Healthy habits to improve your life

Healthy habits to improve your life

There are 13 ways to boost your chances of living a happy, healthy life. More can be added to this list, but, for simplicity's sake, we'll stick with this typically unlucky number. Instead of bringing misfortune, however, the 13 habits promise a life of vigor and vivacity.

There are, of course, no guarantees, but many of the practices mentioned here have been published in scientific journals. Disregard them, and you may well be taking a big gamble with your mental and emotional well-being.

Healthy Habit No. 1: Eat Breakfast Every Morning

Breakfast eaters are champions of good health. Research shows people who have a morning meal tend to take in more vitamins and minerals, and less fat and cholesterol. The result is often a leaner body, lower cholesterol count, and less chance of overeating.

Eating breakfast makes a difference in people's over all weight. Breakfast eaters are significantly less likely to be obese and get diabetes compared with non breakfast eaters. Studies have shown that people who consumed breakfast cereal every day reported feeling better both physically and mentally than those who rarely ate cereal in the morning. For kids, breakfast appears to enhance alertness, attention, and performance on standardized achievement tests.

To get the full benefits of breakfast, one should have a meal with carbohydrates, protein, and a small amount of fat. They say that because no single food gives you all of the nutrients you need, eating a variety of foods is essential to good health.

Healthy Habit No. 2: Add Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids to Your Diet

Eat a serving of fish two times per week. Besides being a good source of protein and a food relatively low in the bad type of dietary fat called saturated fat, fish has omega-3 fatty acids - which have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Fatty fish such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon, are rich in two kinds of omega-3 fatty acids: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Foods such as tofu, soybeans, canola, walnuts, flaxseed, and their oils contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which convert to omega-3 in the body. In addition to their heart-health benefits, there is some evidence that omega-3 fatty acids may also soothe an overactive immune system. Getting more omega-3s in your diet reduces allergies, asthma, eczema, and autoimmune disorders

Healthy Habit No. 3: Get Enough Sleep

Your body has to have enough time to rest. Otherwise, you may find yourself feeling cranky and tired. Sleep is vital to good health and to mental and emotional well-being. People who don't get enough slumber are more likely than others to develop psychiatric problems and to use health care services. Plus, sleep deprivation can negatively affect memory, learning, and logical reasoning. To avoid the pitfalls of insufficient sleep, make sure to get at least seven to 10 hours of slumber each night. Kids need more sleep, depending on their age.

Healthy Habit No. 4: Make Social Connections

Volunteer. Go to church. Join a club. Whatever you do, do it with people. Communal activities are good for your physical and mental health. Group activities can help keep the mind active and maintain desirable levels of serotonin -- the brain chemical associated with mood.

Healthy Habit No. 5: Exercise for Better Health

We already know that physical activity has a bounty of benefits, which makes it so puzzling why so many people just don't do it. In case you needed an incentive, here is a review of the advantages of exercise :
· Helps control weight
· Maintains healthy bones, muscles, and joints
· Reduces risk of developing high blood pressure and diabetes
· Promotes psychological well-being
· Reduces risk of death from heart disease
· Reduces risk of premature death

Studies have also shown a link between exercise and a reduced risk of certain cancers. Besides its long-term effects, moving your body has immediate benefits. The short-term results of exercise include helping people to think and move better, manage stress, improve mood, and get an energy boost.

The excuses that people often give to not exercise are the precise reasons to exercise. People who say they are too tired or don't have time to workout don't realize that exercise gives people more energy and allows them to be more productive with the rest of their time.

Healthy Habit No. 6: Practice Good Dental Hygiene

Flossing your teeth every day could add 6.4 years to your life, according to Michael Roizen, MD, author of RealAge. In his book, Roizen lists flossing as one of the most important daily activities -- along with exercise and quitting smoking -- that could extend life span. Roizen's calculation may raise some eyebrows, but the idea that oral health is connected to overall health isn't far-fetched.

The mouth, after all, is an integral part of the body. "Teeth have a blood supply, and that blood supply comes from the heart," says Richard Price, DMD, consumer advisor for the American Dental Association (ADA). Researchers suspect that the bacteria that produce dental plaque enter the bloodstream. They
say these bacteria are somehow associated with the inflammation that occurs with plaque that blocks blood vessels and causes heart disease.Other researchers have found links between oral bacteria and stroke, diabetes, and the birth of preterm babies and those that have low birth weight.

