According to research by online fitness network Strava, the second Friday of January is the day we’re most likely to give up on our health resolutions.
Our intentions are good. We want to lead healthier, fitter, happier lives – we just don’t necessarily know how to go about it.
Here are 50 useful health hacks from various experts; small ideas that don’t weigh as heavy as resolutions, but can still nudge you in the right direction.
1. Wake up at the same time every morning
More sleep doesn’t mean better sleep. Synchronise your circadian rhythm and sleep cycles by waking up at the same time every morning.
Your body will adapt to this regular schedule and learn to wake you up naturally, leaving you refreshed and ready for the day.
2. Start your day with a deep breath
The first few minutes every morning set the tone for the entire day.
As soon you wake, sit up in bed and take 20 slow, steady breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth, while bringing to mind something positive you’re looking forward to that day.
3. Do a five-minute wake-up stretch
In January, lots of people vow to get fit, buy a gym membership and jump headlong into high intensity exercises. It’s going from 0 to 60 and it can easily lead to injury.
Before you sign up for that class, work on your flexibility by waking up and stretching for five minutes.
Just do some of those warm-up stretches they taught you back in school or search YouTube for new ideas.
4. One foot at a time
Build non-threatening exercise into each day by walking. Squeeze your glutes as you go and stride out.
5. Do 10 squats and 10 press-ups every day
Well, to start with at least. Then add another two each week.
These two simple exercises use big muscle groups, which need energy, which means fat is burnt. Which means smaller trousers, tighter buttocks and leaner arms.
6. Plan your food intake
Plan out your meals for the week ahead. It will help you keep control of what you’re eating and get a spread of all the nutrients your body needs.
7. Natural sweeteners
Replace your evening nibble of chocolate with 100g of blueberries. It’ll give enough of a sweet fix plus a good dose of antioxidants to boot. Top with yogurt for added protein.
8. Chop chop!
Chop up carrot, pepper and celery batons on Sunday night ahead of the working week.
These are your healthy snacks, at hand whenever hunger strikes. If you don’t have a healthy snack available, you’ll make bad decisions.
9. Write a day plan
Research shows that if you write down what you plan to do tomorrow rather than noting your accomplishments that day, you’ll fall asleep more quickly.
Even though stating what we’ve accomplished puts us at ease, organising tomorrow allows for a greater sense of relaxation.
Hedge your bets and do both: needing no more than five minutes, last thing at night, list three things you managed to do well that day, followed by three things you aim to achieve tomorrow.
10. Keep a tea towel down the back of the sofa
With the rise of sedentary jobs, back issues are on the rise. These are exacerbated by short hamstrings and stretching them can help.
Every time you lie on the sofa and switch on your fave box set, whip out your tea towel from behind the cushion.
Hook one foot in the tea towel, straighten the leg and gently pull it towards you, feeling tension down the back of your thigh.
11. Make sport social
Choose something you really enjoy that involves socialising and isn’t solitary. You have the added advantage of the endorphins that are released when we have fun.
12. Choose your china
Research shows eating from a bigger plate increases the amount we serve ourselves by 41%. Use smaller plates to make portions look bigger.
13. Hydrate properly
A huge proportion of us are dehydrated. You can’t think at your best level if you haven’t got the water in you to get your blood up to your head.
Fill up a big bottle and drink it throughout the day.
14. Don’t travel to train
Find a gym, sports club or running route as close to your home as possible. You’re more likely to use it.
15. Purify your air
The air in our bedrooms is often much worse than the rest of the house; it’s a more private room and we spend eight hours in there festering at night.
An air filtering plant can remove some of the toxins, improve oxygenation and increase airflow. A knock-on effect should be better sleep.
16. Embrace fat
Our hormones are made of fat, so we need to include it in our diet, but the right sort.
Essential fats are not called essential for nothing. Our bodies don’t make them, so we have to get them from food.
Focus more on omega 3 (nuts, broccoli, avocado, oily fish) than omega 6 (which we tend to get through the seed and vegetable oils in processed food). Acute inflammatory disorders have been linked to high intakes of omega 6.
17. Make it impossible to avoid exercise
One approach is to have dogs. There’s no way they’ll let you get away with not going on walks. It means exercise is part of your life without you really thinking about it.
Another idea is to have an exercise buddy you don’t want to let down.
18. Move over meat
To lighten the load on your digestive system, aim for less meat. Try going vegetarian or vegan every other day.
19. Eat slowly
It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain you’ve had enough – yet we often finish a meal in fewer than 10 minutes.
Eating quickly easily leads to overeating, because we don’t know when we’re sated. Slow down.
