Nothing should overtake the amount of importance you put into preserving your physical and emotional health. If there’s anything that this year, with its historically difficult series of challenges, has taught us it’s that we really never know when the world itself might be turned upside down. The Coronavirus has inspired many of us to turn inward, and proactively work on bettering ourselves.
With that being said it can be tough sometimes to know where to start. Just taking that first step on the path toward ultimate self improvement can feel daunting. Maybe you’ve always wanted to fit into that pair of special slimming pants, but you’re not sure how to get that done. Even though it may feel impossible, it isn’t. And, once you’ve lost the weight you’re trying to get rid of after practicing these tips, just make sure that you never pay the full retail price for your new fabulous pants.
Maybe you have a special dress that you desperately want to fit into for the next special occasion, but you know there’s a lot of work to do between now and then, and you just don’t know what that entails. So, let’s take a look at some of the best ways to invest in your physical and emotional health. If you take these tips and put them in your back pocket to use whenever the time is right, there’s no reason you can’t conquer all the obstacles that lie before you.
Get plenty of sleep.
You can’t sleep on sleep. By design, our bodies and brains are heavily reliant on getting sufficient sleep. In fact, if you don’t get enough sleep you end up taking on higher risk for developing nasty conditions like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and terrible colds. One particular study determined that people who average less than seven hours of sleep a night are almost three times as likely to develop a cold than people who hit the necessary amount. On top of that, when you’re trying to go about your daily tasks without enough sleep you’re setting yourself up for feeling a whole lot of unnecessary stress. Your brain’s working very hard to keep the whole system running, and sleep is its own kind of food source. Plus, summoning the willpower necessary to exercise after long days of work is that much harder when you feel like you can barely keep your eyes open.
Practice meditation.
Meditation has garnered a ton of collective praise for its ability to promote genuine wellbeing amongst folks who regularly practice it. Meditation can additionally stimulate the vague nerve, which has been shown to affect everything from your heart rate to digestion. There are also reports that indicate that meditation literally changes your brain. It can vastly reduce your stress response when faced with unexpected moments of adversity. There couldn’t be a better time to introduce such a practice than this year. All you need to do is dedicate five to ten minutes out of your day to meditation. There are a wealth of helpful apps available nowadays as well that will provide you with guided meditations, as well as teach you mindfulness techniques that you can bring with you into the rest of your day.
Get moving.
This era of the Coronavirus has forced many of us to spend unprecedented amounts of time inside. As a result many of us are exercising far less than we normally would. In fact, plenty of us are hardly moving from one room to the other throughout the entire day. This is hugely detrimental to both your physical and mental well being.
If you have a dog, you can start with short walks with your furry friend around the neighborhood. Maybe one day you’ll build up to jogs, and then perhaps even lengthy runs further on down the road. There are also plenty of amazing at-home workout classes and apps available nowadays. If you’re feeling like you generally just need to get out of your current environment you can always look at what’s available in the realm of dog-friendly winter vacations. A little getaway in these times can work wonders for a total mental reset.
Eat better food.
Your diet plays a huge part in the rest of your wellbeing. If your diet’s currently brimming with fatty foods and tons of red meat, you’re likely regularly wrestling gnarly bouts of the meat sweats, and probably losing sleep in the process. So, make a conscious effort to focus on incorporating high fiber foods, greens, and whole grains, and cutting back on the meat. You’ll be shocked at how quickly terrible things like indigestion fade into the rearview mirror.
This is just a quick rundown of some completely doable, yet highly impactful practices you can incorporate into your daily routine to promote your physical and mental well being. All that matters is that you take that first step, and remember that you’re doing this because you’re committed to feeling better than you do at the present moment. You’ve got this.