This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure here.
If adopting a healthy lifestyle is a new shift for you, it may seem overwhelming. But leading a healthier life is definitely possible! You can start developing simple habits that will make you the healthiest version of yourself.
Making small, gradual changes to your lifestyle will help you live a healthier and better life. Every few weeks, try introducing one new healthy habit into your routine. It can be overwhelming to attempt a lot of new things at once, which may cause you to give up on your new healthy lifestyle.
And don’t forget to be gentle with yourself! It won’t be possible to get healthier immediately.
But if you begin to gradually adopt these beneficial routines for a healthier life, you can start to gradually and consistently improve your health. I find that keeping track of and putting these habits into practice is made much easier when you use a daily wellness tracker.
What Are Healthy Habits
You might be shocked to learn that more than 40% of the things you do on a daily basis aren’t actually your decisions. Actually, they are behaviors. Our daily activities, performance levels, and life outcomes are all governed by our habits. This is why forming solid, constructive routines is so crucial.
If you’re pondering what habits are, consider them to be routine actions that you take without giving them a second thought. A behavior that is good for one’s physical or mental well-being and is frequently associated with a high degree of self-discipline and restraint is referred to as a healthy habit.
Healthy habits enhance your general well-being and give you a good feeling, while positive habits lay the foundation for your success. A balanced diet, frequent exercise, being on time, keeping promises, and other behaviors are examples of good habits. We can accomplish tasks without exorbitant mental effort when we have good habits.
For instance, subconscious activities are word processing, tying your shoes, and driving — things we do habitually. You don’t have to consider them when we do them.
20 Habits For a Healthier Life:
Now that you are aware of what habits are and the advantages they provide, let’s look at 20 good habits you can adopt right away to improve your life:
Healthy Habit 1: Get at least 7000 steps a day or more if you can. Try a fitness tracker app or watch to help you achieve this habit consistently. According to several studies, women who took an average of 4,400 steps per day had a death rate that was 41% lower than that of women who took an average of 2,700 steps.
Additionally, it was demonstrated that mortality rates even decreased the more steps one took, ultimately peaking at 7,500 per day.
Healthy Habit 2: Chew your food properly. Most people wolf down their meals without taking the time to chew or fully enjoy them. If you fall into this category, try to eat more slowly by chewing your food for a longer period of time than usual.
Healthy Habit 3: Sleep for 6 to 8 hours each night. Your age will determine the precise amount of sleep you need! Do some research on the recommended amount of sleep for your age.
Healthy Habit 4: Get outside for 30 minutes each day to get some fresh air by either strolling or simply relaxing outside. Being outside has been found to have a great effect on your mental well-being, mainly due to exposure to sunshine increasing your serotonin levels. Research has also found that spending even a short amount of time around nature boosts your mood.
Healthy Habit 5: Stock up on healthy food. Most people wolf down their meals without taking the time to chew or fully enjoy them. If you fall into this category, try to consume more slowly by chewing your food for a longer period of time than usual. You’ll likely eat less because you’ll appreciate the taste of your food more.
Healthy Habit 6: Eat a colorful meal. Too many people base their nutrition and health decisions on how many calories they consume daily. However, a nutritious diet is about more than just calories. For instance, there is a significant difference between consuming the same number of calories in cake versus a fistful of raw nuts. Although you may prefer the latter, nuts are always the healthier option.
Healthy Habit 7: Drink lots of water! I used to wake up and sip tea or coffee all day long. I never considered consuming water.
Then I made the decision to try drinking water more during the day, and I was astonished by how simple it was to consume more than 500 ml of water each day when I kept a water bottle by my desk. I observed that I felt better overall, more hydrated, and more focused. If you give it a try, you’ll soon find that, like me, you never leave the house without your water container.
Healthy Habit 8: Reduce Your Sugar Intake. Although most of us are aware that sugar is unhealthy for us, we still ingest large amounts of it daily. Of course, the fact that sugar tastes so good is an issue. In fact, it’s so good that we actually develop an addiction to it.
