While staying healthy seems like a tall task to most of us, it is surprisingly dependent on very basic, everyday things that we do.
Our daily habits decide our health. Habits are nothing but repetitive behaviours that make us feel good and affect our brain in ways that makes it hard to let go of them. They are often automatic and they happen without much thought. Forming good habits takes time. It’s not something that happens overnight, so please don’t keep unrealistic expectations for yourself.
Here are some good habits to start with if you want to make a healthy lifestyle change:
- Drink more water
Increasing water intake is one healthy shift you can focus on prioritising. Water is absolutely essential for a healthy life. It affects your body functions, from your heart to your muscles, your brain, and your metabolism. Create a ‘hydration habit’. Drink a glass of water when you wake up, one at each meal, and one at bedtime.
- Eat a lot of vegetables
To deprive yourself of food isn’t a healthy habit. What you need to do is a valuable addition to your meals. Stacking your plate with greens is a great way to revamp your diet and lose some weight. Not only do vegetables burst with essential nutrients that keep your body healthy and energised, but they also contain fibre, which helps you feel satiated for a long. Start small. Add a cup of your favourite ones to at least one meal a day for a week, then start adding more of the same and different varieties.
- Exercise as often as possible
How you start your day matters. It sets the tone of the day. All successful people will tell you the power of waking up to sunlight. It is good for the mind, for better sleep at night, for more productivity and confidence throughout the day, and also to stay active and manage weight loss. Outdoor exercise, be it walking, running, or yoga, revitalises the body and keeps negative emotions under check.
- Get enough sleep
Quality sleep helps us function better and is extremely important for maintaining good health, both mental and physical. Even emotional well-being is enhanced with adequate hours of quality sleep. Some of the most important processes like repair, recovery, rejuvenation, detoxification, recycling, muscle growth, and hormonal and sugar balance, occur during the deeper stages of sleep.