or NEAT have been associated with lower body weight, better overall health and increased lifespan.
A way to implement NEAT into your healthy living plan besides housework is to walk while you’re on the phone rather than sitting down, park further away from the grocery store and maybe use the stairs a little bit more often.
4. Moving while at a Desk
Most of us are consumed by our work the whole day and by the time we realize it we’ve been sitting for 7-8 hours straight if not more.
There is plenty of research that says that in order to prevent heart diseases among many other health conditions we need to break up the sedentary monotony and move!
Easy healthy living tip can be working from a standing desk, having standing meetings, doing a few squats from your seat, or how about a quick jog on the spot.
Make it a habit or set an alarm every hour or so to get up and if just going to the water cooler for some chit chat is motivation enough, do it!
C. Healthy Living Tips – Food and Drinks
Healthy Living Food
1. Plan your meals
One way we can fall off the bandwagon when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle is what we eat. More often than not we have a tendency to just grab a snack from somewhere’s outside or a meal and don’t really give it much thought.
But what ends up happening is that after awhile all that processed food from out doors catches up with your belt line and at that point we feel like it’s too late to catch up.
Instead, why not start planning your meals on one day (say Sunday) for the week so that you’re not caught of guard when you have a sugar rush.
Make it a point to cook at home so that you know what is going in your food and be sure to include whole wheat carbohydrates, veggies, fruits, proteins and fats in order to obtain a complete meal.
Also try swapping out your milk chocolate for dark chocolate and those pre-made salad dressings for lemon juice or olive oil for a healthier alternative.
2. Stop multi-tasking during lunch
Scientists have shown that mindful eating can improve long term success when addressing unhealthy eating among certain individuals.
Other customs that can help are to look at portion control based on your plate size and perhaps try only eating until you are 80% full as this will force you to be a little more aware of what’s on your fork.
3. Hydration
Drinking water is very beneficial to your health as many conditions result due to a lack of proper hydration.
As a healthy living tip, make it a point to get some H2O in by carrying a water bottle with you or having one at your desk. For those who say that water is bland try putting some lemons, strawberries or other fresh fruit to get that natural taste rather than resorting to sodas and other sugary drinks for.
D. Healthy Living Tips About Mindfulness
1. Brain activities
We talk about exercising the body but we never really mention how important it is to our wellbeing to exercise the mind.
Neuroscientists have said that, “if you don’t use it you lose it” and as we get older this couldn’t be more true as our brain’s plasticity becomes less and less.
Simple activities can include reading books, starting a journal, learning a new language, joining a new class that you love.
2. Meditation
The benefits are EVERYWHERE for meditation and it is very easy to make it a daily aspect of your day.
Use meditation as a healthy living tip for stress relief, forgiveness, centering yourself, and decreasing judgement in others. It will also give you the ability to overcome negative emotions with positive thoughts.
E. Healthy Living Tips About The Natural Environment
Healthy Living Nature
1. Go green
Nature helps to simplify our lives by getting back to the basics when things seem to be to much for us.
Health benefits include boosting immunity and mood, improving energy levels, focus and sleep. And by lowering blood pressure and stress being out in the forest makes us a lot healthier.
Try going for a walk, gardening, watching the sunrise, sunset or stars. Or look outside at the trees or purchase indoor plants as both are effective at getting the health benefits of nature.
2. Social Butterfly
Studies show that being social with others is good for your health. In fact there is evidence that proves you may live longer, improve your immunity and mental health.
Examples of this include: using Skype and Facetime to catch up with family and friends, saying hello to neighbors, and attending religious services. As well as volunteering, hosting a sleepover, and joining a community group.
F. Sleep Hygiene Healthy Habits
1. Not looking at any devices
Having good sleep hygiene sets us up for success the next day. But sometimes it’s hard to power down when you’ve been on your electronic device at 10pm according to research.
Stop looking at a screen before bed time and instead opt to read a novel (printed book) and you’ll notice the difference.
2. Tea anyone?
Certain teas have been shown to produce a drowsy effect that is perfect to put you to sleep.
Chamomile tea is one of those teas that are great to take. Especially right before clocking out as it acts as a sedative and for people with insomnia too.
G. Healthy Habits About Wellness
1. Body-Mind-Spirit
We should all try and detox from social media, the internet and smart phones for atleast a few hours if not a day. Additionally, make it a priority to get frequent health checkups and stop to smoking. As these two are essential factors for overall healthy living.
Try Meditation or easy yoga poses if you’re a beginner and looking to just tip your toes in the water.
Summary:
To summarize, when it comes to healthy living, we need to be more conscious of the effects of our behaviors and the possible outcomes that they may produce in the future.
Remember that a healthy lifestyle is based on the foundation of healthy habits. And the sooner we start practicing these 17 healthy living tips the sooner we will see the results.
Sometimes it’s just the little things that produce the biggest rewards.
A. Morning Healthy Habits
- wake up earlier
- positive morning affirmations
- stretching
B. Exercising
- do it in the morning
- have your clothes on
- housework
- move at your desk
C. Nutrition
- plan your meals
- do not multi task during lunch
- hydrate
D. Mindfulness
- brain activities
- meditation
E. Nature
- go green
- socialize
F. Proper Sleep Hygiene
- put away devices
- drink tea
G. Wellness
- body-mind-spirit connection
