Six Healthy Habits Every Person Should Develop

The key to a long, happy and healthy life is developing good healthy habits. It’s not enough to occasionally do something that is good for you – you need to do it regularly. The more often you do something, the easier it becomes. With that in mind, if you want to live a healthier life, here are six habits you should focus on developing in your daily life.

Having a Proper Diet

salad-of-fresh-vegetables-in-greek-style-dietaryOne of the most important habits you can build for yourself is eating right. If your life consists mostly of takeout and fast food, you’re probably not doing too much to help your body. You might mix in a salad here and there, but this isn’t enough. You need to make eating the right way a regular part of your life. There are many ways you can go about doing this – the key is finding a diet that works for you. Here are some healthy diet tips to get you started.

Daily Exercise

female-athlete-in-pink-shorts-sitting-at-parkAlong with eating right you also need to exercise. Exercise provides many benefits – from increased muscle function, to a healthier heart and even reduced stress. One of the best habits you can build is getting daily exercise. This doesn’t mean you need to go spend an hour at the gym every day (although that wouldn’t be a bad thing). Rather, it just means you should do at least some form of exercise every day. Go for a walk, do some jumping-jacks, or even just take the stairs rather than the elevator. Many of us live a sedentary lifestyle, so the more exercise you can do each day, the better.

Develop a Mindfulness Habit

weekend-in-my-mindA great habit you can build for yourself is that of mindfulness. Mindfulness is when you shut off the internal monologue running through your head and instead focus on the present moment. Rather than worrying about the presentation you have to make, or what you’re going to make for dinner, you instead take time to notice the things around you and clear your mind. Mindfulness is a great way to not only lower stress, but to remove anxiety and become more appreciative of the things in your life. Here is a guide that can help get you started with mindfulness.

Going to the Doctor and Dentist Regularly

mother-and-little-son-visiting-dentistThis habit isn’t one that you need to do every day – but it’s still important that you do it. Going to your doctor and dentist regularly are important for making sure you aren’t dealing with any health problems. They can provide recommendations on how to improve your life and talk to you about any concerns you may have.

If you don’t have a doctor or dentist at the moment, don’t worry. Finding one is pretty easy, and setting up your first appointment doesn’t take long. For example, let’s say you live in Miami and want to find a dentist. All you need to do is search for top dentists in Miami and see what comes up. Go through all of the options, find some that are near you, and that also take your insurance. From there all you need to do is call their office and set up your first appointment. After that it’s just a matter of going regularly and turning it into a habit.

More Time Spent Reading

beautiful-young-woman-relaxing-and-reading-a-bookOne thing a lot of people say is that they wish they had more time to read. Well, if you want to spend more time reading, you have to create it. Rather than watching TV before bed, read a book. Bring a book with you while you’re waiting at the DMV or for your doctor’s appointment. Find a few minutes here and there throughout the day to read more, and soon it’ll turn into a habit and you’ll be reading more books than you ever thought you could. Reading provides many benefits, so start working on developing this habit as soon as you can.

Spend More Time with Friends and Family

friends-and-family-gathered-at-a-garden-birthdayFinally, many of us lead hectic lives, and as a result we end up spending less time with our friends and family. If this sounds like you, start making it a habit to see them more. Spending time with loved ones helps to reduce stress and increase happiness, but you have to put the effort in. If it helps, have a friend or family member build one of the habits mentioned above along with you – then you can spend time working on it together.

Doing something once or twice is easy – forming it into a habit is harder. But if you’re willing to put the time in, and do the same things each day, you’ll be rewarded with some great benefits. Start with the habits mentioned above, and once you have them, you’ll find it’s even easier to start developing newer habits.

Leave technology behind in the evening

girls-friends-laptop-using-conceptMost people have sleeping problems. However, it’s crucial to get your 8 or so hours of sleep every night in order to have energy and a clear mind the next day. If you don’t, your body and brain will suffer in many different ways.

Some of the factors hurting your sleep are going to bed with your phone, browsing the Web on your laptop, watching a movie to get yourself to sleep, or checking social media and getting overwhelmed. For this, using technology before bedtime has become an issue — it keeps your brain activated; no wonder you have problems falling asleep.

There’s a simple solution, and you should add it to your arsenal of daily healthy habits: unplug an hour before bed.

Do it for just 10 minutes today, or say to yourself you won’t be taking your phone or laptop to bed anymore. Then, make this period of time longer once you feel comfortable with it.

It’s so much better to go to bed peacefully and be positive about tomorrow, rather than be kept awake thinking about the posts you just read on your friend’s timeline, the bad news you were bombarded with, or an argument you had on social media.