32 Healthy Habits to Change Your Life

32 Healthy Habits for Life 

1. Drink more water!

Your body is 60% water. Water flushes out toxins, lubricates joints, keeps our skin healthy and helps us lose weight. Replace your soda or juice with glasses of water and see how different you feel.  There are times when you may feel hungry but your body is actually just thirsty. Replenish it with some fresh water!

2.  Get Direct Sunlight.

Sunlight on our skin promotes vitamin D3 which is essential for hormone production and bone health. Take a few minutes a day and expose your face and arms to some sunshine. The sun is also a great mood enhancer and fights depression. Sunlight helps melatonin production for a good nights sleep.

3. Examine your stool.

Yes, I actually said that. The shape and color of your stool is a great indicator of your health. Is there blood in your stool which can look like coffee grounds? Keeping an eye on this can save your life. Is your stool lumpy and dry? You might need more water and fiber in your meals. Make it a habit to check on how your digestive system is doing every day.

4.  Eat More Vegetables.

Your mom probably told you to eat more vegetables growing up and she had a good reason.  Vegetables particularly raw ones contain enzymes, vitamins, and minerals for your body. It’s essential to cellular health to get colorful vegetables into our meals. Make it a habit, maybe one veggie per meal, if that’s a stretch for you make your goal one vegetable per day. Just make it a habit!

5. Belly Laugh Everyday.

Laughter is so important to your health. It reduces stress chemicals in your body and increases “feel good hormones”. It also increases your immune system! You have to let go of negative emotions to laugh. Laughter is freedom. If you need help getting started to watch a funny movie or video. Healthy habits for life include laughter.

 

6. Stop Using Your Microwave.

Your microwave radiates your food and your kitchen. It kills any live enzymes in your food and microwaving food in plastic is dangerous, as the plastic toxins leach into your foods. The label “microwave safe” isn’t regulated so that’s not a guarantee that your food is safe. We use a counter convection oven as a replacement.

7.  Forgive People!

This sounds like a no-brainer but you would be surprised how many people walk around arguing with people in their heads. Feeling negative emotions when they even think of those people. This is such a dangerous thought pattern. Bitter people seem to radiate an atmosphere of bitterness even when they are not trying to. You can forgive someone without trusting them. That’s what healthy boundaries are for. You can forgive an abuser but not let them back into your life. Forgiveness doesn’t mean you agree with their behavior, it means your not holding them captive in your heart anymore.

You’re free to live! Do whatever you need to do to find forgiveness today! Healthy habits for life include forgiving people.

8. Stop Eating Sugar.

Seriously! This is probably the most helpful habit in the whole book. Studies have shown sugar is as addicting as cocaine to the brain and sugar is in EVERYTHING.  Giving up sugar is something you won’t regret and you will watch the pounds fall off. Sugar causes your body to produce fat. Healthy habits for life include no sugar. 

9. Start Reading.

Reading this book is a great start! Self-education can never be underestimated. Whatever area of your life you feel is lacking, grab yourself a book and get reading. No one is going to force you to learn anymore, it’s up to you! Never Stop Learning! Knowledge is power and your not a victim. Even a chapter a day is better than nothing. Get reading and add in healthy habits for life.

 

10. Start Earthing.

Earthing is placing your feet directly on the earth, in the grass or sand. Earthing or Grounding allows the body to balance out all the positive and negative electrons. It reduces inflammation in the body, helps with sleep and benefits the immune system. If you don’t have access to the ground or sand you can purchase an earthing mat for your feet or even a blanket to sleep with, achieving the same benefits. 

11. Be Thankful!

Taking a few minutes every day to stop what you’re doing and think of what you are thankful for will greatly reduce stress and help your brain think positive thoughts. By telling our mind we are grateful for what we have, it creates a blessed attitude and shuts down that anxious fight or flight mode.

We do Thankful Thursdays at hour house where we go around the room and say what we are thankful for. It’s a great habit for the kids to get them focused on the positive.

12. Slow Down.

We live life rushed, acting busy even if we are not busy because it makes us feel like we are accomplishing something. If your actually extremely busy it may be time to prioritize your life and cut out a few things that are not serving you but draining your energy. Enjoying the “now” is a much healthier way to live. Plus, the only moment that is real is this one right now! Yesterday is gone and tomorrow hasn’t come yet. Slow your roll and enjoy right now. Healthy habits for life includes enjoying your life.

