5 Ways to Wellbeing

5 Ways to Wellbeing

5 Ways to Wellbeing

The start of a new year is the perfect excuse to take time to focus on yourself and even jump start some lifestyle changes. Reflect on the past year and set self-improvement goals for yourself. While the task might seem daunting, you can easily pinpoint an area or two of focus and then select easily implemented, easily achievable goals. For example, try focusing on health and personal wellbeing. Lay out goals for yourself that you can achieve each day, such as exercising for 30 minutes, rather than the perhaps overwhelming goal of losing ‘x’ number of kilos or pounds.

Here are some health tips for the new year, all of which are suggestions anyone can implement to start 2011 on the path to wellness:

1. Get sleep

Study after study has shown that most people do not get enough sleep, especially women. Sleep is non-negotiable if you want to be healthy, active, alert and productive. Set your schedule each day to give yourself an ample amount of sleep for the night and stick to it.

2. Watch your saturated fat and sodium intake

People are quick to glance at the total fat in foods, but what really should be of concern is saturated fat and sodium. Most people are unaccustomed to being aware of their sodium intake, but sodium sneaks into just about every processed food, and especially food in restaurants. High amounts of both saturated fat and sodium are unhealthy, so make it a point to start checking nutrition facts for those two saboteurs.

3. Floss

Flossing is one of the easiest health routines to incorporate into a day (or night), but surprisingly few people floss regularly. Flossing keeps gums healthy and, although it seems nonsensical, actually protects against heart disease. This is because flossing prevents gum disease, which often leads to heart disease. Keep your smile, mouth and heart healthy and take a couple minutes before bed each night to floss.

4. Enjoy your exercise

Many people see exercise as a job or a chore, and as a result, they dread doing it, if they even do it at all. Keep your exercise fun, and you will be more likely to work out regularly. Try physical experience days such rock climbing, and you could become so enamoured of new hobbies they turn into 21st birthday present ideas.

5. Take time to relax

We women make list upon list and triple book our schedules, but the most important time of the day is the time we take for ourselves. If you have to schedule it in, do it, but leave yourself at least half an hour, perhaps when coming home from work or before going to bed, when you take ‘you time’ to, say, enjoy a bath or start a novel.