20. Don’t eat at your desk
According to a poll from 2017, 37% of people rarely leave their offices at lunchtime.
Most eat at their desk. You don’t get any incidental exercise because your body is static; and you don’t switch off from work, so your brain doesn’t get a breather.
21. Go to bed 15 minutes earlier
Research shows people on average lose an entire night of sleep every single week.
Reverse that trend by going to bed just 15 minutes earlier than normal every night.
22. Follow the two and five rule
Adopted the two and five rule: no more than two drinks in a night and no more than five drinks in a week.
23. No more phones in the bedroom
We know the research about the light on our devices inhibiting melatonin production and delaying the onset of sleep.
Leave the phone outside the bedroom and invest in an old-fashioned alarm clock.
24. Put 10 almonds on your porridge
Most people don’t eat enough protein, and breakfast is traditionally quite carby.
Add 10 almonds to your porridge to boost the protein punch.
25. Eat – stop – eat
Decide on your meal. Eat it. Then stop eating for at least three hours. Drink only water.
Try that for a week if your snacking habits are getting the better of you.
26. Skip dessert and bread at dinner
If you go to a lot of business dinners then skip the bread and dessert. Be satisfied you’ve got enough nutrition in the starter and main.
27. Do a 12-hour fast
Most people eat as soon as they wake up and then regularly until they go to bed, which means they get about eight hours without food in a 24-hour cycle.
However, it’s highly beneficial to go longer than 12 hours without eating, for both weight loss and energy levels.
Try not to eat before 8am and after 8pm (then, once you’ve got used to it, move the goalposts to 10am and 6pm). Your body will learn to burn fat as a fuel, making you less reliant on a constant intake of food.
28. Compliment someone
It costs nothing, but makes everyone feel good. Take a break at work and interact with a colleague, or offer to get them a coffee.
Remote connections don’t do as much for us as direct exchanges between two human beings.
29. Do a sense scan
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stop what you’re doing for 60 seconds. Bring your attention to the sensory cues around you.
Start with sight, then move through sound, touch and smell. It will bring you to a more present, grounded state.
30. Breathe through your nose
Take a moment when you’re feeling stressed to inhale for four counts through the nose, then exhale for eight counts through the nose. This will calm your nervous system. – The Telegraph
30 health hacks for 2019: expert advice to stop you falling off the wagon
Image: 123RF.com
According to research by online fitness network Strava, the second Friday of January is the day we’re most likely to give up on our health resolutions.
Our intentions are good. We want to lead healthier, fitter, happier lives – we just don’t necessarily know how to go about it.
Here are 50 useful health hacks from various experts; small ideas that don’t weigh as heavy as resolutions, but can still nudge you in the right direction.
1. Wake up at the same time every morning
More sleep doesn’t mean better sleep. Synchronise your circadian rhythm and sleep cycles by waking up at the same time every morning.
Your body will adapt to this regular schedule and learn to wake you up naturally, leaving you refreshed and ready for the day.
2. Start your day with a deep breath
The first few minutes every morning set the tone for the entire day.
As soon you wake, sit up in bed and take 20 slow, steady breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth, while bringing to mind something positive you’re looking forward to that day.
3. Do a five-minute wake-up stretch
In January, lots of people vow to get fit, buy a gym membership and jump headlong into high intensity exercises. It’s going from 0 to 60 and it can easily lead to injury.
Before you sign up for that class, work on your flexibility by waking up and stretching for five minutes.
Just do some of those warm-up stretches they taught you back in school or search YouTube for new ideas.
4. One foot at a time
Build non-threatening exercise into each day by walking. Squeeze your glutes as you go and stride out.
5. Do 10 squats and 10 press-ups every day
Well, to start with at least. Then add another two each week.
These two simple exercises use big muscle groups, which need energy, which means fat is burnt. Which means smaller trousers, tighter buttocks and leaner arms.
6. Plan your food intake
Plan out your meals for the week ahead. It will help you keep control of what you’re eating and get a spread of all the nutrients your body needs.
7. Natural sweeteners
Replace your evening nibble of chocolate with 100g of blueberries. It’ll give enough of a sweet fix plus a good dose of antioxidants to boot. Top with yogurt for added protein.
8. Chop chop!
Chop up carrot, pepper and celery batons on Sunday night ahead of the working week.
These are your healthy snacks, at hand whenever hunger strikes. If you don’t have a healthy snack available, you’ll make bad decisions.
9. Write a day plan
Research shows that if you write down what you plan to do tomorrow rather than noting your accomplishments that day, you’ll fall asleep more quickly.
