Small Healthy Habits to Get into ASAP

By Shane Martin on March 14, 2019

Staying healthy is a goal we all seek to fulfill and sustain, but more times than not… we get lazy. I’m not going to tell you to eat heaps of fruits and veggies every day, to get a proper amount of sleep (7-8 hours by the way), or to brush your teeth twice (or thrice) a day. All of these are givens and should be observed to the best of our capacity. The kinds of healthy habits I want you to religiously follow are some of the more undervalued ones.

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More water, less soda.

Admittedly, this first one seems quite obvious, but just because something is obvious, doesn’t mean it’s adhered to. For starters, water is just great to drink, so you should always add a glass or two to every meal, and perhaps a bottle in between them. More importantly, though, cutting soda out of your diet is extremely beneficial. I don’t want to go down the list of all the studies that have linked these soft drinks to 25,000 diseases (that’s an exaggeration, but you get my point), but next time you think to yourself, “ah, I can have just one more because…” don’t. Everyone knows that those “one more’s” add up. Eventually, you’ll just stop craving the sugar as you have it less.

If you drink coffee, pay attention to how you do so.

On the topic of drinks that are bad for you, I want to address all you coffee drinks out there. As you may or may not already know, coffee is not bad for you (unless your heart can’t take the caffeine, but that’s another story). What is bad for you is all the crap you put in it. Generally, drinking your coffee black (or with a little bit of milk) is a great habit, but putting any amount of sugar or sweetener in it ruins the health benefits: more significantly if done as a daily habit.

Drink tea.

Similar to the coffee topic, drinking tea every day is great all around. It soothes you, provides a little caffeine, boosts your immune system, fights off a few major diseases, etc. But, I must stress this point again: adding twenty different things to your tea takes away from all the advantages provided by it in its purest form.

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Cold showers.

I know those steaming hot showers are what many of you look forward to after a long day at school or work, but before you say “no way,” hear me out. While unenjoyable at first, cold showers provide some serious health benefits like enhancing your alertness, your skin condition, and your body’s tools to fight off stress, disease, and soreness (after that workout you all should be doing every day). With all this in mind, I’m not telling you to shower under freezing cold water so you can stand there miserably. A good place to start in order to get used to the temperature decrease is hopping in as soon as you turn the handle as opposed to waiting for it to settle at the temperature you desire. Or, at the shower’s conclusion, instead of simply turning it off, try doing so gradually so that you’re under colder water for 30ish seconds.

Hobbies.

Leave time for your hobby every single day ? no exceptions! Keep in mind, doing this effectively requires decent time-management. Nonetheless, especially on days that have a lot going on in them, it can prove very helpful to set aside a small block of time for some “me time” amidst the pandemonium. Pushing yourself non-stop for long periods of time is obviously unhealthy, yet many of us do it anyways because we feel that we must get x, y, and z done in a timely fashion. Furthermore, we hold the sentiment that doing something “for fun” in lieu of work is a waste of time. Allow me to tell you that it most definitely is not, and that you should endeavor to squeeze in some “happy fun times” to reduce daily stress.

Unwind before going to bed.

By this I mean don’t be looking at any screens – computer, iPad, phone, or otherwise – right before getting your shuteye. Checking those last minute Facebook posts or snapchat messages hinder your ability to fall asleep. Your eye and mental activity tend to spike when interacting with a screen, so going to bed while all that microscopic activity is still going on will be difficult considering your alert state of mind. It also gives you less REM time and consequently will make you more tired in the morning ? and this adds up. So, don’t check your social media right before hitting the sack, and instead, put on some music and set your phone to the side; listen to it for 20-30 minutes and let it rock you to sleep.

And most of all, don’t forget to smile.

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