6 Simple Ways to Create a Healthy Lifestyle Today

Tips for Your Healthy Lifestyle

Photo by PEXELS

Living in a fast-paced world, it’s hard to dedicate time to focus on our health and create a healthy lifestyle. This is evident from the fact that over 80 percent of American adults do not meet activity guidelines. At the same time, the typical American diet regularly exceeds recommended intake levels of added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat. On top of this, the environments we encounter on a daily basis can seriously impede our motivation to make a change. So, here are six easy-to-implement strategies to help you begin creating a healthy lifestyle today. Small changes can be the start that you need…

1. Start Every Day with a Healthy Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important of the day, but its importance is still vastly overlooked. Eating a healthy breakfast can help you fight your snack cravings and eat fewer empty calories during the day. According to Ask the Scientists, you should choose high-protein foods and fruits full of fiber for your morning meal. Avoid high-glycemic foods such as white bread or sugary cereal, to prevent unhealthy blood sugar spikes and consequent crashes. So start your healthy lifestyle first thing in the day!

2. Clean Up the Air in Your Home

The air quality in your home may be hard to see, but it affects your health more than you think. In fact, the levels of pollutants in your home can be much higher than outdoors, including fungi, mold, pet dander, pollen, and airborne chemicals. These can trigger allergies, dermatitis and trouble sleeping. Vacuuming carpets and cleaning bedding is important for preventing a build-up of dust. Make sure your basement and bathrooms are well-ventilated as these are typical sources of mold. Better yet, invest in an air purifier that specializes in mold spore removal. Purifiers with HEPA filters will capture airborne mold to prevent it from spreading through your home. This tip will help you have a healthy lifestyle and a clean home!

3. Drink More Water

Drinking too little water can result in impaired concentration and headaches. Various studies have found that increased water intake can help decrease the risk of kidney stones and constipation, while anecdotal reports suggest that water can help prevent some cancers and reduce acne. Create your healthy lifestyle by increasing your water intake throughout the day by keeping a water bottle close by, reaching for water-rich foods including fruit and enjoying tea or perhaps coffee.

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4. Take Every Opportunity to Get Moving

This one is SO important for a healthy lifestyle! A sedentary lifestyle presents one of the greatest threats to our health. Inactivity increases our risk of certain cancers, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and even mental disorders. Fortunately, you can combat the ails of sitting by moving your body whenever possible. Verywell Health recommends taking three 5-minute walks throughout your workday to reverse the harm of prolonged sitting. In addition to this, try to stand up from your desk every 20-30 minutes. At home, get up and do some quick chores during commercial breaks. When at the computer, set your computer’s or phone’s alarm to beep every 20-30 minutes to alert you to get up and move for a minute or two. Every bit of activity helps!

5. Relax More Often

Chronic stress can lead to a number of health issues including heart problems, high blood pressure, stroke, depression, migraines, ulcers, and obesity. Something as simple as taking 10 minutes periodically to relax can ease a stressed mind and help prevent these health problems. Do something calming that you enjoy such as reading a book, walking around outside, or just sit still and breathe deeply. A healthy lifestyle involves finding a balance in our lives, both in diet and exercise, but also in peace of mind. And move for a minute or two. Every bit of activity helps!

6. Get to Bed Earlier

When people fail to get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep night after night, they can suffer from fatigue, mood disorders, a weakened immune system, and increased risk of obesity. So, try to set your bedtime just one hour earlier than normal. If you have trouble falling asleep, take a look at your nighttime routine. Are you working out before bedtime? Scrolling through Facebook in bed? Snacking late into the night? These activities seriously interfere with the body’s ability to wind down at night and should be avoided. A healthy lifestyle also involves a healthy sleepstyle!

Small Changes…

Improving your health doesn’t have to mean getting on a strict diet plan or subjecting yourself to torturous workouts. Although these strategies have a place in many personal wellness plans, these major lifestyle changes are more difficult to keep up than the simple tips listed here. Perhaps you will be motivated to make a big healthy lifestyle change later, but for now, try to adopt some of these simple health-boosting strategies into your everyday schedule and see where it takes you!

This post was slightly modified from a blog post article written by Dana Brown (HealthConditions.Info).