5 Simple Things You Can Do To Improve Your Life Today
Improving your life will make you happier, healthier and more productive.
If those are things that interest you, keep reading.
5 Common Sense Things You Can Do To Improve Your Well Being Today
1) Get More Sleep:
According to the National Institute of Health, the average American adult gets less than 7 hours of sleep a night. The cause for this is numerous, from an imbalance of work/life to heavy meals at dinner time, caffeine after 4 pm, family demands, but for most it's simply entertainment, television and social media.
The recommended daily amount for a fully grown adult is in the window of 7-9 hours per night for optimal rest and recovery.
Some of the major benefits of sleeping properly are:
- Improved Memory
- Sharpened Attention and Focus
- Improved Overall Health and Wellbeing
- Increase Creativity and Productivity
- Fight Infection and Inflammation
- Lower Stress Levels
CLICK HERE FOR NATIONAL SLEEP FOUNDATION SLEEP RECOMMENDATIONS
So ask yourself, how important is that next episode of The Bachelorette or South Park?
2) Exercise Daily:
Along with sleeping more, there's a correlation with exercise and improved health. That's a no-brainer. But exercise, any exercise can help reduce overall stress levels as well as burn off excess calories. A bonus is that daily exercise helps regulate a normal sleep pattern.
It doesn't have to be a major undertaking. It's better to do some form of interval or variable training in the beginning. In other words, start slowly and build your endurance and strength over time. For example, run for a couple minutes, and then intersperse that with a long walk, then another short run, and repeat.
3) Eat Healthier and Drink More Water:
Our bodies are made of over 70% water, so replenishing our most important element is also a no-brainer. But with our busy, go-go culture we're constantly consuming more calories than necessary.
The positive effects of water can help in the body's ability to regenerate and heal itself; adds in sleep balance; decreases stress levels; can aid in digestion and caloric intake, as well as make you look and feel younger.
From processed foods with added salt, additives and preservatives to sugary drinks like sodas and caffeine or other stimulants, we are constantly depleting our water reserves.
The recommended daily dose is 8 glasses of 8 oz. of water a day. That works out to a half gallon of water per day for the average adult, but should possibly be increased depending on your diet and activity levels.
4) Organize Your Tasks:
Knowing what tasks are important and the order in which they should be undertaken is one of the most efficient tactics we can undertake. For example, if you have a deadline for two different projects, knowing which one to start with and which one to finish can be of utmost importance.
In The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, Forbes magazine points out that one of the key takeaways is to think things through, focus on doing the right things first in the proper order then focus on less important tasks.
Read More About The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People By Getting The Book From Amazon.
5) Take Time To Relax:
If you were to go run like Forrest Gump in the iconic image from the movie, you'd die of exhaustion before you ever got where it was you were trying to go. Even if as Forrest said, "...so I went running," you would still need a time period to recover.
We know we can't workout for ever, that much is obvious. We know we need to rest and recuperate. So why do we refuse to take some time for ourselves to just relax and let our thoughts come to us as they will?
Taking time to relax in most societies outside the U.S. is actually mandated by terms of employment. Where as most employers offer 2 weeks or less of paid vacation, check out some of the leaders in time off:
- Australia offers 28 days of paid vacation per average
- Belgians typically have 30 days paid vacation
- Italy and France typically offer 31 days of paid time off
- Spain, Portugal and Germany offer 34-35 days of paid vacation time
Time off will help you recharge, recuperate and reenergize your self, your body and your mind.
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