A brand-new year is an excellent time to evaluate and refresh your habits. After all the excess that comes with the holidays, many of us feel ready to let go of bad habits and establish a healthy new routine.
Setting a New Year’s resolution often feels like the easy part, with the real challenge coming when it’s time to keep that resolution. However, by putting more thought and effort into creating achievable goals, you can set a New Year’s resolution that you’re excited to keep.
When you decide to make your health a priority of the new year, it can be helpful to keep in mind that there’s more to being healthy than just dropping ten pounds.
Your new resolution can target many aspects of your health, including physical, intellectual, and psychological growth. As you set your resolution, thoughtfully consider what you hope to achieve, then set specific goals with a path to success.
These five healthy new year’s resolution ideas can help you get started:
It’s no secret that regular exercise is critical for your overall health. Maintaining a regular schedule of physical activity offers countless benefits, including:
The best exercise is one that you enjoy enough to want to do it again. When you’re excited about exercising, you’ll easily prioritize it. Take some time to try out new activities until you find your favorites. Then, add your workouts to your calendar and keep them there. You’ll have a fun new exercise routine in no time.
Just like drinking plenty of water, meditation offers several benefits that affect your health. Studies show that meditation can improve your physical and mental health by:
In addition, meditation can serve as an essential tool in managing illnesses, including chronic pain, anxiety, asthma, and depression.
Those hoping to reap the benefits of meditation may see results with only 13 minutes of daily meditation.
Probiotics help regulate the balance of good and bacteria in your stomach and promote healthy digestion. These beneficial microbes, which are typically sold at pharmacies as capsules or gummies, can be taken throughout the day to maintain healthy bowel movements.
Almost all healthy adults can benefit from a probiotic regimen, particularly those with GC issues, heartburn, or frequent indigestion. Interestingly, probiotics are also found naturally in yogurt, kombucha, pickles, sauerkraut, and cottage cheese.
Remember to always talk with your medical doctor before beginning a supplement routine.
The responsibilities of adult life often feel so overwhelming that people dismiss fun as something they don’t have time to do. However, research shows that fun and play are vital to your overall health.
Playing as a child is vital to cognitive and social development. For adults, play and fun can reduce stress, increase energy, and improve memory and concentration. Additionally, it can increase your dopamine, endorphins, and oxygen levels, promoting better learning.
Fun is subjective, so what’s fun for you may not be a good time for someone else. This year, take the time to learn how you have fun and incorporate it into your everyday life.
When you find a way to volunteer that you enjoy, everyone benefits. You can meet new people, connect with your community, learn something new, reduce stress, and find purpose.
Volunteering doesn’t always mean giving up a whole weekend or even an entire day when you have plenty of other responsibilities. There are many ways you can give back to your community that provide connection, fun, and fulfillment.
As you set healthy resolutions for the new year, you can make them more achievable by setting small, specific goals. When trying to achieve a more significant objective, create a concrete plan to succeed, so you have a path to follow when your resolution becomes challenging.
If you would like to set a resolution to give back to your community, you can begin by playing a critical role in advancing medical research at Orlando Clinical Research Center. Check out our current studies to learn how you can get involved.