At the start of the year, most people are focused on making positive changes to their lives. These changes most times centre around personal development habits, such as eating healthier and exercising more. Here is a list of healthy new year’s resolutions that you can consider adding to your list.
- Eliminate stress
The first thing you can work on to make your new year more fulfilling is to find ways to reduce stress in your life. Do you know the saying “stress is a killer”? It is absolutely true. Chronic stress can do great harm to your body and cause physical and emotional problems like chest pains, high blood pressure, anxiety and depression.
Some simple ways to minimise stress are decluttering your home or office space, avoiding negative relationships, delegating when you can, living within your means and most importantly, learning the art of saying no gracefully.
- Cut back on alcohol
You may think this resolution is reserved for those who consume a lot of alcohol, but this is a change everyone can benefit from. Long-term drinking can harm your liver and pancreas, as well as negatively impact your immune system functions.
You can avoid over consuming alcohol by keeping your home free from alcoholic beverages. This will help to minimise the temptation to pour a drink too often. Also, you can try scheduling alcohol-free days week or month. Lastly, be wary of peer pressure when having social drinks. Know your limit and stick to it, no matter what those around you are doing.
- Get more sleep
Good health is directly tied to your sleeping habits. Depriving your body of sleep can have a negative effect on your emotional health, mental abilities and your motivation levels. While you sleep, your body and brain are recuperating from daily wear and tear.
It doesn’t take much to foster better sleeping habits. If your mind is racing and you can’t fall asleep, try writing out your thoughts on paper to declutter your mind. Avoid scrolling through your phone before bed – it’s best to place the phone away from the bed and read a book instead. Be sure your room is clutter-free and completely dark to help your brain shut down at night. It may also help to have a nice warm shower right before bed.
- Incorporate more exercise
When attempting to add more exercise in your daily routine, it’s advisable to start off slowly and gradually until it becomes a part of your routine. It’s also important to note that exercising does not have to take place in the gym. You can simply join a swimming class, take a brisk walk or even take a dance class. It will be beneficial once your heart rate is raised and your body is put to work.
- Treat yourself to regular self-care
Incorporating self-care in your regime is extremely necessary as you plan your new year. A self-care strategy needs to be developed with your unique goals, needs and lifestyle in mind.
Spend some quiet time assessing your life to determine which areas need more attention and self-care. Next, you can make a plan for each area identified and decide what you would like to change or adjust. Remember that you don’t have to address everything at once, but you can tackle each area one by one until you are satisfied.
- Increase your water intake
Drinking enough water daily and staying adequately hydrated can have several positive impacts on your body. 70% of our bodies are composed of water, therefore it is essential to keep us healthy. In order to consume more water, you need to include it into your daily routine. Get in the habit of drinking a glass of water as soon as you wake up, right before all your meals and before bedtime. This way, it becomes easier to gradually increase your daily intake.
These healthy resolutions are not only easy to adopt, but they will better equip you to improve your overall physical and emotional health in 2020 and beyond.