Making a
new start
Creating your wellness routine
When it comes to leading
a healthy lifestyle,
it’s the small decisions
and changes that have a great
impact on our individual wellness
journeys.
Wellness is not just one thing.
In fact, maintaining a healthy
lifestyle goes beyond just physical
health and appearances,
extending into areas like a person’s
emotional, mental, social
and spiritual wellbeing. To help
bring out the healthiest, happiest
version of ourselves, experts
recommend addressing the
whole person, mind, body, spirit
and all.
To help you kickstart a successful
health and wellness
routine rooted in a holistic approach,
consider the following
tips from these leading health
industry experts
1) Practice mindfulness:
Starting your day with a focus
on mindfulness can contribute
to easier and relaxed moments
that translate into better days
mentally and physically.
“I wake up every morning at
6 a.m. and meditate for 15 minutes,”
says Kristin McGee, celebrity
yoga instructor and mindfulness
expert. Deep full breathing
helps you anchor yourself in
the present. “When we become
aware of our breathing, we also
calm our nervous system which
helps us settle into a relaxed
space and feel more awake and
alive,” McGee explains.
2) Focus on immune health:
What we put into our bodies is
critical and incorporating ingredients
to help support our immune
system is just one way to
help us feel our best year-round.
There are many ways to help
support our immune function
through nutrition, including incorporating
nutrient-rich foods,
such as oranges, carrots, red
bell peppers and spinach, into
your diet. These foods, as well
as the supplement Emergen-C,
HEALTH
contain immune-supporting
vitamin C - a nutrient synonymous
with immune health.
3) Choose your joy: When
you’re having a busy day, it is
important to not lose sight of the
joys in your life. Mental health
expert and self-care advocate
Yasmine Cheyenne suggests
creating a list of three to fi ve
things that bring you joy.
“The joy list makes it easy for
you to remember what brings
you peace and ease, and empowers
you to make those changes
yourself,” Yasmine notes. Some
things to include in a joy list can
be going for a quick walk, playing
games with family, watching
a show or gardening.
4) Get moving: Staying active
not only has a positive effect on
your body, but on your immune
health and overall wellness.
There are many benefi ts when
it comes to sweating, including
helping to improve focus, mood,
productivity and confi dence.
Fitness expert and healthy habit
builder Jennifer Cohen says
treat movement like you would
any other important meeting in
your day. “Schedule exercise in
your calendar or daily schedule
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
like you would an important appointment
- this helps us keep
our commitment to movement,”
says Cohen.
Start off with these small
steps and gradually increase
your efforts toward building
a routine that works best
for you. With the above tips
in mind, you will fi nd that
implementing quick and easy
habits helps to make a big,
lasting impact on your overall
health.
For more info about
Emergen-C, visit emergenc.com.
Courtesy BPT
Improving sleep in the face of daily stresses
Do you get enough sleep
each night? Do your
loved ones? Or are you a
“short sleeper,” someone who
routinely sleeps less than seven
hours per 24-hour period
- something known as short
sleep duration.
The American Academy
of Sleep Medicine and Sleep
Research Society both recommend
that adults aged 18 to
60 sleep at least seven hours
each night to promote optimal
health and well-being. Increasingly,
researchers are fi nding
that poor sleep quality and duration
is associated with a slew
of negative health conditions
such as diabetes, obesity, stroke
and Alzheimer’s.
Most U.S. adults (88%) understand
quality sleep is critically
important to overall health,
but a third of Americans (33%)
regularly sleep less than the
recommended minimum seven
hours per night, and 44% do
not have a serious sleep routine,
according to a consumer survey
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
by Tranquility weighted blanket
brand. In the same survey, general
stress and anxiety was the
top barrier to getting good sleep.
So, how can you improve
sleep in the face of daily stresses
and work-life demands?
1) Establish a sleep routine
including wind-down rituals
and a consistent bedtime,
even on weekends. Wind-down
rituals could include bathing at
night, turning down lights, setting
your devices to nighttime
mode or Do Not Disturb, relaxing
with a weighted blanket, and
cutting off eating and drinking
several hours before your established
bedtime.
2) Incorporate small, realistic
changes, like adjusting your
immediate environment with
cooler nighttime temperatures,
new bedding or limiting evening
screen time, versus more drastic
changes that may be hard to
maintain, like making a career
change or cutting out coffee
cold turkey. Giving up caffeine
drinks can improve sleep, but
less than two in 10 (19%) adults
said they would be willing to
try this tactic, whereas about a
third would be willing to change
bedding or adjust screen time
habits.
3) Tie your new routine
to existing habits. Behavioral
scientists say we are more successful
adopting new healthy
habits when they are tethered to
existing ones.
4) Give yourself time to settle
into your new routine. There
will be days where family, social
or work obligations disrupt your
new pattern, and cutting off
screen time or eating and drinking
well in advance of bedtime
is an impossibility. This is where
a meditation routine or weighted
blanket can come in handy,
helping to quickly quiet a busy
mind or body close to bedtime.
Eventually, you’ll be reaping the
health benefi ts of consistent,
quality sleep.
Courtesy BPT
10 January 6, 2022 Schneps Media
/emergenc.com
