Want a healthier and happier life? This is the best time to adopt healthy habits that can change your life for the better in 2022 and beyond. Each year, as the calendar turns to January, millions of people are motivated to make positive changes to their lifestyle through New Year resolutions – mostly centered on healthy habits that target popular genres such as health and fitness.
Have you wondered how many decisions you make every day and how they impact your habits? Every single daily decision you make – big or small – is affected by your habits and mindset. Habits – good or bad – have an enormous impact on your life happiness and success as they shape your mindset and influence your perspective on what happens to you. The New Year is the best time to switch to a healthy lifestyle.
Here are some simple but healthy habits that can change your life for the better in 2022 and beyond:
- Eat healthy food. Good food influences your mood and contributes to happiness. Include nuts, three or more servings of seasonal fruit, a serving of vegetables, a serving of protein with every meal.
- Always stay hydrated and cut back on wine, beer, liquor, and sugary drinks and beverages. Instead, drink lots of water or sip hot herbal tea.
- Devote an hour or so to workouts – by going to the gym, walking outdoors, or doing yoga or simple exercises at home. Exercising will help you to maintain a healthy body, relieve muscle tension, strain and pain, relax your mind, improve sleep, and address fatigue. Exercise can boost both mental and physical energy.
- Avoid junk food and eat fresh, wholesome food. Cooking at home is healthier as you have more control over the ingredients. Making healthy food at home is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of chronic illnesses.
- Sleeping and resting are the pillars of health that many self-proclaimed healthy people neglect. Find a schedule for sleep that works for you, put your phone away and prioritize getting enough every night. Getting a good night’s sleep can reduce stress, improve recovery from exercise, and improve your overall health.
- Quitting smoking is the best resolution anyone can make. Smoking puts you at risk of lung cancer as well as other types of cancer and is also associated with heart disease and other serious medical conditions.
- Connect socially with family, friends and relatives, whenever possible. Rather than talking, listening can be more important and more helpful, at times. Sometimes we just need to sit back, listen, and take it in. Listening shows others that we are genuinely interested which helps build better relationships.
- List out the five things you are grateful for.
- Jot down and make a list of what you need to do.
- Practice kindness – that includes self-kindness and self-compassion – and also find enjoyment in life, no matter how simple or small it is.
- Take steps to ease stress. Chronic stress can impact your mind and body. Mindful practices like meditation and kindness can lessen the effects of stress and calm the mind.
- Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself and your family and lower the risk of getting sick and transmitting disease to others.
- Finally, give yourself a break from everything – mentally or physically. This is probably one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself as you move into the New Year.
The time for change is now. When it comes to breaking bad habits and adopting good habits that last, starting small or taking baby steps is the key to success. Don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself with sudden, startling changes. Instead, stay focused on switching to a healthier lifestyle through simple, realistic changes.
