Building A Happier, Healthier You in 2017
This time of year can feel quite depressing for some. The weather is still gloomy and cold and there doesn’t feel like much to look forward to now that the excitement the leads up to Christmas and New Year has faded away. What you need is to give yourself a timely boost and shake out of the blue feelings. Spring will be back again soon!
Your mental wellbeing is an important factor in your long-term health, so treat your body well. Instead of moping around, push yourself into making some changes that will give you both short-term and long-term benefits.
Let’s start with something really simple:
Sleep well – A good night’s is important for a wide range of reasons, from being able to function well to having serious health implications if you don’t get enough sleep. The NHS links the lack of sleep to heart disease, diabetes and obesity amongst other problems. To make sure you get a good night’s sleep there are a few changes you can make, whether it is choosing from a selection of mattresses or solid oak beds, or even just making sure you go to bed at an earlier hour.
Get some exercise – This can be easier said than done if you’re feeling out of shape and find it hard to get motivated. Be brave and join a local class, not only will it encourage you to stick to a planned time for exercise, you will meet other people that are in the same boat as you. This time of year is great to meet new people that are trying to get into some regular exercise patterns and you can encourage each other. You don’t have to go zero to gym hero: just pick a class or exercise that suits the pace that you can cope with as you could do more harm than good if you overdo it.
Change your diet – You might not need to lose weight but what you eat has a significant impact on how your feel and it can also impact your skin, nail and other parts of your body. If you rely on a few strong coffees to get you through the day, you could try and reduce the amount of caffeine you have, as this is linked to increasing anxiety.
If you’re feeling lethargic then adjusting your diet could see some quick benefits. Eating more fruit and vegetables helps to keep you feeling more energetic and skipping breakfast is a major no-no. If you are not a big vegetables fan then try different ways of trying to work them into your diet; invest in a blender and start getting creative with soup ingredients. Adding different flavours can change the taste so that you can enjoy new food more easily.
If you’re feeling like you need a boost then don’t just wait for it to magically happen. Get motivated to kick the process off and when you start to feel the benefits it will be easier to keep the momentum going.