. It is axiom that better health definitely means happier life. Habits are the key of everything you want to achieve in life. Healthy habits may be great as well, but hard to adopt.
The good news that healthy habits are easy, simple, and don’t require a dramatic changes. Little changes done consistently will make a great difference in your life.
1- Drink More Water
Your body is composed of about 60% water.
Water is better than any other beverage. So when you are out for your next meal, instead of ordering any other beverage, get a glass of water.
According to a study, drinking 500 ml of water can temporarily boost metabolism by 24–30%. According to Dietician Julie Upton, “Cold water provides a brief shock to your metabolism, raising it by about 30 percent so that over the course of a day, your body will burn about 100 more calories.”.
How much water should we drink a day? The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is:
- About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids for men
- About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women
These recommendations cover fluids from water, other beverages and food. About 20 percent of daily fluid intake usually comes from food and the rest from drinks.
Why staying hydrated is so important? When you don’t have enough water, dehydration comes out to play. When you’re dehydrated you’ll experience dry mouth, low blood pressure, headaches, dizziness, dry skin, and worst of all, fatigue.
A simple way to tell that we are not getting enough water is to look at the color of your urine. If it is Dark Yellow, Amber or Honey it means you have to drink more water.
2- Stand up More
The body will become better at whatever you do, or don’t do. You don’t move? The body will make you better at NOT moving. If you move, your body will allow more movement.
— Ido Portal
Human bodies are designed to move.
Well many of us sit at our desks pretty much all day during our jobs, if it is your lifestyle as well, taking a walk should be on your To-Do list.
Why standing more can help you live healthier ? The folks over at Pain Management and Injury Relief have created an infographic that details what the risks of sitting are. As an instance, Obesity, High Cholesterol, Low back pain, and Dangerous blood glucose levels.
How can you build a habit of standing? You will get better mood, feel more energized, and relieve your achy body with simply by doing small activities a 5 min every hour. Examples of these activities: standing or walking breaks, stretches while standing new your desk, standing up while in meetings, take a walk with your colleagues and standing while on phone calls.
3- Open your Windows More
Why should I keep the windows in my home open whenever possible?
“Open your home to the outside world as frequently as you can, since the inside of a home generally has three to four times the pollutants and particles that are most dangerous to us. If you don’t air it out, you increase the chance that these pollutants will build up.”
Dr. Mehmet Oz, MD.
The air inside your home or office might be even more polluted than the air outside.
Exchanging the air inside your home or office with fresh air, may cause an extra energy and money draining. But at least 10 minutes every day or once a week will be enough. Because not doing so can potentially lead to health issues.
4- Eat Nuts More
Nuts are way better than potato chips or crackers.
People who ate one ounce of nuts a day (that’s about 25 almonds or 50 pistachios) were less likely to die over a 30-year period than people who didn’t eat them at all, found a study of 119,000 people published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Lauren Gelman
Nuts contains healthy unsaturated fats, which in turn improves blood cholesterol levels, which can decrease your risk of heart disease and may also help decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes.
5- Read More
Yes you read correctly 🙂 Reading will help you live a healthier life!
What can be the benefits of Reading?
- Preserve brain health and lower the risk of Alzheimer’s and Dementia
- Boost happiness and overall life satisfaction
- Alleviate anxiety and depression
- Help you fall asleep
- Reduce stress levels by 68%!
Don’t forget, value consistency over intensity because consistency is what gets results. Start with little changes then make it bigger as you go.
Little change as 6 minutes can be enough to reduce the stress levels by more than two thirds.
People who read books for as little as 30 minutes a day over several years were living an average of two years longer than people who didn’t read anything at all.
6- Move More
Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.
Jim Rohn
Your body will thank you when you keep moving. Researchers say that replacing sitting with physical activity for 30 minutes a day could cut risk of premature Death by Half.
The physical activity or exercise doesn’t have to be anything big but it has be consistent. Again value consistency over intensity.
7- Do Good More
Why doing good is good for your health? It will :
Do not underestimate little things. It can be as simple as smiling to others, opening the door for someone, write a lovely note in a library book…etc. It is true that the world is the mirror of you!
I simply smile and say hello, Then I am surrounded by smiling people! So give to other people what you want, and it will come back in buckets.
To Sum up
There are two kinds of habits: those that serve you, and those that don’t.
Jeff Olson, The Slight Edge
The key for making habit is “Start TODAY” with making healthy choices. Little or big, just start today. Because someday will never come. “Some day my prince will come.…” old Walt Disney. Well, that may have worked out for Snow White. Your happiness affected by Today’s little decisions.
Don’t pick more than you can handle at a time, otherwise, you will give up. And don’t overdo things, you will also give up.
The habits I talked about are easy to do, and easy not to do. It may take some time to develop. If you’re willing to make the sacrifices to better your health, the impact can be life-changing, regardless of your age.
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May you be blessed with a healthy and happy life.