Vitality and wellness aren’t just for people with illnesses and ailments, as many might think. In fact, we should be focussing on improving our daily healthy habits so we can thrive.
Why? That’s because they force us to become aware of our choices and habits and encourage us to make choices for a healthy and fulfilling life. Wellness and vitality aren’t just about the state of your physical health, it is also about your mental and social well-being and inner energy. Daily healthy habits can make all the difference.
We are living in a high-stress and fast-paced environment. Let’s be real, you probably don’t even have time to read this article in its entirety (but we hope you do). But now that you’re here, you are looking for a change in your life and to form some healthy habits. Your stressful lifestyle can or maybe event has taken a toll on your health which impairs your vitality. It happens to the best of us.
But be rest assured, there are teensy steps that we can take in our daily routine to ensure we start each day with a healthy mind and body while keeping to our schedule. A great morning routine is incredibly important for a productive day. To help us all move forward, we spoke to our friends at Your Vitality Store to get healthy habits to help incorporate good wellness into our busy lives.
- 7AM: Wake up early, take a glass of water
Drinking a glass of water right after you wake up (before you eat) is great for you. It not only fires up your metabolism, it helps you flush out toxins. Your body went 6-7 hours without water, it’s definitely thirsty even if you don’t feel thirsty. This won’t take you long and is an easy first habit to get into.
- 11AM: Drink plenty of fluids
It’s common knowledge we need 8 glasses of water a day but for those who maybe struggle with the tastelessness of water, chugging these glasses can be a tad painful. One solution to make water tastier is infused water, like fruits (strawberries, oranges, apples), veggies (cucumber) or herbs (mint, basil) to make drinking more enjoyable. Vegetable and fruit juices also work. We recommend beets, or ‘ABC’ juice, to harness its beautiful powerful anti-inflammatory properties. But be careful with too many juices for your blood sugar.
- 12PM: Talk a walk or do some yoga
Walk to lunch or if you have no appointments for the day, walk to the nearest park. Not only can physical activity keep you fit and fab, sweating it out helps to release toxins stored in your skin and organs. Some yoga poses are known to help stimulate certain organs and support processes of detoxification. If you’re not a yoga person, it’s not too late to try. Drop by a yoga studio, or if not, YouTube is your teacher. Just get movin’, even if it’s just for 10 minutes.
- 12:30PM or 1PM: Eat well for lunch
There’s half an hour (or more if you’re lucky) before you got to head back to the office. If you managed to squeeze in a workout, a quick fix to lunch is to grab a lunchbox and get a nice healthy salad bowl. Try to include seaweed in your diet such as fucus, Ascophyllum (common brown algae) and kelp. These are not only so rich in vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, it can also help replenish nutrients that your body needs. It can also improve your bowel functions and – bonus – it has appetite reduction and weight-loss properties too. How ’bout that? This is also a great time for those who take vitamins to boost their daily nutrient intake.
- 3PM: Treat yo’self to some herbal tea
Meetings here, paperwork there – your work is endless. But spare yourself 10 minutes to get a cuppa tea. There are teas that have properties to help you relax. Try out Lemon Verbena, it has so many fantastic benefits (think anti-inflammatory, helps with immunity, calms the tummy, soothes nerves, weight loss).
- 5PM: The mid-afternoon munchies
Uh-oh, your stomach is starting to grumble and you’re getting a little bored. Get your crunch on with healthy snacks that won’t add to your waistline or cholesterol AND sugar count. Try some baked cashews, honey almonds, fruits, coconut water, or an oat bar.
- 7PM: Care about your body and avoid spicy food
Congratulations on surviving the peak-hour public transport shenanigan. Now that you’re home, grab a nice relaxing shower, a yummy healthy dinner (don’t eat too late!). Maybe even pop some memory-enhancing supplements to prep your noggin. If you have some joint pains, this is time for you to care about your body. Try some natural remedies to relieve those nagging pains to keep you going the next day. Try to avoid alcohol over dinner as it can cause mid-sleep awakening, and you don’t want that. Us Asians love our spicy foods, but try to have that during lunch and avoid it during dinner as it may cause indigestions, hence disturbing your sleep.
- 8PM: Relax, breathe, do yoga.
If you don’t have any OT (over-time) to do, take this time to get some well-needed rest. Do some breathing exercises or listen to a great podcast. If you didn’t manage to squeeze in that yoga during lunch, it’s a great time to do it now as it helps get you relaxed and also sleepy. Plus you have a little bit more time. Putting some essential oils in your diffuser to relax. If you don’t have a diffuser, you could always add a few drops to a cotton ball or add a few drops to water in a spray bottle. Essential oils not only calm you down, it can relax and soothe anxiety and stress. Ahh, luxury.
- 9PM: No more screen time
Take that iPad, Kindle, iPhone, laptop, TV and toss it to the side. You don’t need to reply that email right now. It is best to be away from your devices at least an hour before bedtime as the light emitted from them disrupts your melatonin, which plays a role in getting you to sleep, and ruin your sleep schedule.
- After 10PM: Sleep regularly
Try to go to bed the same time every night and get up the same time every morning. Tuning your body clock to a steady schedule helps you get better sleep. Plus, don’t forget to keep those blinds open where you can (if light pollution doesn’t seep into your room in the night) so that you get as much natural sunlight as you can in the morning. Natural light plays a crucial role in regulating your circadian rhythm or “body clock”.
Sleep and repeat!
>>> Get more tips on being a healthy human here
That’s not too hard right? By introducing these simple and small changes in your lifestyle, it might help reduce your stress and anxiety. Having a healthy routine that focusses on your wellness has bountiful benefits on your life. Not only are you happier, you are also more productive, more rejuvenated and more excited to take on what the world has to offer.
This article on healthy habits was made with a little help from our friends at Your Vitality Store.
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