Breathe. Breathing is a wonderful way to press reset on your nervous system. It resets all of you. The stresses of daily life can wreak havoc on our breathing patterns. This causes our nervous systems to take us, and all too often keep us, in states of fight or freeze or flee. Physiological states of high alert which, when sustained for long periods of time, have a negative affect on our health.
But if we pause to make the mindful choice, the conscious choice, to breathe — fully and wholly— breathing diaphragmatically as we are designed to breathe, we can calm our nervous systems and enter a space that is both restorative and health affirming to our bodies and minds and spirits. It really is that simple.
By choosing to take time each day to be with your breath you can reset your breathing, your nervous system — all of you.
It might look like this: check in with your breath three times a day for five breaths. Breathe nasally. Exhale fully but not forcefully and then inhale fully but not forcefully. Repeat. Allowing your breath to move unhurriedly and with ease.
And if you’re interested, there’s more here on how to begin pressing reset with your breathing.
Get good quality sleep. Sleep allows our bodies time to rest and recover from all we do in our waking hours. Aim for eight hours each night. Regular sleep hours help immensely. Preparing your sleeping space by making it both cool (~60 to 67 degrees) and dark can aid sleep. Turning off devices at least thirty minutes before bed can also help sleep quality.
Eat your vegetables and more whole foods. Vegetables contain all kinds of goodness that our bodies need to be healthy. By eating more vegetables, and fruits, we can lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, and even prevent some types of cancer. And that is only a partial list of what vegetables offer us.
And yes, ultra-processed foods can be tasty — but sadly, they don’t offer us the abundant health riches that vegetables and other whole foods do.
So make the choice to eat one more serving of vegetables each day than you currently do. After you do that for thirty days try upping your vegetable servings.
And make the choice to chew your food. Chewing aids digestion and also slows you down so you can notice when you’re actually full. This helps with overeating.
And oh yea... hydrate too. How much water should you drink? Monitoring your urine is helpful to know if you’re drinking enough water. If your urine is the color of straw that’s a good indicator that you’re sufficiently hydrated.
Move your body more. Our bodies are made to move. Moving helps to keep our muscles and bones strong. It strengthens our neural connections and helps keep our brains healthy. It also aids our blood flow, lymphatic flow, immune function, and more.
So make the conscious choice to find opportunities to move your body more.
And here’s the thing. That doesn’t mean you have to join a gym — unless you want to.
You can do simple things like making the choice to take the stairs instead of the elevator. You might choose to take a thirty minute walk after dinner at least five nights a week.
You can also choose to get up from your desk and move around for a few minutes every hour.
You can also make the choice to look at household chores as an opportunity to move.
Simply move your body as often as you can and in as many ways as you can.
Practice gratitude and be thankful. Each day make the choice to acknowledge at least five things you’re grateful for. Why? Studies have shown that practicing gratitude can help to improve sleep, mood, immune function, mental health, and more.
So say please and thank you. Be grateful for what you have. Because many of us have more than we need. And yes, lots of people are struggling. You might be struggling. But finding those five things each day you’re grateful for will only aid your health.
And letting people know that you appreciate what they do will not only have a positive impact on your health but also on their’s.
Bonus To-Dos: Here are a few more to-dos that can have a beneficial impact on your health and wellbeing.
Spend time in nature.
Be mindful of what information/media you consume via devices/screens. Look for what inspires you and lifts you up.
Laugh. Play. Create. Sing.
Smile.