10 simple health changes you can make today.
Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels
Are you looking to make fundamental changes in your life to become healthier? These easy adjustments don’t require a significant difference — you won’t need to run out and get a gym membership or buy tons of dietary supplements.
Here are 10 simple changes you can make in your life to improve your health today.
Walk every day
If you walk briskly for just 15 minutes every day, you can prevent weight gain by burning calories. It can additionally help lower your risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. Walking also strengthens your muscles and bones, lifts your mood, and stabilizes your emotions.
Get more sleep
Getting a good night of shuteye is crucial to your health. Take small steps to improve your sleep hygiene by keeping a regular schedule. Ensure you set a bedtime that allows you to get at least seven or eight hours of sleep at night. Avoid using electronic devices 30 minutes before bed, as the light can interfere with your sleep cycle.
Floss your teeth
Brushing your teeth is a no-brainer, but you shouldn’t forget to floss, too. Dentists say it’s best to floss once a day before going to bed. However, feel free to floss after meals or eat snacks. One other important note — floss first and then brush your teeth, as flossing knocks debris-free and brushing clears it away.
Practice good posture
Do you find yourself sore at the end of the day, but you’re sure why? This could be the result of practicing bad posture throughout the day. Whether you’re slouching at your desk or you hover over your keyboard, bad posture can be painful.
Make sure you take frequent breaks at work to stretch your muscles. Check-in with yourself to ensure you’re sitting up straight. If you’re still in pain, you could try swapping out your desk chair with an ergonomic one or a stability ball, or perhaps you’d find more luck in using a standing desk.
If you frequently experience back pain, consider investing in a decompression lumbar support belt for pain relief. The belt takes some of the pressure off your lower back, helping the tight and stiff muscles relax and preventing further pain. You can also look into posture-enhancing products that fit your lifestyle.
Eat more fruits and vegetables
You’ve heard it before, but it’s true, eating produce is the key to being healthier. A good goal is to try to make one half your plate fruits and vegetables. If that seems like too much, try beginning with snacking on apples or carrots. When you include more of these vitamin- and mineral-rich foods in your diet, you lower your stroke and heart attack risk. You can even prevent common vision problems.
Practice deep breathing
Stress gets to everyone and can quickly become a contributing factor to many health concerns. Use the deep breathing technique to manage your stress, and you’ll see a significant reduction in your daily emotional strain. Try taking in a breath and holding it for a count of three seconds, then exhale for three. Repeat this exercise as needed. You can experiment with different lengths of inhales and exhales until you find something that works for you.
Order groceries online
Have you ever felt tempted to splurge and buy a lot of unnecessary food at the grocery store? One trick to stop yourself from buying unhealthy food is online shopping. These days, most grocery stores have apps you can use. All you have to do is make your list in advance, and a store attendant will do the shopping for you. After you pay and arrange a time to pick up your groceries, the attendant will put your items directly into your car.
Lift weights
You don’t need to become a bodybuilder, but the practice of weight training is a great way to build strength and improve your bone health. Additionally, lifting weights has shown a significant benefit to endurance and even aerobic capacity if done regularly. You don’t need to join a gym to start lifting weights. You can begin by buying a few pairs of free weights and doing a variety of simple exercises. Mix up your sets and repetitions to keep building your strength.
Be smart about sugar
We’ve all been taught that sugar should be avoided, as there are obvious health risks that accompany overconsumption — Type 2 diabetes and obesity, to name a couple. However, rather than avoid sugar altogether, be smart about how you choose to consume it. Cut high-sugar beverages like sodas and sports drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. Choose good sources of sugar like fruits and dark chocolate instead.
Drink more water
Staying hydrated is a great way to make a simple change to improve your health. The recommended amount of water consumption is 50 ounces a day. Get a water bottle to track your daily hydration and bring it with you wherever you go. Make sure you drink water with every meal and with snacks. These efforts will pay off with time.
Which change will you make?
Getting healthy doesn’t have to mean an overhaul to your diet or an expensive gym membership. Try any of these simple changes, and you’ll soon start noticing an improvement in your health.