Improve Your Health and Life with These best 10 Daily Habits
Good daily habits can make a big difference to your overall health and life.
In this article, I’m going to share 10 daily habits that have changed my life to talk about 10 daily habits that have made a really big difference to my life
Before we dive in I wanted to say a few things so you know the context. The first
thing is these daily habits have been the result of gradual habit-forming over
the last five years- it’s not something that happened overnight. It is difficult
to form habits and it does take time. The second thing – although these habits are
Gradual habit forming
daily habits I don’t put pressure on myself to do them every day especially
when things get too busy or things are too overwhelming. Sometimes things slide
a little and that’s okay. When you’re making lifestyle changes it’s not about
perfection it’s about doing what you can generally I do try to do these
habits at least three to five times a week IN the times that I’m really
stressed out because I feel that they do help me stay on track and they do help
Strive for progress, not perfection
reduce stress. Anyway, enough with the introduction let’s get into the habits.
My first daily habit is that drink a glass of water as soon as I get up. Well
not as soon as I get up -I brush my teeth, I go to the bathroom and then I have a
glass of water. I find that this has made a big difference in energy levels in the
I drink water first thing in the morning
. When we’re sleeping we’re not taking any water and when we wake up
we can be mildly dehydrated when we’re dehydrated our fatigue levels go
up. There is some science behind this – I’ll put it in the description box. So a
good thing to do is start your morning by getting enough hydration. I drink a
glass of filtered water. If I feel like it, I’ll add some lemon to it I don’t always
do that and it’s usually at room temperature but if you like warm water
that can work too. It really is about personal preference but drinking some
water in the morning is a great thing to do for your energy levels. Number two I
meditate for 10 minutes every day. I used to be very skeptical about
meditation when I first started. I didn’t really believe in it I didn’t think that
there was science behind it but there is actually quite a bit of science. It can
I meditate for 10 minutes.
do things like reduce anxiety, it can help you improve your immune function, it
can help reduce pain. There’s a lot that it can do I have a few links in the
description box but for me, the biggest change is mental clarity and I feel much
calmer. I am not naturally a calm person I may appear calm on YouTube but
I am not naturally a calm person. Meditation – years of meditation have
gotten me to this point and I really do think that there are a lot of benefits
to trying it out. Now if you’re a beginner, meditation can seem very
daunting and I have two tips to provide. So the first one is to try to just be very
open about meditation in the beginning. The first 10 to 15 sessions for me were
very difficult. I didn’t know what I was doing and I felt overwhelmed and I felt
like I was doing it the wrong way. It wasn’t until the 15th or 16th session
that I really got into it and I started to see the benefit. So give it time. The
second thing is if you are starting out try guided meditation versus meditation
where you’re just doing it on your own. Guided meditation can really help you
stay on track and can really guide you through the process. I use an app called
Calm – I highly recommend it. I love it. There is also another app called
Start with guided meditation
Headspace which you could try out. Number three I go for a brisk walk outdoors
every day. Now I have to say that I live in Canada so a brisk walk outdoors every
day does not happen year-round! It doesn’t happen in the winter but for the
I go for a brisk walk outdoors.
rest of the year I do try to get outside because I find it’s such a mood booster
to get some fresh air.. to get some sunlight and to be out in the greenery
and some studies show that exposure to greenery is good for your
health. As usual, everything’s in the description box. Now for me the brisk
walk is not just a mood booster – it’s also the way I get exercise. I am NOT a
gym person, I have never been in a gym person I just don’t enjoy it who knows
who are the people who enjoy the gym I would love to do that but I just can’t I don’t
like it so for me getting exercise has to be something that’s part
of my lifestyle and I love going up the walk so I started to make my walks my
exercise now the World Health Organization recommends that we get
about 150 minutes of moderate cardiovascular activity per week or 75
minutes of cardiovascular activity a walk can count if your heart rate is
high enough so when I’m walking I test my heart rate I have an app on my phone
Samsung Health is the app that I use and my heart rate usually between the
moderate and thicker zone so my walk actually counts as a workout it counts
CHECK YOUR HEART RATE
as water and activity so that’s how I get my 150 minutes of exercise per week
through my walk number four in addition to the walk ayuh exercise so the walk is
great for cardiovascular activity if you’re doing a brisk walk or if they’re
jogging or running but a well-rounded exercise regimen should include more
than just cardio I like to include some weight training and yoga but I
specifically wanted to talk about weeds there are a lot of women who shy away from it
especially because they think they’re going to look a certain way if they
train with weights the World Health Organization recommends at the average
WEIGHT AND/OR RESISTANCE EXERCISE
Adults do at least two sessions a week why is it so important as we age we tend
to lose muscle mass it’s a normal part of Aging another normal part of aging is
losing bone density happens but we can slow that process down with one
Why is it so important?
