Are you already thinking about your goals for next year? If your New Year’s resolution next year is to live a healthier life, you don’t have to wait until January to start. Making just the smallest and simplest changes to your lifestyle right now can make a big difference for your year ahead. You want to get a clean bill of health from your doctor, and whether you change your mentality or you change your whole routine, the smallest steps that you take are chipping away at a greater goal.
Whether you start a new workout routine, or you just simply add fruit to your breakfast every morning, it’s the smallest changes that you make that will make the biggest difference. With this in mind, we’ve got a big list of all of the simple health changes that you could make for 2023, so that by the time you get to 2024, you feel better and healthier than ever before.
- Stretch when you wake up. Most people have a giant stretch when they wake up in the morning, but this is usually before they get out of bed. Do it when you stand up. You should hold stretches that you do for around 30 seconds, but don’t bounce while you do it because you could pull a muscle. Raising your hands right above your head and reaching for the sky, then reaching for your toes, and sitting on the floor in a V shape before reaching your hands to each foot is going to help you to stretch out your body. As we age, our muscles tighten and our range of motion minimizes. This means that something as simple as getting out of a chair becomes painful. It could even cause an injury. If you are stretching every morning, and then again before you go to bed, you’re going to keep your muscles more supple and you’re going to retain your flexibility.
- Let some light through your house. Make sure you are getting as much natural light through your home as possible, especially as the days get shorter. Opening your blinds and curtains first thing in the morning and throwing open the windows if they’re not already open can help. Light throughout the day helps reduce “light-induced melatonin suppression.” The light that you let through your house doesn’t have to be artificial, but make sure that you are especially opening blinds that are bringing in light from where the sun comes up.
- Use a humidifier. In the winter and the full months, keep a humidifier running. Indoor heat can really dry out the air inside your house, and that can dry out your hair, skin and nasal passages. If you have a humidifier in your home, you can keep your house at the ideal humidity, somewhere between 30 and 50%. If it’s too high or low, a hygrometer can help you to measure this. Knowing that your air that you’re breathing inside the house is going to be better for you can help you to make healthier and better decisions and think more clearly.
- Always take your vitamins. You have many supplements you can start taking from brands like Yetti supplements and others. They can cover the gaps in your diet so that you know that you are getting key nutrients that your body needs to help function at its best. Multivitamins that are good toward your current health levels on your gender is going to help. Men for example need to look for vitamins B6, 12, C, D, E, zinc, selenium and lycopene. Women need to make sure that their multivitamins have calcium, iron, vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D&E, and biotin. If you want to know which supplements you need, ask your doctor.
- Build on your workouts. Adding just five minutes to your workout at a time can help you to build up your stamina, reduce your weight, protect your heart and reduce your risk of certain diseases such as diabetes. Exercise can help you to strengthen your immune system, but if you’re exercising for the same amount of time and intensity each time, nothing is really going to improve. With that in mind, you need to make sure that you have just five minutes to your workout so that you can strengthen your body and improve your cardiovascular fitness.
- Don’t say no to overindulgence. Healthy life is all about balance, so don’t say no to every single indulgence that comes your way. You have to remember that it is not in the indulgence, it’s in the portion. So, a hot chocolate and some marshmallows is not going to hurt you, but having that as your drink all day long? That could be dangerous to your body.
- Make sure you understand blue light technology. Falling asleep with your face in your smartphone is not a smart idea. Studies have shown that blue light, which is the type that’s emitted from electronic devices, can interrupt your normal sleep cycle and make it much harder for you to get the quality sleep that you need. Closing off your electronics an hour before you go to bed is the smartest thing you can do for yourself and will improve your quality of sleep. As you know, good sleep leads to a healthy life.
Marette Flora is the founder of Floradise blog and personalized gift shop. Marette is a passionate storyteller and creator. She attended the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication.
She is passionate about creating helpful and meaningful things.