Little things make a big difference
Everyone is unique, but here are some basic things that all humans need for good health. Incorporate some these little habits into your life, and you might see great changes.
Nutrition
- Reduce consumption of processed foods and simple carbs
- Eat seasonal, local, and organic foods when possible
- Try to reduce your meat consumption, and increase your vegetable consumption
- Drink as much water (in ounces) as half your body weight (in pounds) each day (e.g. 100 lb person should drink 50 oz of water)
- After each coffee/soda/alcoholic beverage, drink the same amount of water (since these beverages remove water from the body)
- Take a bioavailable multivitamin (with nutrients derived from food sources)
- When stressed or injured, take B-complex vitamins to support your healing and stress pathways
Exercise
- Make sure to fully mobilize your body every day
- Do moderate weight-bearing or resistance exercise three times per week
- Include stretching as an integral part of your exercise regimen
- Do spinal stretches every day to keep your spine in motion
- Take regular walks to improve joint motion, bowel function, and restful sleep
Rest
- Take a ten minute break every few hours
- Do something you enjoy every day
- Go to bed before 11pm — this timing optimizes hormonal balance and tissue repair
- Sleep on your side with your head/neck level with the rest of your spine
- Change sleeping positions throughout the night
- Try sleeping with a pillow between your knees
- Stop drinking liquids two hours before bedtime, to avoid waking up for the bathroom
- Keep a regular sleep schedule to achieve the deepest rest
- Recognize that resting is doing something — without rest your body cannot recover from daily demands
Environment
- Cleanse the air in your home and office (keep ducts free of dust, replace A/C filters, grow indoor plants)
- Minimize your time in noisy environments
- Perform an ergonomic review of your home and office spaces; make layout changes to support what you do everyday
- Change your bed linens once a week
- Work to minimize physical “clutter” in your life spaces
Balance
- Focus on changing one bad habit at a time, and forgive yourself for lapsing occasionally
- Make time to work and play, to produce and create, to spend with others and with yourself.
- Take a time management class to learn how to schedule time for all aspects of your life (including play and rest)
Purpose
- Consider meditation or other forms of personal reflection, to identify and strengthen your relationship to your inner goals
- Make sure to allocate some of your time to doing what makes you feel truly satisfied
- Choose a direction and set your intention in motion, even if only in small increments