thing and that one thing is weight training so it doesn’t matter what age
you are it could be in your 20s or 30s it’s never too early to start preserving
your muscle mass and preserve your bone density if you’re a beginner you
should always speak to a professional to learn the proper moves you could do body
weights or free weights but always speak to someone who knows what they’re doing
so you don’t get injured and then eventually when you know what you’re
you could always work at home that’s what I do I am NOT a gym person
as I mentioned earlier so I don’t go to the gym but I will use free weights and
bodyweight exercises at home if you’re interested in the exercise channels that
I follow I have them in the description box below number five I try to eat
something green every day it’s rather embarrassing but I will admit that even
as a nutritionist I find it hard to eat greens I did not grow up eating greens
I eat something green daily.
so it’s a very foreign concept for me but I do understand that they are very
nutrient dense and it’s a good idea to get some greens daily
especially a variety of greens you are getting a variety of vitamins and
minerals if we’re interested in nutrient density score I have one link in
the description box below now if you’re a beginner the easiest way to add greens
to your diet really is smoothies I find that that was the best gateway for me to
get into the habit of eating greens if you’re interested in how to make green
smoothies taste better I do have a video on it which I will link in the
description box below number six I eat at least two to three servings of
brightly colored fruits and veggies every day this is my bare minimum of two to
three I usually try to eat more why is it important to eat brightly colored
I eat at least 2-3 brightly colored fruits/veggies.
fruits and veggies well you may have heard of the term eat the rainbow eat
the rainbow basically suggests eating fruits and veggies of different colors
but different colors mean they have different phytochemicals which means they
have different health properties some phytochemicals can help with cancer
prevention some can help with liver some can help with metabolism there’s
different reasons to have those phytochemicals and it’s a good idea to
get a variety so I do try to cut at least two to three servings of fruits
and veggies from those different groups if you’re interested in learning more
about eating the rainbow I have a link in the description box below the number
seven I listen to relaxing music every evening as a way to wind down so music
has much different health benefits the science is still emerging but what I
I listen to nature sounds or relaxing music every evening.
found it very interesting that nature sounds and relaxing music can help
reduce stress it can help reduce the stress hormone called cortisol if you’re
interested the science is in the description box so I do try to listen to
something that’s very relaxing flutes maybe some nature sounds rustling with
leaves things like a waterfall those are all really nice to listen to
at the end of the day as a way to wind down and just relax number eight, I try
to read or learn something new every day and I love to do this because it’s
something that I truly enjoy but there are other benefits to it especially when
I read a book or learn something new daily
it comes to brain health so as we age there is that natural decline in our
memories it happens but mental stimulation can slow down that decline
so for me, it’s reading I will like to learn new things for you it
could be whatever works for you if you’re a reading person read a book
fiction and nonfiction both have their benefits if you’re not into reading
learning a new language on an app such as Duolingo could work or you could
watch something every day like short snippets on Ted-Ed to learn something
now it’s all about keeping your brain engaged and stimulated number-9 I try to
Learn a new language: Duolingo app
spend quality time with loved ones every day and I want to underline the word
quality time because a lot of us end up spending time with our loved ones but
I spend quality time with a loved one + cuddling!
we’re on our phones and we’re not properly engaged with them they’re not
really talking to them it’s not good communication and this happens to
everybody it’s just the digital age that we live in I used to scroll on my phone
next, my husband and I felt like I was spending time with him but that wasn’t
really spending time so now no phones properly talked to him I spent time with
my cats – I find that cuddling a pet or a human – can help you release oxytocin
which is known as the cuddle hormone or the love hormone and it can help reduce
stress number 10 I avoid phones one hour before bed so I used to be on
my phone right before bed and I found it very difficult to fall asleep because my
I turn the phone off an hour before bed.
brain was all over the place it was very mentally stimulated and phones also emit
something known as blue light and that blue light is something that your brain
thinks is they like so when you’re on your phone and that blue light is going
to your brain, your brain thinks it’s not time to sleep so it won’t produce
melatonin very well and it becomes harder to sleep I actually have talked
about this in another video on sleep which I will link in the description box
below but what I tried to do is I switch my phone off for an hour or an hour
and a half before bed like flight mode so I don’t look at any notifications I
don’t look at anything and that way I’m actually able to sleep better I hope you
find this video useful and you enjoyed it if you liked it give it a thumbs up
and don’t forget to subscribe because I create videos like this every week and
before you go let me know in the comment box below what is the one habit that has
changed your life I will see you in the next video bye
