These seven healthy habits are scientifically proven to improve our well-being! Perform each of them every day to start changing your life!
NEAT
NEAT stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis. This is all the activity that burns calories besides exercise. When someone tells you to walk 10,000 steps a day, they’re discussing a way to increase your NEAT. People who stand a lot for work or who are natural fidgeters have higher NEAT levels.
Believe it or not, some fitness experts and scientists believe that NEAT plays a bigger role in our metabolism than exercise. Developing NEAT into a habit is important as we age because it may offset some of the natural metabolism slow downs we will all experience.
Nutrition
Most of us don’t fuel our bodies correctly. We’re in such a rush, we rarely plan our meals and spend half our lunch hours in line at sandwich shops or fast-food restaurants.
If the only vegetables you consume during the day are the lettuce and tomato on your deli sandwich, this is for you! The old wisdom is still true: we should consume five servings of vegetables and fruit per day. When we don’t incorporate plants into our diet, we miss out on valuable micronutrients that our bodies need to thrive!
Hydration
We should all be trying to drink at least eight cups of water a day.
Proper hydration improves our physical and mental health. It regulates our body temps and improves our sleep. It lubricates joints and improves our cognition. Without proper hydration, our bodies function less efficiently. And no one wants that.
Plus, it’s good for our skin!
Keep in mind that days with excessive heat or intense physical activity will require a higher water intake.
Moderation
Eat, drink, and be merry. But perhaps do the first two in moderation. Overindulgence in vices like smoking, drinking alcohol, or empty-calorie foods leads to poorer health.
Practicing moderation allows us to enjoy while limiting harmful health effects.
Rest
So many of us never take the time to rest. We are so hyper-focused on achievement or serving others that we forget to take a time out. And our work suffers for it.
Taking just a half-hour a day to rest is so important to our health and happiness. I know it may seem contrary, but stepping away from work makes us more productive. So put the Do Not Disturb sign up on your door and take some me time!
And make sure you are also taking one full rest day from your exercise program! Overtraining will lead to exhaustion or injury.
Learn
Nutrition nourishes our bodies, but learning nourishes our minds.
If you stop learning, you stop growing! Learning new things is important to our cognitive health. Especially as we age.
Whether for personal or professional development, learning can improve our quality of life and change our perspective on the world. It can improve your skills, your self-confidence, and your motivation.
Go Offline
Put down the phone! Our digital lives consume us. Disconnecting from that world is so important.
The state of being constantly available is unhealthy. We need time for ourselves. And time to be present with our friends and family.
We consume so much content and information that we end up influenced by it. Either we’re comparing ourselves to the friend on Facebook who seems to have it all or we’re consumed by anger by something someone says on Twitter. It’s bad for our mental health.
These healthy habits are powerful tools for making a major change in our lives! Start by practicing just one a day and you’ll notice a difference in no time!
