If you’re wanting to focus on becoming healthier, but don’t have much wriggle room in terms of your routine, you’re in the right place. These healthy habits are really positive ones to make and don’t require a huge lifestyle change. So many people completely change many different components of their life when they’re wanting a health kick, however that’s usually when things don’t stick. Instead, making smaller changes that are easy to stick to will be much more effective for your health long term, as well as helping to improve your self esteem. So, let’s get into it to help you make positive changes without you having to make any big sacrifices!
Drink More Water
First up, one of the best things you can do for your health is to drink more water. This is such a simple swap to make, so at the minute if you drink quite a few caffeinated or sugary drinks, then swap a few out to begin with, that will make very little difference to your routine but a big difference to your health, as well as saving you money!
Water helps to regulate so many of our essential bodily functions, from maintaining a healthy body temperature to protecting sensitive tissue, keeping your gut health in good condition, helping to maintain mental clarity, improving your physical performance, reducing headaches and just in general, helping to keep everything functioning as it should.
This is completely free and can make the biggest difference to your health. Women should drink around 2.7 liters of water and men 3.7 liters a day, but gradually work your way up, as any additional water will be good for you!
Book Your Health Checks!
Next up, use this as your sign to book in all of your health checks! From going to see your dentist in Wakefield to having a smear test and getting your blood sugars and pressure checked, often people wait for quite a significant problem to arrive to get any of these things checked, however if in any way you’re not feeling yourself, then it’s definitely worth spending some time to get them checked. Health checks are few and far between, so you can easily fit them into your routine, but they make all the difference.
Get 7-8 Hours Of Sleep
Another thing you can do that makes a small difference to your routine but a big difference to your health is to get 7-8 hours of sleep. If you’re currently getting less than 7 hours of sleep, look at your schedule and see where you can gain an extra hour, whether it’s going to bed slightly earlier or getting up slightly later. We understand that it can be difficult to commit to this when you have obligations, like looking after family or working different shifts, however try to get as close as you can to the 7 to 8 hours and it can really help benefit both your mental and physical health.
If part of the issue is struggling to get to sleep, try to leave your phone out of your bedroom and do something else productive to get you to sleep, such as reading a book, listening to a podcast or doing some meditation. For those of you who have tried all these things, it might be worth going to see your doctor as they could help.
When you get enough sleep, it can help to improve concentration, maintain a healthy weight, keep your heart healthy, build your immune system, protect your emotional wellbeing, reduce stress and also help you to maintain healthy relationships. The power of good sleep should never be underestimated, so make it part of your lifestyle and experience the benefits.
Eat More Fruit and Veg
In terms of fuelling your body, eating more fruit and veg is so important! They’re packed full of great vitamins and minerals that support so many different components of our health, so try to incorporate a wide variety of different fruit and veg into your diet. Different coloured fruit and veg contain different nutrients, so eating different ones throughout the week helps you.
There are so many easy ways to eat more fruit and veg, from just eating fruit as it is, dipping crunchy veg in dips as a snack, making smoothies or bulk making healthy meals that are packed full of veg that you have ready to go when you want something nutritious. This is such a simple yet effective healthy habit that can transform how you feel without you needing to make any big changes to your lifestyle. This is all about adding healthy foods, rather than removing “unhealthy” ones, so you are naturally giving your body what it needs, then potentially over time you will naturally increase your intake of nutritious foods.
