In our fast-paced world, it's easy to get stuck in unhealthy patterns that drain our well-being. However, small shifts in your daily routine can bring about big rewards when it comes to your health and happiness. Let’s dive in to seven simple habits that you can implement to help you live an overall happier, healthier life.
1. Make Your Bed
You may be wondering, how will making my bed each morning help give me a healthier or happier life? Well, not only will it start your day off on the right foot and provide you with a sense of accomplishment, studies show that making your bed each day also helps you get a better night’s sleep.
Making your bed can be a "keystone habit" that leads to more produtcivity and positive actions throughout the day.
2. Get 7-8 Hours of Sleep
Speaking of getting a good night’s sleep - prioritizing your sleep schedule and sticking to it can be life changing. As tempting as it is to stay up late to watch another episode or scroll social media, getting a full night’s rest is worth the sacrifice.
According to the CDC, getting enough sleep helps you get sick less often, stay at a healthy weight, reduce stress and improve your mood, improve your heart health and metabolism, and lower your risk of chronic conditions.
Take a look at your current lifestyle and how early you need to/tend to wake up each day. Then, calculate what time you need to go to sleep each night to get a full seven or eight hours. Some people find that more or less sleep works better for them than the standard eight hours, so experiment and figure out where your sleep “sweet spot” is, allowing you to function most optimally.
3. Get Moving
Staying active has so many physical and mental benefits that contribute to a happier, healthier lifestyle; better sleep, reduced stress, improved focus and energy, improved heart health, boosted self-esteem, decreased anxiety - the list goes on and on.
Remember, you don’t need a vigorous exercise routine or even a gym membership to move your body and reap the benefits! Take a walk in your neighborhood, do some bodyweight exercises in your living room, or get a portable walking pad so you can get some steps in while working from home or even watching tv. Don’t overcomplicate it.
Move your body in ways that you enjoy and fit your lifestyle (rather than a dreadful activity), making it easier to stick to a routine and look forward to taking care of yourself.
4. Have a Hobby
Having things to look forward to outside of work and other day-to-day responsibilities is an effective way to reduce stress and provide us with a sense of purpose. Hobbies can be as simple or as complex as you make them, from reading books to planting a garden.
There are no rules to beginning a hobby - simply find something you want to try your hand at, or something that brings you joy, and start!
5. Declutter
The more possessions you own, the more time you will spend managing those items. Constantly having to clean, organize, and maintain the many things in your home will take away the time and energy you could be focusing on other aspects of your life.
Having an organized, clean, and distraction-free environment can boost productivity, reduce stress, and overall contribute to a calmer, happier mental state.
Make a goal to tackle decluttering one specific area of your home once a month. You will feel so much better as you continue to work towards owning and maintaining less. Be sure to repurpose, donate, and recycle items you choose to part ways with!
6. Get a Daily Dose of Sunshine
It’s truly incredible what some fresh air and a little sunshine can do for your health and happiness. Sunlight helps boost your brain’s serotonin levels which improves your mood, focus, and promotes calmness.
Sunlight also helps combat symptoms of seasonal affective disorder and can help you beat the winter blues.
Each morning before the busyness of the day begins, step outside for a few minutes and let the sun shine on your face/skin (pairs great with your morning coffee). Sunlight can actually help wake you up as it helps regulate your circadian rhythm (your interal clock).
Getting a daily dose of sunshine, even just a few minutes, will leave you feeling refreshed and energized as you face the rest of your day. Remember to apply your SPF to protect your skin!
7. Eat a Balanced Diet
They say you are what you eat - and while that may not be exactly true, what you eat certainly does play into how you will feel. Almost all aspects of your physical and mental health are linked closely to your diet, from your mood to your heart health.
A balanced diet includes food from all give food groups (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, proteins, and healthy fats). Plus, six to eight glasses of water a day is reccomended.
It can feel overwhelming to make changes to your diet. Keep it simple and make healthy swaps slowly, so you’re not adjusting too much too fast. Making too many changes at once will make it harder to stay consistent - and that goes for any new habits you work to develop.
Conclusion
Don’t underestimate the power that small, simple tasks like making your bed, moving your body, and decluttering your space can make towards your overall health and happiness.
Remember, as you work towards creating new habits and a better lifestyle, have grace with yourself. It often takes time to form habits and see them pay off, so don’t give up! Before you know it, these habits will simply become part of your routine, and you will notice the overall happier, healthier life that you’ve created for yourself.