Welcome to the whole happy
life. My name is Dr. Amber and I'm nutritionist with a food engineering
background. For today's blog we're going to talk about 10 daily habits that
have made a really big difference to my life in different areas such as
physical health, emotional health and brain health.
Before we dive in I wanted to say a
few things so you know the context. The first thing is these daily habits have
been the result of gradual habit forming over the last five years- it's not
something that happened overnight. It is difficult to form habits and it does
take time. The second thing - although these habits are daily habits I don't
put pressure on myself to do them every day especially when things get too busy
or things are too overwhelming. Sometimes things slide a little and that's
okay. When you're making lifestyle changes it's not about perfection it's about
doing what you can and generally I do try to do these habits at least three to
five times a week, IN the times that I'm really stressed out
because I feel that they do help me stay on track and they do help reduce
stress. Anyway enough with the introduction let's get into the habits.
Habit no. 1:
The first daily habit is that I
drink a glass of water as soon as I get up. Well not as soon as I get up -I
brush my teeth, I go to the bathroom and then I have glass of water. I find
that this has made a big difference to energy levels in the morning. When we're
sleeping we're not taking it any water and when we wake up we can be mildly
dehydrated and when we're dehydrated our fatigue levels go up. There is some
science behind this -check these links;
https://www.news-medical.net/news/201... https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2... https://www.businessinsider.com/execu... https://today.uconn.edu/2012/02/even-...
https://healthcare.utah.edu/the-scope...
So a good thing to do is
start your morning by getting enough hydration. I drink a glass of
filtered water. If I feel like it, I'll add some lemon to it I don't always do
that and it's usually at room temperature but if you like warm water that
can work too. It really is about personal preference but drinking some water
in the morning is a great thing to do for your energy levels.
Habit no. 2:
I meditate for 10 minutes every day.
I used to be very skeptical about meditation when I first started. I didn't
really believe in it I didn't think that there was science behind it but there
is actually quite a bit of science. It can do things like reduce anxiety, it
can help you improve your immune function, it can help reduce pain. There's a
lot that it can do I have a few links :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2...
But for me the biggest change is
mental clarity and I feel much more calm. I am not naturally a calm person I
may appear calm but I am not naturally a calm person. Meditation - years of
meditation has gotten me to this point and I really do think that there are a
lot of benefits to trying daunting and I
have two tips to provide. So the first one is try to just be very open about
meditation in the beginning. The first 10 to 15 sessions for me were very
difficult. I didn't know what I was doing and I felt overwhelmed and I felt like
I was doing it the wrong way. It wasn't until the 15th or 16th session that I
really got into it and I started to see the benefit. So give it time. The second
thing is if you are starting out try guided meditation versus meditation where
you're just doing it on your own. Guided meditation can really help you stay on
track and can really guide you through the process. I use an app called , Calm
- I highly recommend it. I love it. There is also another app called Headspace
which you could try out.
Habit no. 3:
I go for a brisk walk outdoors every
day. Now I have to say that I live in Canada so a brisk walk outdoors every day
does not happen year-round! It doesn't happen in the winter but for the rest
of the year I do try to get outside because I find it's such a mood booster to
get some fresh air.. to get some sunlight and to be out in the greenery and
there are studies that show that exposure to greenery is good for your health.
As usual, everything's in the description box. Now for me the brisk walk
is not just a mood booster - it's also the way I get exercise. I am NOT a gym
person I have never been in gym person I just don't enjoy it who knows who
the people who enjoy the gym I would love to do that but I just can't I don't
like it so for me getting exercise has to be something that's part of
my lifestyle and I love going up the walk so I started to make my walks my exercise
now the World Health Organization recommends that we get about 150
minutes of moderate cardiovascular activity week or 75 minutes of
cardiovascular activity a walk can count if your heart rate is
high enough so when I'm walking I
test my heart rate I have an app on my phone samsung health is the app that I
use and my heart rates usually between the moderate and thicker zone so my walk
actually counts as a workout it counts as water and activity so that's how I
get my 150 minutes of exercise per week through my walk.