13. Journal.

Journaling is a cheap but very valuable resource for your overall wellbeing. Journaling allows you to vent on paper, get out those negative emotions in the form of writing. You can use your journal to look back and see how you have overcome situations, which gives you more strength for your future.

You don’t have to be the greatest writer to scratch down how your feeling or how your day went. You will be glad you started this habit at the end of the year when you can look back at all the good and bad memories and see how far you have come. It helps bring you perspective on your life.

 

14. Declarations

Words are powerful and what we speak is what our brain believes is real. If your feeling like a loser it’s time to speak “I’m a successful person”.  If you feel overwhelmed it’s time to declare “I’m an overcomer”.  This positive self-talk helps your brain understand who you really are. If you have a negative feeling, speak the opposite, as many times as you need to until it feels true for you.

It’s not a lie, the lie is the negative thoughts in your head. Everyone was created with a purpose and that includes you so start speaking Life over yourself!

15. Drink Lemon Water.

Freshly squeezed lemon in cold water is a great way to start your morning. Lemon water cleans out your liver, cleans out the skin, freshens your breath and gives you energy. Plus you get a boost of vitamin C.

I specifically noticed the whites of my eyes got whiter. I saw a huge difference in a matter of days when I started drinking lemon water in the morning. This is a great habit to start and your liver will thank you!

16. Sleep More.

Most American’s are seriously lacking on a good nights sleep.  Average’s state people sleep 3 to 5 hours a night.  Sleep is vital to your health as your body repairs its self during the night. People with less sleep are quick to gain weight and have mood problems.

Going to bed before midnight is best on your body.  Try going to bed an hour earlier than you are currently. Sleep is important for your immune system and memory.

17. Take a Multivitamin.

The average multivitamin won’t change your life overnight but over time it can help replenish the depleted levels in your system. Most of us don’t eat a large range of foods and this leaves our diets lacking in a certain vitamin or mineral. Taking a daily multivitamin lowers the chance of us becoming depleted in a specific area, rounding out our diet.

18.  Use Essential Oils.

There are 100 plus essential oils on the market today, try adding them to your daily routine.  Diluted oregano oil is great for skin boils, warts, and it can be used as an antibiotic.  Lavender relaxes and lowers blood pressure. Lemon oil is a strong cleaner, clary sage can help regulate female hormones and lime oil can be used in cooking.

The possibilities are literally endless with these oils and they are a great addition to any family. We try essential oils before we use a more traditional American approach to medicine and have had great success.   

 

19. Meditation.

Meditation can come in different forms but all have been proven to increase brain activity and grey matter. Finding time to meditate, even 5 minutes has great benefits. There are even apps you can get on your phone with short guided meditations.  It has been proven to lower blood pressure and relax muscles. There really is no excuse not to take 5 minutes and meditate. Healthy habits for life…meditation.

20. Turn Off the News

Most of the news is smoke and mirrors anyway, they only show you what they want you to see. There are tons of amazing things happening around the world, but fear sells.

Fear is used to stimulate your emotions in hopes of making you a news addict. When you turn off the news you will realize the world is a beautiful place and it’s more peaceful than the nightly news would want you to know about. 

Can you really control the events happening on the news anyway? It’s more effective to spend your time and energy on making the world a better place to live in, not worrying about the events they choose to show you on tv.

21.  Belly Breathing.

Sounds silly I know, but every baby is born breathing with their belly rising and falling, not their chest. This simple technique of breathing out of your belly calms your mind, relaxes nerves and is a more efficient way of breathing.

Chest breathing only inflates the top portion of your lungs but belly breathing expands the diaphragm allowing the entire lungs to participate. It may take some practice, start by placing your hand on your stomach and focusing on the rise and fall with each breath. Allow your body to relax and concentrate on your breathing.

 

22. Cook with Herbs.

Cooking with various herbs is a great way to add flavor to healthy foods. People think processed foods taste better because of all the added filler and preservatives. Truth be told you can make amazing tasting food right in your kitchen with the help of a few herbs. We keep some cilantro and basil plants in our kitchen so they are always right there when we need them.

Try snipping off some herbs in your next meal and taste the difference. It will bring new life to your current meal choices. Cilantro, basil, mint, parsley, and dill are all great for beginners. You can grow them right on your windowsill. 

