If you’re a workaholic, have kids, travel a lot, or are a Netflix-a-holic, you know what it’s like not to have a ton of time to yourself. In-fact, ‘being too busy’ is the number one excuse for most people when it comes to not going to the gym or living a healthier lifestyle. While we’re all busy, It doesn’t take a ton of time to start taking better care of yourself.
4 Healthy Habits to Start Now
Take a walk (10-30 mins)
According to the NIH, walking lowers your risk of health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. It also helps to strengthen your bones, burn more calories, and lift your mood. 30 minutes of brisk walking per day is recommended, but any amount helps. Only have 10 minutes? That’s 10 minutes more than you might be doing now!
Take a deep breath (5 mins)
Most of the time, you’re likely taking short, shallow breaths instead of long, deep ones. Not only does breathing deep help deliver more oxygen to your vital organs, but it can help with stress relief as well. Think that’s cool? In 2009, The Harvard Medical School published an article stating that deep breathing can lower or stabilize blood pressure and lower the heart-rate.
Make yourself laugh (10 mins)
There are plenty of ridiculously funny videos on YouTube. Take 10 minutes out of your day, and read or watch something funny. According to Mayo Clinic, in the short-term, laughing can help increase the intake of oxygen-rich air, reduce stress, and sooth tension. Long-term benefits include improving your immune system, relieving pain, increasing personal satisfaction, and improving your mood.
Stretch (10-15 mins)
Stretching is easy to overlook but making this one of the healthy habits you start today is pretty important. According to LifeHacker, stretching improves flexibility, assists in correct posture, decreases injury, increases blood flow, and calms the mind. Not bad for 10-15 minutes worth of work.
Healthy habits in 35 minutes
Including these 4 healthy habits in your day takes a minimum of 35 minutes and will have lasting benefits. Give it a try for a week and let me know if it was worth it on Twitter @ifyouwillit or in the comments below.