11 Healthy Habits To Incorporate in Your Day
In general, we know what we have to do to feel better and be healthier: eat well, drink enough water, get enough sleep, and exercise. However, in our journey to better health, we can easily get overwhelmed with all the things we should do to the point where we don’t do any of them very well.
Here’s a way to combat the slacking — choose one or two healthy habits from this list that you aren’t already doing, and vow to incorporate them into your day. Set a goal for how long you’d like to see yourself stick to them, start small, and add in more as you see yourself progressing. Before we dive into some healthy habits you can incorporate in your day, here are a few tips for sticking to them so you start off on the right foot.
How To Create and (Keep!) a Healthy Habit
1. Start small.
Don’t make big, sweeping resolutions that are hard to stick to. Instead, find something related to your bigger goal and start there. For example, if your goal is to meditate more, start with five minutes a day rather than 45 and build up gradually.
2. Make things easier on yourself.
If your goal is to work out more, find a fitness accountability partner who is at the same point in their fitness journey and encourage each other. If you want to cook more homemade meals, meal plan ahead of time and make sure you have the ingredients you need on hand.
3. Track your progress.
Use an app, a calendar, or a planner to track how often you’re meeting your goals and identify where you’re falling short.
4. Reward yourself.
We all need a little outside motivation sometimes. Find something that gets you excited — a night out with friends, or maybe a bit of retail therapy.
11 Healthy Habits To Incorporate in Your Day
1. Daily movement.
Try to fit in some sort of movement each day, whether it’s a walk around the neighborhood or a calming yoga class. The key is to find an exercise or physical activity you enjoy doing or make it more enjoyable — listen to an engaging audiobook or fun playlist while you work out, or do it with that friend who always puts you in a better mood.
2. Set boundaries and stick to them.
Our mental health is just as important as our physical health, and one of the best ways we can take care of ourselves is by setting boundaries in our relationships with others. This will look different for every person, but one example is allowing ourselves to say “no” rather than doing something out of guilt that could then lead to resentment.
3. Do a social media audit.
Go through your feed and unfollow any account that doesn’t bring you something positive: inspiration, humor, creativity, a community. The accounts that make you feel bad about yourself have no place in your phone.
4. Set a “tidying timer.”
If you dread cleaning, one thing you can do every night after dinner is to set a timer for 10-15 minutes to see how much you can tidy up in that time period. Waking up to a clean, organized space sets the tone for the day and cleaning in short increments can keep things from piling up during the week.
5. Read before bed instead of scrolling.
Put down your phone and pick up a book before hitting the hay. The National Sleep Foundation recommends avoiding blue light in the hours leading up to bed, so replacing your nightly scrolling routine with a book will not only help you sleep better, but will also give you a mental escape that the internet just can’t provide, all while crossing off books from your want-to-read list.
6. Prioritize rest.
Finding time in our busy lives to rest sounds and feels impossible at times, but it doesn’t make it less important. Resting doesn’t necessarily mean sleeping either; just carving out a bit of time to yourself each day to wind down, whether it be with a tea meditation or a warm bath, will go a long way to making you feel more rested.
7. Spend time in nature.
Try to get outside at least once daily. Opt for a walking meditation, take your bike to work if you can, step outside and into the sunlight for a few minutes when you need or break, etc.
8. Prepare for your day the night before.
Make your lunch, set out your clothes, organize what you need for the next day, and your future you will thank you. Fewer things take out the stress of a hectic, early morning than preparing things the night before.
9. Stay hydrated.
This one is a no-brainer but is sometimes easier said than done. Get yourself a water bottle that measures your water intake and bring it with you wherever you go. It’s a lot easier than remembering to drink X amount of glasses of water a day, making you more likely to stick with it! Oh, and if you’re wondering how much water you should be drinking daily, we spoke to a certified nutritionist about that.
10. Meditate.
This one shouldn’t surprise you coming from us, but meditation is really such an enriching habit to incorporate in your life that’s full of physical, psychological, and social benefits. We recommend starting slowly and gradually adding in longer sessions as you feel comfortable. Try Jackie Stewart’s 14-Day Meditation Habit to guide you along.
11. Stretch before bed.
Replace your Netflix habit with a good-for-you one. A 2016 review of studies on the subject found that those who stretched before bedtime reported better sleep quality overall. We have a variety of classes designed to wind you down and stretch you out before you sleep, like Nightly Stretch, Nighttime Relaxation Flow, and Strong Slow Night Flow.
Start a healthy habit today and sign up for a free 14-day trial to Alo Moves to unlock our entire library of yoga, fitness, and meditation videos.