23.  Use a Salt Lamp.

Himalayan Salt Lamps are a good addition to any room. Not only do they eliminate bad odors in your house but they actually reduce the positive ions in the air caused by electronic pollution. These little lamps are powerhouses for helping with allergies, migraines, and insomnia. I have found mine to be a great conversation piece because they are so beautiful.

24.  Exercise.

With a million different exercise programs out there it can be confusing to figure out which direction to go, but I want you to find some way to get moving.  Finding something you love, even if it’s walking, taking a dance class or just riding your bike around the neighborhood, it still counts! The point is to get your body moving and your blood pumping.

Exercise is key to great heart health and stress relief. Find a way to move your body and do it. It doesn’t have to be the perfect newest program out on the market. Digging out an old piece of exercise equipment from the garage and dusting it off is a great start. If you don’t own any exercise equipment and can’t afford a gym membership, there are tons of exercises using your own body weight that are very challenging and effective. No excuse to stay sitting!

25.  Try a New Fruit.

Sometimes we find ourselves stuck in the same old eating patterns and this can be boring. We decided we were going to try a new fruit every week. I grabbed a foreign fruit at the grocery store and we googled it to see what nutrition it contained and cooking ideas. It was educational for the kids and helped break up our boring meals.

Who knows, you might find your new favorite food! Don’t be afraid to try new things. Even if you don’t know how to cook it or even cut it, don’t let that stop you. Be spontaneous and grab a new fruit when you are at the store this week! 

 

 

26.  Don’t Eat After 7 PM.

Eating late in the evening requires your body to do some heavy digestion and that can really disrupt a good nights sleep. People who eat after 7 PM are normally snacking…while watching TV which means you eat more than you intended to, adding up calories for the day.

Giving your body a break on digestion or Intermittent fasting is a great way to balance insulin levels. Going to bed on an empty stomach allows you to wake up hungry and ready to eat a healthy breakfast.

27. Visit the Chiropractor.

Chiropractors believe the body wants to heal it’s self if given the correct conditions. Small adjustments to the vertebrae can make huge impacts on the body because of the nerves traveling through the spinal cord Having regular adjustments can elevate headaches, sciatica, colic and ear infections.

Getting regular adjustments can help with past trauma, reduce inflammation, relieve stress, and boost the immune system. Millions of people have benefited from getting regular adjustments.

28. Start a probiotic.

Dysbiosis is an imbalance between the beneficial and harmful bacteria in your gut. This imbalance can lead to major food sensitivities, depression, thyroid problems, headaches and irritable bowel syndrome. Adding a daily probiotic ensures your getting the good bacteria in your gut. 

Get a high-quality probiotic that contains at least 50 billion units of probiotics per dose. Since almost 80% of your immune system is supported by your gut, a probiotic is not something I would personally do without. We like Prescript Assist.

29. Take Time for Good Music.

Music has amazing abilities such as relieving stress, elevating mood, improving cognitive function and reducing pain. Music stimulates the mind and spirit in a way that nothing else can. Pick out a playlist of your favorite songs, put on some headphones, close your eyes and enjoy! Your Mind and Spirit will thank you.

30.  Every day is a New Day.

Sometimes we get in the habit of dragging yesterday’s failures into today. I urge you not to do that. Every day, each morning is a fresh start, a new day for the rest of your life! Whatever you did yesterday, let it slide away into the past that is forgotten and focus on moving forward. When you drive, if you spend the whole time looking in the rearview mirror you will crash. Same is true for your life. Forget the past and focus on your day today. It’s the only moment you actually have, today.

 

31. Celebrate Other People’s Successes.

When you celebrate other people’s successes, it tells your brain that you can have that too! When we complain and resent people for being successful it tells the brain that success is unsafe and not something we want for our life. Learn to celebrate with people! Enjoy their successes with them and don’t scour against them.

There is always hard work behind a successful person even if you don’t see it. Take advice from successful people, learn from their mistakes and glean from their wisdom.

32.  Don’t Let Your Beliefs Limit You.

Sometimes in life, we need to take a step back and analyze what we believe and re-evaluate our core beliefs. Old beliefs can put a lid on an idea or limit our creativity. Maybe you grew up thinking women shouldn’t work outside the home, or maybe you were told as a child you had nothing good to offer anyone.  Time to evaluate what you believe and see if your putting limits on your future.

Starting any of these healthy habits for life will give you a huge step ahead in your health!

Changing your life starts with changing your mindset. Creating healthy habits for life will bring you a joyful future.

Let us know what healthy habits for life you love.