Healthy New Year's Resolutions You Can Keep!
As the new year approaches, you may be thinking about how you can improve your health and wellness routine in the year ahead. While we love challenging ourselves, the reality is too many of us accidentally set goals that are suddenly very restrictive or too difficult to sustain. This leads to throwing those resolutions to the wayside after just a few weeks (remember that gym membership you bought last January…?).
To help you with your healthy New Year’s resolutions this year, we’re taking a look at new year’s resolutions you can keep! Keep reading for tips and ideas for maintaining a healthier lifestyle in the coming year and beyond.
Sustainable Healthy New Year’s Resolutions
Another year, another healthy New Year’s resolutions list, right? What if this time around, your New Year’s resolution ideas didn’t feel unattainable but were something you stayed excited about? Making a New Year’s resolution list you can keep is all about the mentality behind them and the specificity of the goals you set. Instead of broad-based goals that are difficult to achieve, consider some of these healthy New Year’s resolutions instead:
- Eating more whole foods
- Cutting back on sweetened beverages
- Get higher-quality sleep
- Finding a physical activity you enjoy
- Making time each day to practice self-care
- Limiting screen time for myself
Eating More Whole Foods
Since one of the most common healthy New Year’s resolutions on everyone’s list is about food selection, we’re kicking off our guide with eating whole foods. Whole foods consist of things like fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, whole grains, and fish.
These foods have a plethora of nutrients that could help keep your body operating at optimal levels in the new year! In fact, studies have shown that increasing the number of whole foods such as fruits and vegetables in your diet may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Instead of saying, “I want to eat healthier this year,” set specific goals like, “I will eat a piece of fruit with breakfast each morning.” Specificity is key to choosing New Year’s resolutions you can keep more easily.
Cutting Back Sweet Beverages
It’s no secret that cutting back sugary drinks is one of the most effective ways to help fight obesity, reduce insulin resistance, lower the risk of heart disease, and potentially experience a variety of other health benefits. While this is especially true for children, it’s important for people of all ages.
Instead of giving them up cold turkey, however, part of choosing healthy New Year’s resolutions is giving yourself a plan for achieving your goals. So in place of throwing everything sweet out on January first, start by limiting yourself to one beverage a day or whatever level is more manageable for you. You can build from that and eventually eliminate them altogether outside of the occasional special indulgence.
Remember, your New Year’s resolution list isn’t set in stone! You can start small and build as the year progresses to see positive changes.
Improve Sleep Quality on a Nightly Basis
One of the best healthy New Year’s resolutions you can keep is improving sleep quality. According to the CDC, the average adult should strive for an average of 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. Unfortunately, many of us fall well short of that number without realizing the toll it can take on our overall physical and mental health.
There are loads of things you can do to get better sleep quality. One popular method is journaling at night before bed. Getting all your thoughts out from your day, or even planning the day ahead, can ease your mind and keep it from racing as you’re trying to fall asleep.
Adopting a relaxing night time routine can be effective, as well. Whether it’s taking a warm bath, reclining in a zero gravity chair to unwind, or listening to calming music (pro tip: combine some of these for even better potential results!), having a night time routine could drastically improve your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Sleep quality has a direct effect on how you heal while you sleep. When you’re sleeping, the body is able to focus more energy on repairing the daily wear and tear it experiences. It’s also critical for other kinds of healing, as well, such as recovering from a sports injury or after surgery home care.
Discover the Benefits of a Physical Activity You Enjoy
Being more active is another of the most common healthy New Year’s resolutions that make the list. There’s no denying that being more active could benefit your overall health. The important part of finding New Year’s resolutions you can keep, however, is choosing a physical activity you enjoy! When it feels like a chore to do an activity, you’re less likely to stick with it.
Getting up and being more active can help you prevent pain from sitting too long that may develop with more sedentary lifestyles. For those who have to sit more often, like those who work from home or in an office setting, finding exercises to do at work that keep you loose can be helpful. It doesn’t mean you have to hit the gym on your lunch hour, either.
For example, incorporating a zero gravity chair into your home office setup can be a perfect tool to pair with breaks to get in some full body workout exercises! It’s all about stretching out your body, keeping muscle groups loose, and improving poor blood circulation that can come from sitting too long.
Make Time to Practice Daily Self-Care
Next up on our list of healthy New Year’s resolutions you can keep is making daily time to practice self-care. Even the most hectic of schedules can accommodate a little time for self-care. As little as five minutes a day learning how to meditate at home or even on the go (driving can be very zen if you put yourself in the right mindset!) could make a huge difference.
Practicing self-care techniques on a daily basis may improve mental health and physical wellness. Meditating in your zero gravity chair at home, for example, is a potentially effective method for how to lower cortisol levels naturally while managing stress and anxiety. As your stress levels lower, you may find it also enhances how the body heals itself.
Limiting Screen Time at Night
Between our computers, laptops, tablets, and phones, we have more screen time each day now than ever before. This intense blue light exposure can lead to eye muscle strain as well as disrupt your natural circadian rhythm making it harder to sleep at night.
An easy addition to your list of healthy New Year’s resolutions can be to start limiting screen time at night before you go to bed. Turning off the tv and avoiding your phone for at least an hour before bed may positively impact your ability to fall asleep more quickly, stay asleep, and wake up feeling more restful. Additionally, studies have shown the potential for an increased risk of anxiety or depression in those engaging in increased amounts of screen time.
To make this part of a New Year’s resolution list you can stick to, consider it a personal challenge to go 30 days without screen time an hour before bed. It could be part of your night time routine where you replace screen time with other activities to do while relaxing in a zero gravity chair! Once you’ve met this goal, continue to build on it as you start turning it into a healthy habit you practice all year, every year.
As you can see, choosing healthy New Year’s resolutions you can keep is more than just picking a lofty goal to change everything at once. Instead, start small and build on short-term goals to create long-term lifestyle changes. From making specific choices in the number of whole foods to eat daily to choosing a zero gravity chair as part of your daily self-care routine, these changes may make a huge difference in your overall well-being. In the end, remember these changes can quickly become new habits that change your entire life for the better!
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