Taking care of one’s health should be a top priority. Working for long hours to earn thousands of dollars each month is useless if you’re always sick. Aside from spending all of your earnings on your medical and hospital bills, poor health will deprive you of time with your family and enjoying activities that you truly love.
For this year, change your priorities and make sure that your health is on top. Contrary to popular belief, improving or maintaining your health doesn’t mean breaking the bank or sacrificing any of your other responsibilities. As long as you’re willing to make a few changes to your daily routine, it won’t be long before you’re seeing and feeling a healthier “you” in 2021.
To help you get started, here are five things you can do to better your health this year:
1. Exercise For At Least 15 Minutes Every Day
There are many benefits to being physically fit. For one, it can regulate the hormones in your body and lessen your risk of developing life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer. As presented in ezra.com, being diagnosed with cancer can change your life in many ways, which is why you should look for ways to live a cancer-free life. Regular exercise can help to ward off depression and anxiety, improve your mental wellness and boost your cardiovascular health.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to improve your health this 2021 is to squeeze at least 15 minutes of exercise into every single day. Regardless of how busy you are, you should find the time to sweat, and this doesn’t always mean going to the gym.
You can exercise by taking a 30-minute walk during your lunch break at work, doing 30 minutes of strength training using hand weight or kettlebells as you’re watching TV, or jumping rope for 15 minutes when you get up in the morning.
2. Eat Well
Aside from getting regular physical exercise, eating right can work wonders for your health. You’ll start to see much better results from your workouts if you’re eating healthy. This is especially important if you want to lose weight this year.
Listed below are tips to help you start on a healthy diet:
- Eat tons of fruits and vegetables: Ideally, you should consume at least five portions of fruits and vegetables every day. Depending on your preferences, you can eat fruits and vegetables that are canned, dried, frozen, fresh or a combination of each.
- Eat more fish: Fish contains nutrients that are essential for your overall health. For one, it contains high levels of omega-3 fatty acids that lower blood pressure, reduce the likelihood of strokes and heart attacks, and slow the development of plaque in the arteries.
You can experience these benefits by eating at least two portions of fish every week. Some of the healthiest varieties of fish you can consume are salmon, sardines, mackerel and herring. - Cut down on saturated fat and sugar: Fat is essential to a healthy diet, but you should pay attention to the type and quantity of the fat that you’re consuming regularly. Saturated fats, for example, can cause cholesterol, which builds up in your arteries and leads to more severe illnesses.
As part of a healthier part, cut down on saturated fat and sugar. This means reducing your consumption of fatty cuts of meat, butter, cakes, creams and pies. Lard and biscuits should also be crossed off your diet.
3. Cook Meals
Although convenient, consuming too much fast and junk food can have adverse effects on your health. According to studies, eating excessive amounts of fast and processed foods has been linked to an increased risk of anxiety, depression, digestive issues, type 2 diabetes and early death.
If you’re truly committed to sticking to a healthier diet, you should start cooking meals at home. You’ll have better control of your ingredients when cooking your own meals. This means that you’ll have peace of mind knowing that what you’re eating is fresh, clean and healthy. This is especially important if you’re someone who’s allergic to certain ingredients.
If you don’t know how to cook, make use of the internet to look for recipes and tutorial videos. You’ll be surprised at how easy, healthy and inexpensive cooking is once you get the hang of it!
4. Maintain A Regular Sleep Schedule
Your sleep health can impact your mental and physical health. It’ll be challenging for you to prevent stress and maintain a healthy weight if you always lack sleep. Moreover, sleep deprivation can weaken your immune system and cause memory issues.
Maintaining a regular sleep schedule will help you to sleep better at night. You should strive to have at least eight hours of sleep every night. If you’re having problems sleeping, avoid drinking caffeine in the afternoon, cut out alcohol and don’t nap later in the day. Most importantly, you should set boundaries on your gadget use, and ensure that not one device is present in your bedroom when it’s time for sleep.
5. Drink More Water
It’s common knowledge that drinking water is vital to human health, but a lot of people still fail to drink at least two liters every day. The market is saturated with different kinds of drinks today, and only very few choose to drink water over carbonated energy drinks.
To better your health in 2021, prioritize drinking more water. This habit might be simple but done consistently, drinking a sufficient amount of water every day can improve your memory and mood, reduce sugar cravings, prevent constipation and prevent kidney stones.
If you’re not fond of drinking a lot of water, always bring a bottle with you to encourage you to drink more during the day. If you like, you can add some sliced fruits such as lemon and kiwi, to make your water more flavorful.
Work With Pros
On top of your willingness to turn over a new leaf, recommendations from a healthcare professional are very important. Before you engage in physical activities or change your diet, it’s best if you talk to your doctor about it, so that you know the dos and don’ts of crafting a healthier lifestyle. Their help can also prevent any health risks, and ensure that you see real results. Even an addiction treatment center can help with this.
