This morning I was thinking about what I could write to help motivate to get everyone moving more and to be healthier this week.
At the time, nothing much came to me.
But after opening my laptop and sitting down to write, I want to talk about what steps you, or anyone, can take right now to improve your health. And to improve how you are feeling right now.
I’ll keep it to my top 5 so this email isn’t too long. I have ordered these tips by what I feel you should start with first, that being……
1. Prioritise Sleep.
Try to get to bed at a decent time, and take action to make your sleep environment more conducive to getting the best sleep you can.. Sleep is restorative.
Why not do this right now?, Think of what you can do today to improve your sleep tonight. (If you’re stuck, click HERE).
What helps me most is not looking at any screens about an hour before bed.
2. Reduce Stress.
Stress has a significant effect on our health. Don’t ignore it!
Think about anything causing unnecessary stress in your life and start doing what you can to reduce or eliminate it.
Also, do your best to avoid hearing and watching too much of the bad stuff happening in the world. Try to focus on the good stuff. You’ll feel better for it.
And ….. start being nicer to yourself. You’re great!
3. Cut Out Unhealthy Foods.
Nutrition is a vast topic. It can be confusing and also a somewhat divisive topic. Doctors and nutritionists have different takes and ideas of what is best.
If I could give just one tip, however, that you could take to get you eating better for your health, which I’m sure the majority of good nutritionists would agree on - I would say stop consuming highly processed junk food AND refined seed oils. Eat more real natural food.
4. Get Moving More.
If you know you must get moving more, just start by building up the amount of time you’re up on your feet and moving.
Start with walking, and do more of it.
But with any movement, always start small and build on it.
It’s common for people to go from not doing much exercise to getting a sudden burst of motivation and going all out. I see it over and over again. This won’t get you very far. It usually leads to burnout or a painful niggle or injury.
Allow your body to adapt to higher amounts of exercise gradually. This is the right way to do it.
You will build a stronger, healthier foundation when you spend less time sitting and gradually build up to more moving.
I started increasing my walking recently and I’m really liking getting out and about. Here is a picture from a recent walk of mine (that I shared in the More Life Health Facebook group that I thought you may like to see).
Are there any nice walking tracks you can go on yourself?
And start doing specific exercise videos. You will find the exercise videos categorised HERE.
5. Get Outside More and Be Happier.
For tip #5, I’ve gone with getting outside more. Breathe the fresh air. Get sunlight (without overdoing it). Vitamin D and bright light are important for health.
Also, why not do some things you like this week, guilt-free without stress.
And you can let me know what makes you happy in the More Life Health Facebook group. I love seeing what you’re doing in different places around the world, and I also love hearing about your hobbies (especially when it’s a hobby I haven’t heard of before).
- Mike