A habit is an activity that we repeat and incorporate into our lives over time. Some habits come naturally, while others we intentionally choose to adopt. The great thing is that, no matter what stage of life we’re in, we can always start new habits. It doesn’t matter how small they are—healthy habits are essential for living a healthy life.
If you’re looking to incorporate healthier habits into your routine but don’t know where to start, this blog is for you!
Identifying Our Hidden Habits
Physical Habits
Physical habits are related to things like how much water we drink each day, whether we exercise regularly, and the types of food we eat daily. These habits impact our overall health and energy levels.
Mental Habits
The way we manage our emotions plays into the emotional habits we’ve adopted without even realizing it. How do we react when we receive bad news? How do we handle stress? Mental habits like how we cope with challenges and setbacks influence our mental well-being.
Spiritual Habits
Our spiritual habits are tied to our beliefs and practices. Whether we meditate, give thanks, manifest, or pray, these small, internal moments connect us to our deeper selves and help guide us through life. They are as essential as our mental or physical habits.
Social Habits
Social habits are the actions and words we automatically use around others. These could be anything from how we greet people, our communication style, or how we express gratitude. Social habits shape how we interact with those around us. Friends, family, community. We are none without them. So how we relate to others says a lot about us.
Habits for Good Health
Did you know that adopting new, healthier habits can protect you from serious health issues like obesity and diabetes? In fact, simple changes, such as eating healthier foods and being more active, may help you manage your weight, improve energy levels, and feel better overall. Over time, if you stick to these habits, they’ll naturally become part of your routine.
For example, a few months ago, I set myself the goal of increasing the number of steps I take each day. Initially, I went from walking 1,000 to 8,000, and eventually even 10,000 steps. Today, I can’t finish the day without going for a walk for at least a little while. Of course, it didn’t happen overnight; I started with 4,000 steps, then 5,000, and gradually increased the number over time.
The process of habit formation is quite simple: repeat an action consistently in the same context. It begins with the “initiation phase,” during which you select the new behavior and the context in which you’ll do it. The next phase is the “learning phase,” during which the behavior is repeated, reinforcing the association between the behavior and the context. Finally, the habit stabilizes, and in the “stability phase,” it becomes automatic and persists with minimal effort.
But how do you make a new habit? Here’s a step-by-step guide from the National Library of Medicine:
- Decide on a goal that you’d like to achieve for your health.
- Choose a simple action that helps you reach your goal, something you can do daily.
- Plan when and where you’ll perform the action. Be consistent: choose a specific time and place that you encounter every day.
- Every time you encounter that time and place, do the action.
It will get easier over time, and within 10 weeks, you should find you’re doing it automatically without thinking about it.
Congratulations, you’ve made a healthy habit!
The Importance of Healthy Habits
According to Pennsylvania State University, healthy habits are habits that can promote your well-being, increase your positive communication skills, or expand your personal growth and development. Healthy habits are an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and may include activities like getting an adequate amount of sleep each night or making it a priority to cook and eat healthy meals. Unhealthy habits, on the other hand, can negatively impact your health and even your relationships. Some examples of unhealthy habits may include overeating; smoking; drinking in excess; or, routinely, not getting enough rest.
Practicing healthy habits can help you feel better in the present and can promote long-term well-being benefits. Using healthy habits as a means of parental self-care can benefit you and your family over time. Furthermore, by maintaining healthy habits, you are modeling positive behaviors for your children. By consistently modeling these behaviors, you are showing your children that developing healthy habits is a good thing and having their own healthy habits will be important in their development and well-being.
Some Tips
Adopting new habits is not easy. We know that there are many potential obstacles, such as where we live, whether we have time or not, and our family and environment. Each of these plays a very important role. I know that many times we can feel alone if the people around us are not interested in changing unhealthy habits.
Since we’ve been there too, we want to share some tips that helped us when adopting new, healthy habits:
Make a Plan
When starting a new healthy habit, organization is key. Start by identifying the specific habits you want to adopt and make a list. Then, list out the specific actions you can take to begin incorporating these habits into your routine. For example, “I’ll walk for 10 minutes three times a week,” or “I’ll eat one piece of fruit after each meal.”
Get Started!
Once you’ve made your plan, mark your calendar and begin. Setting a start date is crucial. Once you get started, you’ll feel better and be motivated to continue with your plan. This will give you more confidence, energy, and motivation.
Stay on Track
The first few days of incorporating your new habit are key. Your mind will tell you a thousand reasons why you can’t do it today, but push through and stick with it. Remember why you started and don’t look back. You got this!
Be Patient
Change doesn’t happen overnight. Developing a habit takes time, and there will likely be setbacks along the way. Don’t worry—this is part of the process. The key is to keep going, and in the end, you’ll reap the rewards.
5 Healthy Habits for a Healthier Life
1. Sleep well
During sleep, your body works to support healthy brain function and maintain physical health. Sleep also helps support growth and development in children and teens. Inadequate sleep over time can raise your risk for chronic (long-term) health problems.
If you’d like to know how sleep shapes our happiness and health, click here.
2. Exercise regularly
Physical activity helps maintain a healthy weight, improve mood, and boost energy.
3. Meditate
Meditation has been shown to reduce stress, enhance mental clarity, and promote inner peace.
4. Hydrate
Proper hydration helps prevent injuries, supports kidney function, boosts cognitive performance, and improves mood.
5. Eat well
Eating nutritious meals gives you more energy, improves your health, reduces the risk of health problems, and helps maintain a healthy weight.
5 Instagram Accounts That Inspire Healthy Habits
- Jennifer Navara from @theilluminatingpath
Jennifer is a midlife health & chronic illness transformation coach. What do we love about her? She helps 40+ women conquer chronic symptoms without drugs, surgery or restricted diets.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
- Lauren Larkin from @leltherapy
Lauren is a licensed psychotherapist with a Masters Degree in Mental Health & Wellness from NYU. Her aim is to create a positive, uplifting environment that highlights both humor and education around therapeutic insights.
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- Rasika from @consciousearth
Rasika is a certified Internal Family Systems Coach and Ayurvedic Health Counselor. She’s all about nature, meditation, and healing.
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- Stephanie Burgos from @healthyerdoc
Stephanie is a Physician, Healer, and Holistic Wellness and Life Coach. She shares valuable content about healing, breathwork & embodiment.
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- Conni Biesalski from @breathwork.alchemy
Conni is a Somatic Coach, Breathwork Facilitator, and Meditation Teacher. Breathwork Alchemy is an account that shares tips and valuable content about breathwork, but also overall wellness. We absolutely LOVE them!
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