Top 5 Healthy Living Tips for 2024
New year’s resolutions can be a little overwhelming as we put so much pressure on trying to stick to, often unrealistic, goals we’ve set ourselves for the year ahead. We prefer to look at the New Year as a clean slate and a time to pick back up our healthy habits that may have fallen by the wayside slightly over Christmas!
Here are our top 5 tips for a healthy start to 2024:
Cut down on screentime
Many of us conduct some or all of our work on computers and then scroll through our phones while we atch TV at night. This is often worse around the Christmas period with an increase in online shopping. Technology is a crucial part of our modern, daily working lives so trying to cut devices out completely would be pointless. Instead, try and remember that we control it, not the other way around.
Set yourself screen time breaks throughout the day to help give your eyes a rest and this will hopefully help to develop healthier screen habits. Alongside this, try and have blocks of non-screen time whenever you are able to. This will be a lot easier to achieve outside of work so set yourself an hour or two on a night to read before bed instead of scrolling on your phone or watching TV. Start small with half an hour blocks and build this up or have some days where you barely use a device. As well as giving our eyes a rest, keeping our distance from screens and smart devices, significantly reduces our exposure to, and the negative effects we feel from, electromagnetic radiation. For more ways to reduce the negative effects of EMF in our homes, visit our Blushield EMF Protection page.
Spend more time outside
The benefits of being out in nature is hugely underestimated. Getting out and about gives you exposure to natural sunlight which not only helps to regulate our circadian rhythm for a better sleeping pattern but it also helps to regulate our mood.
Heading out for a walk, jog or even a hike can have a calming effect as it usually means we’re away from screens, work and notifications. It can give us the time to bring some peace, clarity and balance back into our lives which can lower our cortisol levels resulting in less stress and a calmer mind. Even better if you do these activities barefoot so that you have direct contact with the Earth. Although if going barefoot is a step too far, there is a range of earthing footwear and accessories to help keep you grounded when outdoors, whilst protecting your feet at the same time.
Improve quality of sleep
Sleep is an often-overlooked fundamental pillar of our health. It is a time when our body rejuvenates, repairs and regenerates so it is vital that we prioritise a good night's sleep. Experts recommend a regular and consistent sleep schedule, that is going to sleep at the same time each night and waking up at the same time each morning.
One way to help achieve a good night's sleep is to eliminate any artificial blue light late on an evening. This is to allow our brains to tell our bodies to release melatonin, the sleep hormone, which helps us to fall asleep. Wearing blue light sleep glasses filters out up to 63% of the overall blue light spectrum which allows you to watch TV, catch up on emails or play video games without sacrificing your sleep.
Another way to help is by adding grounding into our bedtime routines. Adding an earthing sheet or pillow case to our bed can help to improve the quality of our sleep by reducing pain, stress and resynchronise our circadian rhythm.
Boost your daily exercise with earthing
We all know the benefits of exercise and how important it is for our health to try and fit in at least 30 minutes of daily exercise. To enable you to get the most out of your workout session and recover more quickly, try combining exercise with earthing, either during or immediately after your workout. There are some easy ways you can incorporate earthing into your exercise routine which include; outdoor fitness classes, walking or running either barefoot or wearing grounded footwear, swimming in the ocean instead of a swimming pool or yoga either outdoors or using a grounded yoga mat. Studies have shown that earthing after working out can help to reduce inflammation and muscle soreness as well as help you to recover more quickly. Read more here.
Promote good gut health
A healthy digestive system can have a strong influence on mood and immunity, after all 80% of our immune system is located in our digestive system. The brain and the gut are directly connected and have influence over each other. Earthing is a way to naturally reset and rebalance the human body and physiology.
Research has shown that eating at least one meal each day whilst being grounded can decrease the inflammatory response of the gut to allow our food to digest more easily and with less discomfort. Eat a meal outside or, if indoors, you can place an Earthing Mat where you eat your meals for regular connection.
Visit our website for more information on earthing, blue light and EMF protection solutions.