Some Doable New Year’s Resolutions For Your Health
Yet another year is upon us. The second one of the second decade of the twenty first century. Among the top most popular new year's resolutions is self-improvement. This includes improving health. Making resolutions is the easy part. The hard part is sticking with them. There is a simple trick to make resolutions that you are more likely to keep.
The trick is to make resolutions that are challenging enough to motivate you but easy enough to stick with. A friend of mine (okay, he doesn't even know I exist) sent me some great new year's resolution ideas. And what a great list it is. Below are my favorite ones, though they all are great but for fairness I will not republish all:
- Eat right. Focus on adopting healthy eating habits rather than resorting to crash diets. Learn to eat more slowly and reduce your portion sizes.
- Exercise daily. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise every day. Round that out with training for strength and flexibility.
- Practice good posture. Strong abdominal muscles will protect your back from injury and help you look younger. Get used to pressing your navel towards your lower back and keeping your shoulders relaxed. Breathe from your abdomen rather than your chest.
- Manage stress. Keeping stress under control lets you enjoy life more. Set aside time each day for meditation or listening to soothing music.
- Get adequate rest and sleep. Insufficient sleep can make you more vulnerable to weight gain and many illnesses. Different individuals need different amounts of sleep, but the conventional eight hours is a good rule for most people. If you constantly feel drowsy, try going to bed earlier. See the full list
Personally, I would change the "exercise daily" resolution to "exercise regularly". If you can do moderate to intense exercise three or more days a week, you are good to go. Not everyone has the time, energy or even inclination to stick to a six or seven day exercise regimen. Remember it's all about making new year's resolutions that you can keep.
May you have a most healthy and prosperous new year.
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