5 Healthy Habits You Need To Start Doing Right Now
Don’t get stuck in the cycle of making grand plans for the new, healthy you. The best time to start your health kick is now, with some small and easy habits you can incorporate into your day.
As ideal as it may be, jumping from your current lifestyle to a new, clean, and healthy way of living is harder than it sounds. The easiest way to get healthy is to start building a super simple routine of good daily habits. Once you’ve gotten in the habit of doing just one healthy routine, you’ll easily be able to tack on others. Soon enough, you’ll have an entire week full of good habits helping you live a healthy lifestyle.
So, drop all those grand plans you’ve made for your new healthy life. Make things easy and doable for yourself. Wake up tomorrow, and start with these 5 healthy habits to get your wellness routine on a roll.
1. Drink water immediately after waking up
Good health starts first thing in the morning when your body is waking up and organs are kicking in. One healthy habit you should definitely start doing is drinking a glass of (warm) water immediately after waking up.
Why? Your body suffers dehydration while sleeping, and drinking a glass of water upon waking up. Instead of immediately reaching for breakfast it will refresh your body and jumpstart your metabolism. To take it up a notch, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, grate some fresh ginger, and add a ½ teaspoon of honey to your water to help your body detoxify, stimulate your digestion, and give your immune system a little boost.
Try to delay your breakfast time and have this glass of water instead. Notice the effects this has on your body. Spend a few calm moments with your water, drink it peacefully, and then go about your morning as you usually would.
2. Move your body, even just a bit
A lot of us start our healthy lifestyle plans by planning to hit the gym, but sometimes (or most times) that’s easier said than done. Don’t set yourself goals that are way out of reach. But instead, build a healthy body-moving habit by squeezing short workouts throughout your day, regardless of location.
Some ideas include stretching, dancing, going for a walk, riding a bike, playing in a nearby playground, or doing a workout routine from home. You can even just find a yoga or workout video online, set it up in a large open space, and go for it.
You don’t have to dedicate an hour for your daily body movement, even just 10-15 minutes can help you build a healthy lifestyle, work out your muscles, and give you that necessary stretch for good health.
3. Promise yourself one healthy meal
You don't have to suddenly transform your diet and start meal planning to be healthy. Instead, try to commit to just one healthy meal a day. Give yourself the gift of eating something fresh that's wholesome and good for you, and soon enough you'll be craving more of the same.
Rather than having cereal for breakfast, maybe you can swap it out for freshly cooked oats. Instead of takeaway lunch, you could have a tuna salad or a protein with some veggies.
Dinner could be some soup or roasted vegetables instead of an easy express meal. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be time-consuming, try to find ways to incorporate a healthy meal into your day without asking too much of yourself. For inspiration, you can look up recipes online and plan 7 healthy meals for your week ahead.
4. Find your meditation
We’re not gonna ask you to just sit and meditate. Instead, find your meditation and enjoy some quiet solitude for at least 10-15 minutes every day. Whether that’s drawing, playing music, focusing on your breathing, going for a quiet drive, writing, or reading, find your meditation and commit to sitting with it every day.
Meditating can improve your concentration, calmness, and emotional positivity. It’s all about breaking up the day to enjoy a little peace and quiet to disentangle from your thoughts and be with yourself and your body. If you can’t find your meditation, then try listening to peaceful music or using a meditation app to get you started. It will make a world of difference to your life.
5. Put technology to bed in the evening
Around an hour before you go to bed, put technology to bed. Too many of us spend the evening wrapped up watching movies on our laptops or scrolling through our phones, but doing so has a detrimental impact on our quality of sleep. Using technology at night keeps the brain active and makes it difficult to fall asleep, affecting energy and mental clarity the next day.
To build a healthy lifestyle, we have to start with a night of healthy and restful sleep, and that means building a nighttime routine that gets your body relaxed, tired, and ready for a deep and rejuvenating slumber.
Not sure how to spend that final hour before bed? Try reading a book, talking with people in your house or do some meditation. Once you have the discipline to shut off technology you’ll find pleasant ways to fill in time and relax before you go to sleep.
Healthy habits start small
Being healthy doesn’t happen overnight. Good health is built day-by-day as we incorporate good habits into our daily routine. Rather than trying to transition from your current lifestyle to one that’s ridiculously healthy and out of reach, start small with these 5 healthy habits.
If even that seems too difficult or scary, then you can start with just one and go from there. The great thing about building healthy habits is that once you start with one, you’ll feel so good that it’ll be easy to make more health-conscious decisions in your life.
