We all want our lives to be healthier, happier, and more meaningful. We want to adopt habits today that will assure us of a better tomorrow. There are numerous benefits to living a good lifestyle with all the right habits, and everyone knows that. To talk about it would, in essence, be preaching to the choir. And yet so many people find it hard to implement. Why? The main reason is that most people don’t break the healthy lifestyle down into a series of individual habits that you can acquire, one at a time.

Gaining a habit is something that takes time and effort. However, once you have a habit firmly in your system, you’re pretty much on autopilot from there. Imagine being able to do things that positively impact your health and productivity, but doing them entirely on autopilot, so that you don’t have to think too much about it or try too hard.

It all starts with the little things. If you make the little changes and maintain consistency, then the big changes will happen almost as if by magic.

That’s what this article is really about: the healthy habits you can start implementing today. Each habit on its own is fairly easy to implement and internalize with the right amount of effort. However, the benefits of these habits are so great, especially when the habits go together, that they will quite powerfully take your life to a whole new level.

1. You Need to Sit Less

This can be rephrased as “you need to stand more.” Today’s modern lifestyle sees a lot of people spending most of their time seated in front of screens in offices within the HR system. That means that, for most of their day, most people will not be doing what their bodies were designed to do in the first place: move around.

When you sit all day, your quality of life and even your productivity will be adversely affected. Standing up actually helps your body to digest many nutrients, such as sugars and fats, a lot more efficiently than when you’re seated, according to author Dr. James Levine.

Your body interprets the lack of movement as an explicit instruction that it should shut down. When you move around regularly and frequently, your body will know that it should ramp up that metabolism. Your mood will improve, you will become stronger, and you will also become more productive.

So important is this, that some offices have introduced so-called standing desks for their employees, such as Brill Assignment or A-writer.com. These give employees the option of working while standing so that they are more encouraged to move around.

2. You Should Sleep More

A lot of people go around looking for drugs to enhance their performance. Few people know that the most powerful such drug is right there under their noses: sleep.

Most people are so worried about their days that they have a hard time getting any sleep. They get up many times during the night or sleep too late and wake up too early.

Most people need at least 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Some will be able to do with just 6 hours while others need at least 9. The point is that people need to sleep enough if they are going to have the right amount of energy for the next day.

It’s not just about energy, either; sleep can improve your attention span, your memory, and even help you keep a healthy weight. It also lowers your stress levels. Many mental disorders, like depression, are actually related to the lack of sleep.

Understandably, sometimes you may just have too much on your plate. If you’re a student, for example, you might have an assignment or thesis to complete with a tight deadline, and that may lead to you not having enough time for sleep. If that is the case, you need to start outsourcing some of that work and reduce the workload on yourself.

You could, for example, hire a custom paper writing service to do the work for you. Premium assignment services like bestessays.com.au also exist to help you with your assignment. That way, you get to have a good night’s sleep without worrying about how you’re going to meet those tight deadlines.

3. Exercise Every Day

Remember our point about how your body was designed for moving? Well, if you want to stay healthy, you will have to constantly do what your body was designed for. That means you need to keep moving.

Physical fitness isn’t something you do as a hobby; it should be as integrated into your day as eating. The beauty is that it doesn’t just help you with your body, but your mind as well. It also makes you more confident in yourself and improves your mood.

You should put aside a few minutes to do some general exercises, such as pushups and squats. Put aside some time during the day as well in the middle of your work routine to reenergize you.

The thing about exercise is that consistency matters a lot more than the intensity at the end of the day. It needs to become a habit. You can start from something as small as 5 minutes of exercise a day. You will have to do it every day, though. Over time, you can ramp up the intensity but never skimp on the consistency if you don’t want to lose all of your gains.

You can even make exercise more fun if you want to adopt the habit more easily. Put on some headphones and play your favorite music while you’re at it.

4. Drink More Water

Water is life, literally. At least 2 thirds of our bodies are made up of water. It is the best refreshment you will ever take and also probably the healthiest. Once you sleep, your body uses up the water it has, and by the time you wake up, you tend to be dehydrated, which means a glass of water in the morning, even before you take your breakfast, certainly isn’t a bad idea.

Once your body has enough water running through its system, going about things like metabolism and other functions becomes pretty easy. It can carry on its daily activities without a fuss.

Depending on your weight, you should drink between 3 and 4 liters of water a day, which ensures your metabolism stays high and you have adequate energy to go about your day.

Don’t ignore your body when you feel thirsty. This is an age-old mechanism the body has evolved over the eons to tell us when we desperately need to drink some water. Listen to your body and drink water as many times as you need it. Your body will thank you for it, and you will, in turn, thank your body for its excellent health and your improved quality of life.

5. Get Some Fresh Air

You need enough fresh air, and sometimes that just means you need to open your windows more.

Your house or office tends to accumulate particles and pollutants at a much higher rate than the outside. That means indoor air is a lot more polluted than outdoor air. All the more reason for you to open your windows more often and let some of that fresh air inside. This is especially important if you spend a lot of your time indoors.

You should also go out into the fresh air as often as you can. If you live somewhere with the interesting countryside, you should visit it now and then. It will do your body a world of good.

6. Nuts Make a Great Snack

This is another one of those little habits that make all the difference in the world. With the right snacks, you can get all the energy you need to get through your day without having to compromise your health. Nuts are a great alternative to potato chips and chocolates.

Nuts have lots of protein and also Omega-3 fatty acids, which improve your mental performance while keeping your weight healthy.

7. Organize Your Life

You need to get rid of all the clutter in your life, whether it lives in your computer, on your desk, in your room, or your mind. It’s harder to focus when you have so many things competing for your attention.

By decluttering your life now and then, you allow your mind to focus on what matters. You even allow yourself to figure out what matters, to begin with.

8. Laugh More

Children are alleged to laugh about 300 times a day while adults only laugh about 17.5 times. Whatever the truth, the fact is that children do laugh more than adults on average, and that’s why they seem to be so much happier. Do you want to know a secret to happiness? You should laugh more!

It’s not just about the physical act of laughter, but is more about the positive mindset that finds something to smile about in everything, no matter how grim the situation. By adopting a positive mindset, you equip your mind to face just about any situation, and you improve the quality of your life. Try it; it works!

In Conclusion

By sticking to all of the positive habits you learn in your adult life, you give yourself a chance to live a longer, healthier, and happier life. You should seriously try and start at least one habit on this list. The result will be magical.

 

---

Author’s Bio

Kurt Walker has been working as an editor and copywriter at bestessays.com, College-Paper.org, and assignmentholic.co.uk in London, for 3 years. He is also a professional writing expert and assignment geek at Rush Essay and best dissertation. He also writes non-academically in such topics as education, technology, productivity, and inspiration.