Now, if I told you to totally cut out sugar from your diet starting tomorrow, you most likely wouldn’t be able to. I suggest setting the achievable aim of cutting your sugar intake in half. Simple actions like decreasing or eliminating sugar in tea or coffee, stop adding sugar to your cereals, swapping out soft drinks for water, and selecting healthier snacks can help you achieve this.
Healthy Habit 9: Go to bed earlier. It’s important to get enough sleep, so consider going to bed 30 minutes earlier than normal. My recommendation? You have an alarm that goes off in the morning. Consider setting an alarm to let you know when it’s time to stop watching TV and go to bed.
Healthy Habit 10: Stop weighing yourself. This relates to what I said previously about calories. Some people, including you maybe, are extremely concerned about their weight. They weigh themselves both at night and in the morning. They are overjoyed if the scale indicates a lower weight. But if the number goes up, they become despondent right away.
Now, it’s a good idea to strive for a healthy weight. However, it ought to be there because of consistent activity and a healthy diet.
Healthy Habit 11: Meditate. Regular meditation practice has been shown in studies to decrease stress, anxiety, and health problems. The main benefit is that it can foster a more mindful mindset and lessen overthinking. It can take the shape of simply sitting still, yoga, meditation, or focused breathing.
Healthy Habit 12: Do a digital detox once a week. Technology is a great thing, it makes life so much easier. But let’s face it—addiction to our TVs, laptops, tablets, and cell phones is all too common. Most people spend the majority of their mornings, afternoons, evenings, and nights staring at a screen.
Take regular breaks from your gadgets to ensure that you break free from this cycle of distraction. Why not, for instance, turn off all of your gadgets once a week or while you’re dining with friends and family? Focus on the discussion rather than being distracted by online content.
Healthy Habit 13: Create a healthy and productive morning routine. And learn what it takes for you to stick to these routines!
Healthy Habit 14: Do a random act of kindness. Even though being kind to others may just seem like good etiquette, it actually makes you happier and makes others happier as well. No matter how insignificant they may seem, positive social encounters raise your mood.
You’ll feel good the remainder of the day if you give genuine compliments, hold a door for someone, or offer to pay for their coffee. According to scientific research, getting a compliment activates the same area of your brain as receiving a monetary award. By consistently doing this, you’ll not only maintain an optimistic outlook but also bring joy to others.
Healthy Habit 15: Be intentionally alone. People who lack self-worth or self-esteem may feel that they are unable to complete tasks on their own. The need to always be doing something with someone can lead to a lack of self-love and a feeling of neediness. Building confidence and a feeling of independence on your own by doing things on your own.
Make time for yourself and don’t be afraid to spend some alone time; it’s a great way to think about yourself deeply and take a break from other people.
Healthy Habit 16: Start taking strategic breaks throughout your work day for your mental and physical health. This helps your mind and boosts productivity
Healthy Habit 17: Start reciting positive or self-love affirmations every day. Try to spend 5 minutes doing this at the beginning and end of each day.
Healthy Habit 18: Every morning and evening, do your skincare routine. This will keep your skin looking healthy and have you feeling better about yourself.
Healthy Habit 19: Wear your sunscreen daily! Try getting a moisturizer with SPF in it to make this easier. Even if you are just staying in, sunscreen is the most important part of any skincare routine.
Healthy Habit 20: Prepare your meals in advance! Meal prepping or planning not only helps you stay on track with a healthier diet, but it also reduces food waste and costs.
A healthy lifestyle is something you can work on for the rest of your life. Start your path toward a healthier life by adopting these 20 habits. And keep in mind that living a healthy life is truly a journey that never ends.
There are always more things you can do to improve your health, and the benefits of doing so are priceless. But keep in mind that a big part of being healthy is having good emotional health, so try not to stress yourself out and be patient and kind to yourself. Every aspect of your life needs to incorporate healthy practices. In order to start becoming the healthiest and, ideally, happiest version of yourself, start implementing all of these healthier living habits.
[…] conditioners and hair masks may make your locks appear silkier and more glossy, a healthy diet and healthy way of life can actually promote more lustrous hair than anything […]