It can sometimes feel like staying fit and healthy while living a good life is an impossible ideal, but things don’t have to be so complicated. Here are just some of the simple habits to stay fit and live long that everyone can introduce into their daily lives.
A Good Breakfast in the Morning
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, or so the saying goes. In fact, this may be true because research has shown that those who skip this meal tend to overeat throughout the rest of the day. They also eat less fruit and vegetables, and have lower energy levels for physical activity. So rather than cutting down on the calories by skipping breakfast, people tend to eat more, take in fewer nutrients and get less exercise.
The Importance of Sleep
Anyone who has read about or seen the effects of insomnia will know that sleep does more than just boost your energy levels. It refreshes your mind, your perspective on the world. Studies have shown that not getting enough shut-eye, or too much, in fact, can also have a detrimental effect on your health, restricting your lifespan and affecting your quality of life. Likewise, a person’s mood in the short-term and the long-term can be affected by a lack of sleep, causing depression and memory loss. Like a good breakfast, sleep gives you energy and a healthy body to tackle the day ahead.
Becoming a More Active Person
Living a sedentary lifestyle is a known health risk. From heart disease to diabetes and cancer, not getting enough exercise throughout the day can increase your risk of developing diseases like these. Luckily, there a many simple changes you can make to your life to get into the habit of becoming more active, including standing up while working, going for walks and getting out in the garden. There doesn’t have to be a major change to your life. In fact, taking up running or another strenuous exercise that goes above and beyond the required levels can have the opposite effect on your health.
Turn off the TV and Put Down Those Magazines
We are bombarded every day with imagery and information on the TV and in magazines telling us how we should look and behave, but these are often unrealistic ideals that are not based in reality. This doesn’t, however, stop us from constantly comparing ourselves to these things, which has the effect of lowering our self-esteem and confidence.
Switching off the TV gives us the opportunity to be more social, more active, and have realistic aims and ideals. Study also show that binge watching TV can have significant negative impacts on health, so bear that in mind before the next House of Cards Marathon!
I hope you will consider incorporating these 4 simple habits to stay fit and live long into your daily lifestyle! And remember, it takes a mere 21 days to form a habit, and these habits can benefit you and those you love for years to come!