In addition to preventing disease, flossing and brushing can help keep your pearly whites intact for more than just cosmetic reasons. Teeth help you chew food, speak properly, and smile -- which, according to Price, can help you keep your dignity.

Healthy Habit No. 7: Take Up a Hobby

Look up the word "hobby" in the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, and you will find the definition as "a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation."

Since they are relaxing activities, hobbies are usually enjoyable. Some people find joy in craftwork, bird watching, sports, going to flea markets, walking in the park, or playing cards. The joy may help people live healthier and recover better from illness. For one thing, taking part in hobbies can burn calories, more than just sitting in front of the TV. Hobbies create more active orientation to life.

Healthy Habit No. 8: Protect Your Skin

Our skin starts to age as soon as we are born and, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), the best way to protect it and look younger is to stay out of the sun. The sun has harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays that can cause wrinkles, dryness, and age spots.

Overexposure can cause sunburn, skin texture changes, dilated blood vessels, and skin cancers. Avoiding the sun, however, is not always ideal or practical. To reduce the risk of skin damage, the AAD offers the following tips:

· Always wear sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher.
· Don a hat with a brim and wear other protective clothing.
· Don't deliberately sunbathe.
· Try to avoid sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Healthy Habit No. 9: Snack the Healthy Way

Five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day as part of a healthy diet. These plant foods can do many things to boost good health, including:

· Reduce the risk of some cancers
· Beat the signs of aging
· Improve memory
· Promote heart health
· Enhance the immune system

One way to incorporate fruits and veggies into your diet is to have them as snacks. They are low in calories and high in nutrients. Baby carrots, low fat yogurt, nuts in moderation are convenient munchies and also healthy. The best time to snack is when you are hungry between meals. But beware: Cravings could easily be mistaken for hunger cues, especially for people who are dieting.

Healthy Habit No. 10: Drink Water and Eat Dairy

Water and milk are essential fluids for good health, but they can also help with shedding pounds. The body needs water to keep properly hydrated and individuals vary widely in how much water they need. Joints need it to stay in motion, and vital organs such as the heart,
brain, kidney, and liver need it to work properly.

If you don't get enough water, the body goes into emergency mode, and clings to every single water molecule it can find. The stored molecules appear as extra weight. The weight is only released once the body gets enough water.The calcium in dairy, on the other hand, is known to be important for strong bones and teeth. Studies have also shown it can help prevent high blood pressure, kidney stones, heart disease, and colon cancer.

In the weight loss arena, three 8-ounce glasses of low-fat or fat-free milk appear to encourage body fat loss while maintaining muscle mass. The dairy consumption must be part of a balanced reduced-calorie meal plan.

Healthy Habit No. 11: Drink Tea

There is some evidence that tea may help in improving memory, and preventing cavities, cancer, and heart disease. Tea has some beneficial effects, particularly the potential antioxidant effect. A cool iced tea can be a refreshing treat during hot days. Try flavoring
your tea with juices, fruits, cinnamon sticks, ginger, and other condiments.

Healthy Habit No. 12: Take a Daily Walk

We already mentioned the merits of exercise in habit No. 5. Now, here's a tip on how to incorporate physical activity into your daily life: WALK.
We're not talking about taking the time out of your busy schedule to work out -- that's important, too -- but infusing life- and limb-saving movement into your waking hours. Every 20 steps a person takes is 1 calorie burned. An eight-year study of 13,000 people also
showed that people who walked 30 minutes daily had a significantly reduced chance of premature death compared with those who rarely exercised. And there are plenty of opportunities to move those legs:

· Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
· Walk to the store.
· Window shop at the mall.
· Leave your desk and visit your co-worker instead of sending him an email.
· Walk and talk with friends instead of meeting for a meal.

Healthy Habit No. 13: Plan

There is, perhaps, no better word in the English language to better illustrate how you can incorporate healthy habits into your everyday life.

A little planning goes a long way. Eating healthy never happens by accident. For the most part, neither do good fitness, skin protection, healthy teeth, weight loss, and social ties. Many of these habits take effort that need to be scheduled into busy lives.