Good daily habits can make such a big
difference to your overall health and your life. In this video I'm going to share 10
daily habits that have changed my life 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 year
s- 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. 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 a 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 whe
n we wake up we can be mildly dehydrated and when
we're dehydrated our fatigue levels go up. There is some science behind this -
I'll put it in the description box. 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 mornin
g is a great thing to
do for your energy levels. Number two 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 in the description box 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 on YouTube 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 it out. Now if you're a
beginner, meditation can seem very 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 diffi
cult. 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 lo
ve it.
There is also another app called Headspace which you could try out. Number
three 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 f
or 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
Orga
nization 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 numb
er four in addition
to the walk ayuh 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 description
box below number
five 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 in the description box belo
w 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 if
you're interested in how to make green smoothies taste better I do have a video
on it which I will link in the description box below number six 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 brigh
tly 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
le
ast two to three servings of fruits and veggies from those different groups
if you're interested in learning more about eating the rainbow I have a link
in the description box below number seven 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 intere
sted for the science is in the
description box so I do try to listen to something that's 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 number eight 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
ther
e 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 duolingo 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 bra
in
engaged and stimulated number-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 cats - I find that cuddling 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 number 10 I avoid phones in the
one hour before bed so I used to be on my phone right before bed and I found it
very difficult to fall asleep because my brain was all over the place it was very
mentally stimulated and phones also emit something known a
s blue light and that
blue light is something that your brain thinks is they like so when you're on
your phone and that blue light is going to your brain your brain thinks it's not
time to sleep so it won't produce melatonin very well and it becomes
harder to sleep I actually have talked about this in another video on sleep
which I will link in the description box below but what I tried to do is I
switched my phone off an hour or an hour and a half before bed like flight mode
so I don't look at
any notifications I don't look at anything and that way I'm
actually able to sleep better I hope you find this video useful and you enjoyed
it if you liked it give it a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe because I
create videos like this every week and before you go let me know in the comment
box below what is the one habit that has changed your life I will see you in the
next video bye
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