by Dr. Brent Wells
You know you need to improve your health, but the idea of changing your entire lifestyle is just too overwhelming. The good news is that you can take a few small steps every day to start improving your health without overhauling your whole life.
Try doing a few of these each day this week, then gradually incorporate more into your life until you’re stepping your way into a healthier lifestyle. You’ll then be well on your way to improving your health without a daunting major lifestyle change!
1. Take a Quick Walk
Even 10 minutes a day of walking can help improve your heart function and release feel-good endorphins. The longer you maintain a habit of walking every day, the more you’ll naturally be inclined to take longer walks because they will make you feel better both physically and mentally.
There’s no need to go to a park either (unless you want to). Simply walk away from your home for five minutes, then turn around and walk home for another five minutes. Soon, you’ll want to go farther and farther before turning around.
2. Eat a Better Breakfast
Starting the day with a serving of whole grains and a serving of fruit will start your day on the right foot. The whole grains, like oatmeal, wheat flakes, or wheat toast, will help you feel full, and getting one serving of fruit out of the way will encourage you to continue eating more fruits and vegetables throughout the day.
Just eating a bowl of sugary cereal will set you up to feel hungry in only a couple of hours and potentially reach for an unhealthy snack. Even if you do reach for unhealthy foods later, you can start your day right and feel good about that one decision all day long.
3. Drink More Water
Replacing just one soda or coffee each day with water can save you 100 calories or more. Over the course of a year, you can drop 10 pounds by making this one simple switch.
Drinking more water is beneficial anyway since our bodies are composed of 90% water, so this tip does double duty. While eight glasses of water every day might not actually be enough, it’s a great place to start to see a wide variety of improvements in your physical and mental health.
4. Write Down Things You’re Grateful For Every Day
Taking the time daily to write down things you’re grateful for may seem like a surprising way to improve your health, but studies are showing that it can improve both your health and your happiness.
Get a small notebook and keep it with a pen near your bed. Write out 10 things you’re grateful for right before bed to clear your head of negativity and stress when you’re trying to sleep, or do it first thing in the morning to start your day with a positive attitude.
5. Take Deep Breaths
Spending just five minutes a day taking deep breaths can reduce the levels of stress hormones in your body, which can lead to reduced anxiety, improved sleep, and a reduced chance of gaining weight.
One example of a deep breathing exercise you can try is to breathe in through your nose for a count of three, hold for a count of three, and exhale from your mouth for a count of three. Focusing on your breaths not only reduces your blood pressure, but it can reduce the clutter in your mind as well.
6. Eat One More Serving of Fruits and Vegetables Every Day
It can be overwhelming to try to revamp your entire diet, so start with one extra serving of fruits or vegetables per day and work your way up from there.
Add fruit to your breakfast or have a salad for lunch instead of worrying about everything you eat at first.
7. Floss every day
Did you know that adults who never floss are 30% more likely to die from preventable causes than those who floss every day? That’s because a surprising amount of bacteria live under your gumline.
If you neglect your gums for long enough, that bacteria can travel throughout your bloodstream and lead to problems like sepsis or heart disease.
8. Do One Plank Every Day
Strengthening the muscles in your abs and lower back can help reduce your odds of injury by providing stability to your spine.
You can start by doing one 20-second plank every day and work up to a full minute.
9. Replace Red Meat with Seafood Once a Week
Seafood is good for your heart, brain, and body.
Replace just one meal a week with seafood instead of red meat to start seeing benefits.
10. Wash Your Hands Frequently
Regular hand washing helps reduce the spread of disease, and succumbing to fewer colds and having fewer bouts with the flu can positively affect your overall health.
Why wouldn’t you spend a few minutes a day washing your hands to avoid getting sick?
11. Meditate
Perhaps you associate meditation with new-age hippie stuff, but meditation has measurable benefits on the reduction of stress levels.
Reduced stress leads to fewer heart attacks, less weight gain, and a longer lifespan.
12. Eat More Nuts
Replace one sugary snack every day with a handful of nuts instead. Nuts are great for your heart health and will keep you full longer than that carbohydrate-laden sweet snack will.
13. Spend More Time in Nature
Taking time to literally stop and smell the flowers exposes you to natural aromatherapy, which may give you energizing, relaxing, or therapeutic benefits.
Take your brisk daily walk through a park or along a greenbelt to get both the benefits of exercise and the stress relief of enjoying nature and all its aromas.
By only tackling a few small steps at a time, changing your life for the better and improving your health can be a lot easier than you expect. Hopefully, some of these suggestions sparked something inside you, and you’re now ready to start taking some easy steps towards improving your health.
(Dr. Brent Wells is one of the leading chiropractors in Anchorage who believes in treating people the way he would want to be treated. Born and raised in Southern California, Dr. Wells received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nevada and his Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine degree from Western States Chiropractic College. He, his wife Coni, and their three children live in and enjoy the great outdoors in Alaska. Dr. Wells volunteers for Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Foundation and can be found hiking or rollerblading when he isn’t playing his guitar.)
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