HEALTHY HABITS

HEALTHY HABITS

10 DAILY HABITS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE:

Good daily habits can make such a big difference to your overall health and your life. In this article, I'm going to share 10 daily habits that have changed my life. To talk about 10 daily habits those have made a really big difference to my life in different areas such as physical health, emotional health and brain health. Before we dive in I want to say a few things so you know the context. The first thing- is these daily habits have been the result of gradual habit forming over the last 05 years. It is not something that happened overnight. It is difficult to form habits and it does take time. The second thing, although these habits are daily habits but I don't put pressure on myself to do them every day especially when things get too busy or things are too overwhelming. Sometimes things slide a little and that's okay. When you're making lifestyle changes it's not about perfection it's about doing what you can and generally I do try to do these habits at least three to five times a week in the times that I'm really stressed out because I feel that these do help me stay on track and do help reduce stress. Anyway, enough with the introduction let's get into the habits.

The first daily habit is that I drink a glass of water as soon as I get up. Well, not as soon as I get up -I brush my teeth, I go to the bathroom and then I have a glass of water. I find that this has made a big difference to energy levels in the morning. When we're sleeping we're not taking it any water and when we wake up we can be mildly dehydrated and when we're dehydrated our fatigue levels go up. So a good thing to do is start your morning by getting enough hydration. I drink a glass of filtered water. If I feel like it, I'll add some lemon to it. I don't always do that and it's usually at room temperature but if you like warm water that can work too. It really is about personal preference but drinking some water in the morning is a great thing to do for your energy levels.

Number two I meditate for 10 minutes every day. I used to be very skeptical about meditation when I first started. I didn't really believe in it. I didn't think that there was science behind it but there is actually quite a bit of science. It can do things like reduce anxiety, it can help you improve your immune function and it can help reduce pain. There's a lot that it can do but for me the biggest change is mental clarity and I feel much more calm. I am not naturally a calm person I may appear calm on YouTube but I am not naturally a calm person. Meditation, years of meditation has gotten me to this point and I really do think that there are a lot of benefits to trying it out. Now if you're a beginner, meditation can seem very daunting and I have two tips to provide. So, the first one is try to just be very open about meditation in the beginning. The first 10 to 15 sessions for me were very difficult. I didn't know what I was doing and I felt overwhelmed and I felt like I was doing it the wrong way. It wasn't until the 15th or 16th session that I really got into it and I started to see the benefit. So give it time. The second thing is if you are starting out try guided meditation versus where you're just doing it on your own. Guided meditation can really help you stay on track and can really guide you through the process. I use an app called Calm. I highly recommend it. There is also another app called Headspace which you could try out.

Number three I go for a brisk walk outdoors every day. I do try to get outside because I find it's such a mood booster to get some fresh air to get some sunlight and to be out in the greenery. There are studies that show that exposure to greenery is good for your health. Now for me the brisk walk is not just a mood booster - it's also the way I get exercise. I am not a gym person. I don't like it. For me getting exercise has to be something that's part of my lifestyle and I love going up the walk. So, I started to make my walks my exercise. Now the World Health Organization recommends that we get about 150 minutes of moderate cardiovascular activity week or 75 minutes of cardiovascular activity. A walk can count if your heart rate is high enough so when I'm walking I test my heart rate. I have an app on my phone. Samsung health is the app that I use and my heart rates usually between the moderate and thicker zone. So my walk actually counts as a workout. It counts as water and activity so that's how I get my 150 minutes of exercise per week through my walk.

Number four in addition to the walk, I enjoy yoga exercise. So, the walk is great for cardiovascular activity if you're doing a brisk walk or if someone is jogging or running but a well-rounded exercise regimen should include more than just cardio. I like to include some weight training and yoga but I specifically wanted to talk about body weights. There are a lot of women shy away from it especially because they think they're going to look a certain way if they train with weights. The World Health Organization recommends at the average adult do at least two sessions a week. Why is it so important as we tend to lose muscle mass. It's a normal part of aging. Another normal part of aging is losing bone density. It happens but we can slow that process down with one thing and that one thing is weight training so it doesn't matter what age you are! It could be in your 20s or 30s it's never too early to start preserving your muscle mass and preserving your bone density if you're a beginner. You should always speak to a professional. Learn the proper moves. You could do body weights or free weights but always speak to someone who knows what they're doing so you don't get injured and then eventually when you know what you're doing you could always work at a home that's what I do. I am not a gym person as I mentioned earlier so I don't go to the gym but I will use free weights and body weight exercises at home.

Number five I try to eat something green every day. It's rather embarrassing but I will admit that even as a nutritionist I find it hard to eat greens. I did not grow up eating greens so it's a very foreign concept for me but I do understand that they are very nutrient dense and it's a good idea to get some greens on a daily basis. Especially a variety of greens you are getting, a variety of vitamins and minerals if we're interested. Now if you're beginner the easiest way to add greens to your diet really is smoothies. I find that was the best gateway for me to get into the habit of eating greens.

Number six I eat at least two to three servings of brightly colored fruits and veggies every day. This is my bare minimum two to three. I usually try to eat more. Why is it important to eat brightly colored fruits and veggies? Well you may have heard of the term eat the rainbow. Eat the rainbow basically suggests eating fruits and veggies from different colors but different colors mean they have different photochemicals which mean they have different health properties. Some photochemicals can help with cancer prevention some can help with liver some can help with metabolism. There are different reasons to have those photochemicals and it's a good idea to get a variety so I do try to cut at least two to three servings of fruits and veggies from those different groups.

Number seven I listen to relaxing music every evening as a way to wind down so music has many different health benefits the science is still emerging but what I found very interesting is that nature sounds and relaxing music can help reduce stress it can help reduce the stress hormone called cortisol. So I do try to listen to something that's very relaxing flutes maybe some nature sounds rustling with leaves things like that a waterfall those are all really nice to listen to at the end of the day as a way to wind down and just relax.

Number eight I try to read or learn something new every day and I love to do this because it's something that I truly enjoy but there are other benefits to it especially when it comes to brain health so as we age there is that natural decline in our memories it happens but mental stimulation can slow down that decline so for me it's reading I will like to learn new things for you it could be whatever works for you if you're a reading person read a book fiction and nonfiction both have their benefits if you're not into reading learning a new language on an app such as duolingo could work or you could watch something every day like short snippets on Ted Ed to learn something new it's all about keeping your brain engaged and stimulated.

Number nine I try to spend quality time with loved ones every day and I want to underline the word quality time because a lot of us end up spending time with our loved ones but we're on our phones and we're not properly engaged with them they're not really talking to them it's not good communication and this happens to everybody it's just the digital age that we live in I used to scroll on my phone. I spent time with my cats - I find that cuddling a pet or a human - can help you release oxytocin which is known as the cuddle hormone or the love hormone and it can help reduce stress.

Number ten I avoid phones in the one hour before bed so I used to be on my phone right before bed and I found it very difficult to fall asleep because my brain was all over the place it was very mentally stimulated and phones also emit something known as blue light and that blue light is something that your brain thinks is they like so when you're on your phone and that blue light is going to your brain your brain thinks it's not time to sleep so it won't produce melatonin very well and it becomes harder to sleep. But what I tried to do is I switched my phone off an hour or an hour and a half before bed like flight mode so I don't look at any notifications I don't look at anything and that way I'm actually able to sleep better.