Have 5 minutes? Want to improve your health but unsure where to start? Nibble on these bite-sized ideas – each one creates a small change in your habits which can get you started on the path to wellness.
Get Outside: Getting outside early in the day helps keep your circadian rhythm in balance. When it’s balanced, you feel alert when you should (during the day) and you feel sleepy at night. Sunlight and the blue wavelengths of light in the sky have powerful effects on sleep and alertness. Just stepping outside for a few minutes and looking up at the sky (even on a cloudy day) can make a difference.
Relax: Life is stressful! Making time to relax restores balance and is essential to good health. The key is to find what works for you – whether its meditation, gentle yoga stretches, deep breathing or simply listening to music. Even less time? Take a 1-minute hand bath when you’re feeling stressed – washing your hands with nice-smelling soap and warm water will quickly calm your nerves.
Improve Your Diet: Vegetables are low in calories and high in nutrients which support our health. Despite this well-known fact, most of us don’t get enough servings of vegetables every day. Easily improve your intake by sneaking in an extra serving of veggies at lunch. For example, ask for more veggies on your sandwich or add some baby spinach to your soup or leftovers.
Drink Water: Most healthy adults need 64-96 ounces of water a day; having water close at hand makes it easier to remember to drink it throughout the day; fill your water bottle first thing in the morning and make it a habit to drink water and refill it as soon as it’s empty
Exercise Your Brain: Keep your brain fit and enhance its function by continuing to learn throughout your life. Read a few pages a day of a book on a topic which interests you – in a month you will have completed the book! Learn a new language with an audiobook and practice out loud or with a friend a few minutes a day.
Increase Activity: Feeling sluggish in the morning? Do a few minutes of stretching as soon as you get out of bed – it will work out all the kinks and get you feeling great right out of the starting gate!
Connect: Humans are social creatures; connecting with others is an important part of life and supports our emotional wellbeing. Steal a few minutes to catch-up with a good friend or family member you haven’t spoken to in a while. Texting counts, but sometimes a phone call or in-person visit are more fulfilling.
