7 Simple Habits of Healthy Individuals

“You gotta eat right; you gotta have healthy habits, you know, and balance out your decadence with a healthy lifestyle during the day.” –Talib Kweli

 More often than not, many individuals have resisted forming healthy habits owing to the fact that they associate healthy habits as restrictions instead of significant gains. But the truth is, establishing healthy habits can be incredibly beneficial not only to one’s physique but one’s well-being as well. These healthy habits go beyond just eating right, sleeping well and regularly exercising—no, these practices should include the sharpening and workout of one’s mental faculties as well as the body’s. In a sense, these habits create a greater overall sense of self. Forming these habits do not have to be hard, after all, it would only take twenty-one days before these will permanently be lodged in your daily routine. For better results, remember not to delay and start today.

1.)    Moving for at least thirty minutes daily

Having an eight-hour desk job could spell restrictions on body movements or even constrain you to a sedentary lifestyle sitting behind a desk. However, healthy individuals would make sure to find time to hit the gym after office hours to stretch their untrained and unused muscles. If you cannot find time to fit at least thirty minutes of exercise into your perpetually daily schedules, make a compromise by considering some alternatives that would require you to move. Take the stairs instead of the lift or park your car a bit further than usual as a short morning jaunt.

2.)    Getting outside

Healthy people do not confine themselves inside their homes; they get out, get active, do some bird watching and connect with mother earth and get a bit of sunshine on their skin. Just being outdoors is enough to alleviate stress reduce symptoms of depression and can boost your mood. So, get out and smell the flowers, it is good for your health and good for getting a good night’s sleep.

3.)    Getting the right amount of sleep

 Sleep is essential to staving off stress and in strengthening your immune system. With enough sleep, growth hormones are produced, and regeneration occurs which is why sleep is essential to vital daily function. The number of hours you get some shuteye does not determine whether or not it is the healthy amount for you. Some people can operate with six hours of sleep, while some would need eight. The important thing is when you wake up you feel refreshed. So know your body and plan accordingly.

 4.)    Drinking at least two liters of water

 Set aside your smoothies, caffeinated fizzy drinks and sodas and trade them all for water. Apart from making you hydrated, water is a crucial element to functioning each day healthily. Drink at least two liters of water every single day, and you would find that it is easier to avoid fatigue, anxiety, headaches and trouble in concentration.

5.)    Stretch

 Stretching is not only pivotal before every exercise routine, but it is fundamental to leading a healthy life as well. Stretching would help your muscles retain their flexibility and as a result, it would provide longevity to the joints and would flush it out. Stretching would allow all the toxins and byproducts of metabolism in your muscles to move towards central circulation. So target those neglected muscles and get stretching.

6.)    Meditate

 Meditating helps you clear your head, focus and have a better grasp at the now. If you are looking to lower your blood pressure without resorting to any therapeutic drugs, meditating can help as well. Among others, regularly meditating would help you handle stress as well—even a quick ten-minute meditation would already be hugely advantageous to your health. So, before starting your day, take a few deep breaths to help calm your nerves and to better prepare you for the day.

7.)    Making your health a priority in your life

 It is imperative that you make your health a priority in your life if you want any of these healthy techniques to become habits. In a sense, having your health as a priority would serve as a foundation for these habits as it will always remind you why you are practicing them and it would give you better gains and payoffs if you did them routinely because you want to invest in your health. Make a conscious choice to be healthy every single day and doing all of these practices would eventually become habits you would want to do.