Habit no. 4
In addition to the walk ,I exercise
so the walk is great for cardiovascular activity if you're doing a brisk walk
or if they're jogging or running but a well-rounded exercise regimen should
include more than just cardio I like to include some weight training and yoga
but I specifically wanted to talk about weeds there's a lot of women shy away
from it especially because they think they're going to look a certain way if
they train with weights the World Health Organization recommends at the average
adult do at least two sessions a week why is it so important as we age we tend to
lose muscle mass it's a normal part of Aging another normal part of aging is losing
bone density it happens but we can slow that process down with one thing and
that one thing is weight training so it doesn't matter what age you are it
could be in your 20s or 30s it's never too early to start preserving your
muscle mass and preserving your bone density if you're a beginner you should
always speak to a professional learn the proper moves you could do body weights
or free weights but always speak to someone who knows what they're doing so you
don't get injured and then eventually when you know what you're doing you could
always work at a home that's what I do I am NOT a gym person as I mentioned
earlier so I don't go to the gym but I will use free weights and bodyweight
exercises at home if you're interested in the exercise channels that I follow I
have them in the links:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/... https://www.bones.nih.gov/health-info... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...
Habit no. 5
I try to eat something green every
day it's rather embarrassing but I will admit that even as a nutritionist I
find it hard to eat greens I did not grow up eating greens so it's a very
foreign concept for me but I do understand that they are very nutrient dense
and it's a good idea to get some greens on a daily basis especially a variety
of greens you are getting a variety of vitamins and minerals if we're
interested in nutrient density score that I have one link here below :
https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2014/1...
Now if you're beginner the easiest
way to add greens to your diet really is smoothies I find that that was the
best gateway for me to get into the habit of eating greens .
Habit no 6:
I eat at least two to three servings of brightly
colored fruits and veggies every day this is my bare minimum two to three I
usually try to eat more why is it important to eat brightly colored fruits and
veggies well you may have heard of the term eat the rainbow eat the rainbow
basically suggests eating fruits and veggies from different colors but
different colors mean they have different phytochemicals which mean they have
different health properties some phytochemicals can help with cancer prevention
some can help with liver some can help with metabolism there's different
reasons to have those phytochemicals and it's a good idea to get a variety so I
do try to cut at least two to three servings of fruits and veggies from those
different groups if you're interested in learning more about eating the rainbow.
Habit no. 7:
I listen to relaxing music every
evening as a way to wind down so music has many different health benefits the
science is still emerging but what I found very interesting is that nature
sounds and relaxing music can help reduce stress it can help reduce the stress
hormone called cortisol if you're interested for the science is in the
description box so I do try to listen to something that' very relaxing flutes
maybe some nature sounds rustling with leaves things like that a waterfall
those are all really nice to listen to at the end of the day as a way to wind
down and just relax.
Habit no. 8:
I try to read or learn something new
every day and I love to do this because it's something that I truly enjoy but
there are other benefits to it especially when it comes to brain health so as
we age there is that natural decline in our memories it happens but mental
stimulation can slow down that decline so for me it's reading I will like to learn
new things for you it could be whatever works for you if you're a reading
person read a book fiction and nonfiction both have their benefits if you're
not into reading learning a new language on an app such as duo lingo could work
or you could watch something every day like short snippets on Ted Ed to learn
something new it's all about keeping your brain engaged and stimulated .
Habit no. 9:
I try to spend quality time with
loved ones every day and I want to underline the word quality time because a
lot of us end up spending time with our loved ones but we're on our phones and
we're not properly engaged with them they're not really talking to them it's
not good communication and this happens to everybody it's just the digital age
that we live in I used to scroll on my phone next my husband and I felt like I
was spending time with him but that wasn't really spending time ,so now no
phones, properly talked to him. I spent time with my son - I find that cuddling
your loved ones either it’s a pet or a
human - can help you release oxytocin which is known as the cuddle hormone or
the love hormone and it can help reduce stress .
Habit no. 10:
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