Thank you Blue Shield of California for sponsoring this post. They are committed to health and wellness, and they believe in tackling health issues before they start.
Each day is filled with so much potential. Assuming you didn’t wake up on the wrong side of the bed, you probably start most mornings feeling optimistic about the rest of the day. Then the actual day begins, and life gets in the way of all you had hoped to achieve. It’s a vicious cycle of “where did the time go!?” and you know what tends to get sacrificed first among all the busyness… our physical and mental health.
I think part of why this gets overlooked is our habit of making lofty goals that we can’t always keep up with. Although we might be able to maintain the new habits for a bit, we tend to revert to what we’re used to because it’s easier. Since I’m a firm believer in little goals turning into big results, I wanted to share some of the most basic advice for taking care of our physical and mental health.
Below is a collection of lifestyle habits organized in a daily checklist that focuses on some of our core health needs. Take a look through the following 6 items and find a couple you could improve upon, then actively work them into your routine. By doing so, you won’t just feel better in the present, but you’ll protect your health for your future!
1. Eat 1-1 ½ cups of fruit and 2-2 ½ cups of veggies.
While the numbers look small, this general recommendation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture can be surprisingly difficult to reach some days. One of my tips for eating more veggies and fruits? Space them out. Try to incorporate a little bit into every meal, and it’ll feel a lot easier. A couple examples for reference: 2 cups fresh spinach = 1 cup (cooked spinach is 1:1) and 1 apple = 1 cup.
2. Drink 8 glasses of water (8 ounces each).
This “8×8 rule” is the typical guideline for making sure we stay hydrated throughout the day. Maybe I’m just an abnormally thirsty person, but I drink much more than this. That’s why I feel like this is one of the easiest goals in this list. Pro tip: Get a 32-ounce water bottle. Carry it around with you all day, and make sure you refill it at least once. Bam, you’ve reached your goal.
3. Get physically active for at least 30 minutes.
There’s varying advice for this out there, which is why I like the simplicity of just…get active for a half hour. More specifically, though, the American Heart Association recommends doing 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity at least 5 days per week (OR 25 minutes of vigorous activity, 3 days per week), plus a session of moderate-to-vigorous muscle strengthening 2 days per week.
4. Do at least 1 relaxing activity that makes you feel at peace.
As they say, “You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first.” While this might not be a problem for some days (#LazySunday), other days we can lose ourselves within the chaos. Even if it’s only for 5-10 minutes, make sure you recharge at some point in your day and give your mind a break. Some ideas: practice yoga, start a gratitude journal, take a nap, meditate, or watch your favorite show.
5. Take a break from sitting every 30 minutes.
A lot of us tend to have pretty sedentary lifestyles. Even if we ARE able to squeeze in a 30-minute workout, many of us sit all day at an office job and then come home just to sit on the couch. Research shows that sitting for so many hours at a time with minimal physical movement can negatively impact our lifespan, and by simply getting up once every 30 minutes, we could potentially live longer. Take mini walks around the office if you need to, visit a coworker for fun, go on a walk on your lunch break, do a little office yoga—whatever you do, just make sure you’re moving every once in awhile.
6. Get 7-9 hours of sleep.
At the end of the day, no matter what has happened up until then, there’s still one powerful thing you can do for your health. Go to bed early enough to get a good night’s rest! It’s actually pretty easy (because it requires lack of activity), but it does require some will power. The National Sleep Foundation recommends about 7-9 hours for most people.
The above goals are based on recommendations for the average healthy adult. Depending on your personal needs, you may need more or less of each.
Wellvolution with Blue Shield of California
To continue this theme of making lifestyle changes to protect your long-term health, Blue Shield of California offers Wellvolution, a suite of programs proven to prevent and reverse health problems through a purely lifestyle-based approach—something I think we should all be working towards in our daily lives. The mission is to tackle health problems before they can begin and to help people improve their overall well-being. This FREE resource (for Blue Shield of California Members) offers support for physical activity, healthy diets, mental challenges, and more. (Because sometimes we could all use a little help!)
Make sure to visit Blue Shield of California’s member resource center to find helpful information about your health and health care choices. If you’re a Blue Shield of California member, make sure to sign up for Wellvolution to go a step further in making your lifestyle your medicine!
As for the checklist, what is one area of this checklist you need to work on the most? Mine is definitely #5. I don’t get up NEARLY enough throughout the work day. But there is one thing I know…with each passing day of working towards a goal and making it part of a routine, it gets so much easier to repeatedly do.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
