When we go through difficult times or experience changes in our routine our healthy habits tend to suffer. We binge watch more online content, go to bed later, wake up later in the day, stop exercising and make poor food choices.
I think we can all agree that the social distancing and isolation put in place to combat COVID-19 has definitely altered our regular routines.
That’s why I am launching The Healthy Habit Challenge.
For the next 10 weeks, I will be sharing three healthy habits per week. Some habits you might already be doing and others might be new to you.
I encourage you to be kind to yourself. This is meant to be fun, not overwhelming. You don’t need to do every healthy habit I’ll be suggesting.
I recommend you pick one of the three habits I’ll be posting every week. At the end of the challenge, you’ll have added a minimum of ten healthy habits to your daily routine.
Share with your friends and family and let’s do this together.
Healthy Habit #1
Our first healthy habit in The Healthy Habits Challenge is to go to bed at approximately the same time every night. Having regular sleep and wake cycles are very important for our mental and physical health.
I bet that sleep hygiene and consistent sleep and wake schedules were the first things to go when social-distancing and isolation were recommended in your area.
I know that I certainly made the mistake of going to bed late the first few days of social-distancing in Canada.
Personally I find it very difficult to do anything productive if my sleep and wake schedules are all over the place. I’m tired, moody, unable to focus and lethargic.
If you are like me and have a history of sleep issues, I recommend checking out my blog series on sleep issues part 1 and part 2.
Healthy Habit #2
Healthy habit number two of The Healthy Habits Challenge. Drink a tall glass of water when you wake up.
When you think about it, we go approximately 8 hours without drinking anything. As a result, we wake up dehydrated!
On top of that, most of us reach for coffee or black tea as our very first beverage of the day. This worsens our hydration status since coffee and black tea are diuretics – they make us pee.
An easy way to get into this habit is to prepare your water the night before and leave it on your nightstand. You can even add some fresh lemon juice to your water which can help support your liver function.
So before you grab your preferred caffeinated beverage, have some water.
Your body will thank you!
Healthy Habit #3
Healthy habit number three of The Healthy Habits Challenge.
Get stretching!
One the best ways to start or end your day is with some stretching and foam rolling.
Stretching and foam rolling can help :
- Reduced muscle tension,
- Increased range of movement in the joints,
- Enhanced muscular coordination,
- Increased circulation of the blood to various parts of the body and
- Increased energy levels.
I suggest looking up some instructional videos on stretching and foam rolling for proper technic. You can injure yourself if you don’t know what you are doing.
Choose about 5 stretches, write them down or print them out and put them somewhere visible.
You can make a stretching routine specifically for the morning and one specifically for the night. Or you can you use the same one for the morning and night.
If you haven’t stretched in a while you will likely experience some discomfort. Remember to listen to your body and follow your breath.
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