The Difference a Day Makes: The Daily Habits That Bring Us a Lifetime of Wellness
From self-care to hobbies, there are so many things that we should bring into our lives that can offer a lifetime of wellness. There are things that we need to do but often feel there’s not enough time to do them, but we are, as humans, creatures of habit and therefore if we’re looking to have a lifetime of health and happiness, there are things that we should do every single day that make the difference. None of these things are complex; it’s just about finding what’s right for you and ensuring you do it every single day:
A Mental Challenge
We can all feel that we are continually challenging our brains, but a simple crossword or Sudoku puzzle is all you need to get those synapses working. Part of the reason we shun deep thinking is because we are overstimulated. We watch TV, check our phones, and we are constantly being bombarded. This is why we need to learn to make life simpler, but remember that challenging our mind is one of the most important keys to a long and fulfilling life. It’s not about completely exhausting our mental capabilities every single day but about recognizing that a little challenge goes a long way. They say we learn something new every day, and if we can adopt that 5% approach to learning where we learn something and then add the proportional 5% on top of that over the course of 50 days, we’ve statistically completed 100% of a task! It’s also important to reduce the risk of age-related cognitive decline, so in other words, if you don’t use it, you lose it!
Practice Gratitude
A gratitude practice doesn’t need to take long at all. We could take a few moments each day to reflect on the things we are thankful for. The benefits are abundant; they can enhance your overall life satisfaction and promote positive emotions. Gratitude is one of the keys to a fulfilling life, and we can often feel that there’s nothing to be grateful for, but it’s always about taking a metaphorical microscope to the things we have in our lives and remembering that there are always things to be thankful for even in the darkest situations.
Speak to Someone
We can easily pass like ships in the night, and a conversation can make all the difference. We can sometimes speak to people and find that they’re not willing to hear us at all or take our opinions on board. This is why social connection is so important, not just because it can challenge us, but because it helps us to understand who is important in our lives. When we improve our social connections this has a positive impact on our well-being. So speak to someone, even if it’s just for a few seconds!
Stay Hydrated
It’s one of those simple things that we know we need to do. The general goal is 64 ounces of water per day. If this is too much to consume, the best thing to do is to get a large water bottle that can contain that amount. Your goal before the end of the day is to empty that bottle, just remember to sip it gradually to avoid diluting your blood. Enough water is critical for our body function, digestion, and even our cognitive performance as even a slight dip in hydration can hinder our ability to focus.
Sleep Properly
Quality sleep is critical. The big problem is most of us seldom have really good sleep for a number of reasons. The fact is we all have stress or anxieties that cause problems with our sleep and even the greatest sleepers in the world can be prone to a bout of insomnia. In actual fact, we’re all going to experience sleep problems at some point in our lives, but we need to remember that sleep is not just about how long we hit the hay for, but about the quality of our sleep.
It’s about those things we all have heard already. Sleep in a dark room, make sure there’s no blue light at least an hour before bed, and ensure that you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Lots of people sleep like babies during the week and then burn the candle at both ends on the weekend meaning that there’s a struggle to have proper sleep come Sunday night. Making changes to your lifestyle such as sleep can make a big difference in how you feel as well as your mental performance.
A Little Bit of Physical Activity
If there’s one thing most of us have got wrong, it’s that we think we need to keep pushing until supreme exhaustion in order to provide any benefits. The current golden rule is 180 minutes of zone 2 cardio per week. This basically means that you need to just slightly elevate your heart rate not push yourself to extreme exhaustion. The fact is that even a little bit of exercise can boost your body composition and even your mental health with the effect being noticed in as little as 24 hours!
Don’t think that you need to hit the gym in order to get a great workout because there’s plenty of things that you can do right where you are right now! Jogging on-the-spot, body weight exercise, or if you have a little bit of space in your home a kettlebell is the Holy Grail of all-over workouts because you naturally learn what your body is capable of doing. We mentioned the 5% rule earlier and this is critical to improving overall strength. Ensure that you track what type of exercises you do every day and then add 5% of the total amount the next week.
What a difference a day makes! By incorporating some or all of these habits into your lifestyle on a daily basis, you can support the three pillars of your health: your physical, mental, and emotional health. The great thing is that these don’t require a huge amount of effort, however starting any habit can take a while to embed. Just give it the patience it deserves and you will reap the benefits.
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