We all have those slight moments of self-realization, where we strive to make huge lifestyle changes. Quit smoking, drop 20 pounds of weight, get your summer body ready, go vegan, or set up a schedule perfect to the minute. But what always stops us?
We set up our own nemesis for a good lifestyle by setting unrealistic goals. Yes, some people work well that way by setting up big challenges. But for the rest of us majority, it always scares us off.
Your health is directly affected by your lifestyle. Healthy lifestyle habits guarantee good health. However, taking small steps is the way to go. You are always going to stick to lifestyle changes that are easier to incorporate into your current routine. Also, the ones that don’t stress you out too much.
So, to give you a head start on your health and lifestyle improvement journey, here are some places that you can start with.
Exercise
There really isn’t anything as good as exercise and working out. And that makes it to our list for lifestyle changes that improve your mental and physical health.
Exercise helps you out in more ways than one. Plus, it is also one of the easiest habits to build over time. When you work out, your body circulates oxygen-rich blood to your body’s muscles and organs. And that, in return, helps improve your digestion, metabolism, and immunity.
Working out is also the most effective way to burn calories. So, if you have any goals of losing weight, you can check them off your list. Frequent circulation of blood in your body improves cardiovascular activities, which keeps illnesses like high blood pressure, strokes, and high cholesterol.
The list of the benefits of exercise goes on and on. But why do most of us fail to build a routine around adequate physical activity? Again, that is because we set unrealistic goals and jump right into high-intensity workouts from day one.
High-intensity workouts indeed are the most beneficial to your physical health. But you also need to consider your current physical level. Start small with brisk walks, swimming, jogging, dancing, or anything you’re comfortable in adapting. And slowly move up the ladder. Because remember, it is a lifestyle change you’re looking for and not a crash course.
Be More Outgoing
Since your health is not all about your physical fitness, you need to adopt a few lifestyle changes to nourish your mind. So, we’ll start off with the easiest one in the book.
Social interactions are essential for the mind. Whether it is partying over the weekends, having a meal with a friend or colleague, or even just spending time with your family, you need another physical person to converse to.
As enthralled, we all are by being “the lone wolf,” we overlook how even the most independent people long for company. Being more social opens your mind up to new possibilities and ideas that help you grow.
But even if you don’t long for growth, you need a sympathetic ear to unwind to after a hard day. And who better to talk to about your troubles than a good friend or a loved one? Your social interactions need not be attending large crowd gatherings. But at least someone you’re closed to.
You can start by not saying no to every invite you get. Even if you’re running on a busy schedule, you can always ask a friend out to accompany you for groceries or partner up for your workouts. And if you’re more of a family person, making strict rules about having meals together as a family is a good place to start.
Take The Necessary Timeouts
Being a workaholic is truly the call of the decade. But too many hours late at the office takes a toll on your physical and mental health. For starters, it affects your sleep cycle, which slowly depletes your energy as working late becomes the new normal.
And it doesn’t just stop there. You start picking up abnormal eating habits, cut down on social ties, and compromise your relationships as well. Whoa! It may not sound all that alarming at first, but it gets there pretty quick.
Instead of working more, you can strive to be more productive. And that’s how you can stop yourself from being too overworked. We all need breaks and timeouts from work every now and then. Be it having a 5 minutes timeout to get yourself coffee at the office or going on a vacation after a stretch of a hectic routine.
The common misconception about taking breaks from work is that you think you’re losing up time. But that’s as far from the truth as possible. If you’re all charged up from work most of the time, you get to be more productive and get more work done much quicker. And that too, without compromising your health.
Watch Your Diet
It is truly amazing how much you can change your life by just changing what you eat. Obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, and blood pressure-related illnesses are the most common among the masses. And all of them stem out from unhealthy eating habits.
The switch you need to make doesn’t have to be as abrupt as switching to strict diets like Atkins or Keto. Again, you need to keep in mind that it is a lifestyle change, and like working out, you need to take baby steps at first. For those that have struggled with their diet over a long course of time, a permanent solution such as a gastric sleeve or bypass surgery can be a safe, clinically proven way to control food intake over time. Talk to your doctor about gastric sleeve cost and whether or not it is suitable for you, it could change your life.
Changes like switching from sodas to fruit juices or from a bag of chips to almonds and cashews for snacks go a long way in improving your health and lifestyle. And once you get the hang of the changes you’ve made, you can come over to finding alternatives to the bigger meals you consume.
A rule of thumb for diet is that the greener and leaner your food gets, the healthier it is. However, start looking for recipes that only include healthy food items instead of punishing yourself by eating them boiled. You’ll find that the switch is much easier to make.
Get Enough Sleep
The most underrated aspect of a healthy lifestyle has got to be sleep. There is nothing we ignore more commonly than abiding by the recommended hours of sleep. However, recent studies bring forward the importance of the quality of sleep as much as the quantity. So, that adds two things to the list of the sleep you get at night.
Sleeping at night and getting shuteye simultaneously every day significantly improves the quality of your sleep. But if you feel like you’re not getting enough sleep, you can try to hit the bed a little earlier in the night or plan power naps at midday.
As ideal it may seem, not everyone has the laxity of sleeping as they want. Learn more if you too count yourself among this lot of people and have trouble sleeping, CBD cigarettes will surely shed off this worry of yours.
These are completely tobacco-free and have minimal to no side-effects. But by getting enough sleep, you’re giving your mind and body ample time to recover from the stress of the day that has passed. And in the long run, you’ll find your health improving and more motivated in life.
Additional resources and useful info:
- Cpfamilynetwork.org – resources for families with special needs.
- Parkerspurpose.net – helping people that are in need.
- Occupation therapy – advantages you should know about.