Even though stating what we’ve accomplished puts us at ease, organising tomorrow allows for a greater sense of relaxation.
Hedge your bets and do both: needing no more than five minutes, last thing at night, list three things you managed to do well that day, followed by three things you aim to achieve tomorrow.
10. Keep a tea towel down the back of the sofa
With the rise of sedentary jobs, back issues are on the rise. These are exacerbated by short hamstrings and stretching them can help.
Every time you lie on the sofa and switch on your fave box set, whip out your tea towel from behind the cushion.
Hook one foot in the tea towel, straighten the leg and gently pull it towards you, feeling tension down the back of your thigh.
11. Make sport social
Choose something you really enjoy that involves socialising and isn’t solitary. You have the added advantage of the endorphins that are released when we have fun.
12. Choose your china
Research shows eating from a bigger plate increases the amount we serve ourselves by 41%. Use smaller plates to make portions look bigger.
13. Hydrate properly
A huge proportion of us are dehydrated. You can’t think at your best level if you haven’t got the water in you to get your blood up to your head.
Fill up a big bottle and drink it throughout the day.
14. Don’t travel to train
Find a gym, sports club or running route as close to your home as possible. You’re more likely to use it.
15. Purify your air
The air in our bedrooms is often much worse than the rest of the house; it’s a more private room and we spend eight hours in there festering at night.
An air filtering plant can remove some of the toxins, improve oxygenation and increase airflow. A knock-on effect should be better sleep.
16. Embrace fat
Our hormones are made of fat, so we need to include it in our diet, but the right sort.
Essential fats are not called essential for nothing. Our bodies don’t make them, so we have to get them from food.
Focus more on omega 3 (nuts, broccoli, avocado, oily fish) than omega 6 (which we tend to get through the seed and vegetable oils in processed food). Acute inflammatory disorders have been linked to high intakes of omega 6.
17. Make it impossible to avoid exercise
One approach is to have dogs. There’s no way they’ll let you get away with not going on walks. It means exercise is part of your life without you really thinking about it.
Another idea is to have an exercise buddy you don’t want to let down.
18. Move over meat
To lighten the load on your digestive system, aim for less meat. Try going vegetarian or vegan every other day.
19. Eat slowly
It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain you’ve had enough – yet we often finish a meal in fewer than 10 minutes.
Eating quickly easily leads to overeating, because we don’t know when we’re sated. Slow down.
20. Don’t eat at your desk
According to a poll from 2017, 37% of people rarely leave their offices at lunchtime.
Most eat at their desk. You don’t get any incidental exercise because your body is static; and you don’t switch off from work, so your brain doesn’t get a breather.
21. Go to bed 15 minutes earlier
Research shows people on average lose an entire night of sleep every single week.
Reverse that trend by going to bed just 15 minutes earlier than normal every night.
22. Follow the two and five rule
Adopted the two and five rule: no more than two drinks in a night and no more than five drinks in a week.
23. No more phones in the bedroom
We know the research about the light on our devices inhibiting melatonin production and delaying the onset of sleep.
Leave the phone outside the bedroom and invest in an old-fashioned alarm clock.
24. Put 10 almonds on your porridge
Most people don’t eat enough protein, and breakfast is traditionally quite carby.
Add 10 almonds to your porridge to boost the protein punch.
25. Eat – stop – eat
Decide on your meal. Eat it. Then stop eating for at least three hours. Drink only water.
Try that for a week if your snacking habits are getting the better of you.
26. Skip dessert and bread at dinner
If you go to a lot of business dinners then skip the bread and dessert. Be satisfied you’ve got enough nutrition in the starter and main.
27. Do a 12-hour fast
Most people eat as soon as they wake up and then regularly until they go to bed, which means they get about eight hours without food in a 24-hour cycle.
However, it’s highly beneficial to go longer than 12 hours without eating, for both weight loss and energy levels.
Try not to eat before 8am and after 8pm (then, once you’ve got used to it, move the goalposts to 10am and 6pm). Your body will learn to burn fat as a fuel, making you less reliant on a constant intake of food.
28. Compliment someone
It costs nothing, but makes everyone feel good. Take a break at work and interact with a colleague, or offer to get them a coffee.
Remote connections don’t do as much for us as direct exchanges between two human beings.
29. Do a sense scan
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stop what you’re doing for 60 seconds. Bring your attention to the sensory cues around you.
Start with sight, then move through sound, touch and smell. It will bring you to a more present, grounded state.
30. Breathe through your nose
Take a moment when you’re feeling stressed to inhale for four counts through the nose, then exhale for eight counts through the nose. This will calm your nervous system. – The Telegraph
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