7 Healthy Habits to Practice Daily

There are influences beyond our control that determine the quality of our lives, but that doesn’t mean that we’re completely powerless. There are plenty of things that we can do that’ll help to nudge our physical and mental well-being in the right direction. 

In fact, you could argue that it’s our habits that have the biggest influence on our lives. After all, if you practice bad habits, then the river will run in a less-than-pleasant direction. Practice good habits, and it’s likely that good things will follow.

You don’t have to radically overhaul your life to make improvements. Even small things can make a big difference. We’ll outline some good-for-you habits that will ultimately help to make you feel as good as possible. 

Wake Up Refreshed

It’s not entirely true to say that how you wake up will set the tone for the day. There are plenty of ways to turn the day around if you wake up feeling not quite as good as you’d like. However, it’s easier to have a good day when you wake up feeling refreshed and with energy.

The trick for that is having good habits the day before. You won’t wake up alert if you went to bed too late, or you drank alcohol, or you scrolled through your phone for an hour at 3am. Work on improving your sleeping habits, and you’ll feel better in your day-to-day life. After all, it’s so much easier to practice good habits when your mind and body have had all the rest they need.

Eat an Energy-Boosting Breakfast

You can’t achieve great things on an empty stomach. If you can make breakfast the most important meal of the day, then you’ll find that, more often than not, you go through the day feeling great. 

Many people have a fast, low-energy breakfast because they think they don’t have time to make an energy-boosting breakfast. But actually, having a breakfast meal that gives you energy isn’t so much about how long it takes to prepare, but about the ingredients you’re using. There are plenty of breakfast ideas on this page that you can make in a matter of minutes. 

Wake Up Your Brain

If you’ve had an energy-boosting breakfast, then your body will have what it needs to thrive during the day. Now, you need to wake up your brain so that it’s fully alert. Some people’s brains aren’t awake until midday, at which point half the day has already gone! There are a few tried and tested ways to make your brain alert. Your neurons will be firing if you take a cold shower and then complete a crossword puzzle, so consider making that combination part of your morning routine. Scared of taking cold showers? Don’t be. While it can be challenging to step into a cold shower, when you step out your body and mind will be buzzing.

Create a Commute You Enjoy

It’s all good and well doing things that help to elevate your mind and spirit, but if there are things that are actively working against that, then the impact of your efforts won’t be as profound as it should be.

If you work in an office, then the most soul-destroying part of your day is probably your commute. You wouldn’t mind doing the journey once, but every day? That’ll bring you down over time.

If that sounds like you, then consider first asking your boss if you can work from home. They might allow it. If you have to work onsite, then look at improving your commute. Is there a different, less stressful way to get to work? Could you use the time to listen to a podcast, or learn a new second language? If you have to do something, then the best approach is to find ways to make it as fun as possible. 

Get Moving

Starting a regular exercise routine can have a transformative impact on an individual’s life. Not only will it give you more energy and help to improve your overall fitness, but it’ll also give you mental health a boost, too. In fact, the evidence is pretty clear that having a regular exercise routine is one of the best things a person can do to support their mental well-being.

You don’t have to spend an hour in the gym to get the benefits of exercise. A thirty minute job around your neighborhood will do the trick. If you feel hesitant to get started, then remember that you don’t have to do it forever — try it for one month, and see how you like it. If you still hate it at that time, then you can stop, but at least you’ll know that you’ve given it a go. 

Do Something For You

We all have a lot of responsibilities in this life. But remember that you also have a responsibility to yourself. If it feels like you’ve been living for others too much recently, then do something nice for yourself. In fact, we’d recommend doing that even if you don’t feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities to others.

Taking yourself to the spa, making your favorite meal, or just enjoying some peace and quiet can do wonders for helping to maintain sound mental wellbeing. 

Appreciate the Small Things

Finally, remember the importance of gratitude. We can often focus on all the things that we don’t have, and in the process lose sight of all the things that we do have. It’s easy to take things like having a job, a place to live, and friends for granted, but there are a lot of people out there who don’t have those things — and there’s also no guarantee that you’ll have those things forever, either. Keeping a daily gratitude journal in which you record a few things for which you’re thankful can have a profound impact on your enjoyment of life. After all, while life can be challenging from time to time, you also probably have a lot of goodness in your life for which you should be happy!