There are some things that everyone knows are good for them to do every day. For instance, getting enough sleep. The number of people who complain about being tired, wanting to go back to bed, or simply not getting enough regular sleep is crazy.
Keeping away stress has also been a big topic recently. Studies showing all the benefits of doing activities to relax such as playing video games, watching TV, doing a hobby, playing Ripper Casino bonuses, and so on have fallen into the public eye.
Drinking more water is another great example. Perhaps not as widespread as not getting enough sleep, however, with internet memes such as the “Hydrohomies” and phrases such as “Hydrate or Die-drate” being spread around, it is shifting its way into public attention.
Especially since the first thing most people will tell you whenever you feel even a little bit unwell is to drink water. Needless to say, hydration has become more and more important in people’s eyes, and more and more people are simply carrying around water with them as needed.
However, there are a lot of other things that you should be doing every single day that can both seriously improve your health, your mood, and simply your quality of life. As someone who has been on a bit of a health journey, you don’t know how much the little things can affect your mood.
Get up and GO!
Did you know that humans are one of the best, if not the best, runners in the entire animal kingdom? Sure, we cannot sprint like a Cheetah at its rediculous 130 KPH, or gallop like a majestic horse, or even lope like a mighty wolf. However, we sure can run!
Humans are really great at running long distances. I mean, think about it, we can run a marathon (well, maybe not all of us but humans are able to…)! That’s 42 Kilometers! That’s nuts!
We are even literally evolved for running. As kids, we might think about how boring it is we don’t have wings, or tails, or claws, or super long legs to jump really high, but that’s because we got what we need to run.
All of this being said, running is therefore something that is kind of built into us. Humans are meant to get up and be physically active. Now, it doesn’t necessarily have to be running, but running is simply an amazing option.
In fact, pound for pound, running is probably the best exercise you can do if you are simply looking to keep healthy. It burns calories, it gets the blood pumping, it gets you up and out of your chair. Oh, and of course, it’s cardio! Believe me, your heart will thank you if you run.
Now, this isn’t a fitness guide. I’m not really telling you to specifically go for a run. But, doing cardio is really important for our health. Our physical health is, in turn, really important for our mental health.
Other options, if you don’t want to run, are taking long walks every day, skipping rope, swimming at your local pool, and going on bike rides. However, walking isn’t necessarily cardio, so it’s important to remember that you should do something intensive as well.
Mobility Exercises
If you spend a lot of your day sitting at a computer for work, school, or simply having fun playing video games, then you probably know the… how shall I say..? Rather unpleasant downsides to staring at screens for long periods.
You probably have had your share of problems. Backaches, stiff neck, headaches, and so on and so forth plague people who spend their time sitting down and not moving their bodies much.
After years and years of us being unused to these kinds of movements, our bodies grow stiffer and less flexible. We become unable to move our bodies like how we could as kids, and eventually think it is really impressive when someone can simply touch their toes!
One thing that can really help you if you suffer from these issues, is to work on mobility exercises. These will help loosen up your body and prevent those aches and pains that you may have become very accustomed to in your day to day life.
Now, when I talk about mobility exercises, I’m not just talking about doing some stretches. There are different kinds of exercises depending on what kind of mobility you want to have.
For instance, there are flexibility exercises. Flexibility is how much your body is able to passively stretch to accommodate whatever movements you are trying to perform. An example of something that needs flexibility is reaching down to touch your toes.
The second kind of mobility is, well, mobility. This is your ability to move your joints through a range of motions. To see this, grab a broomstick or some other long straight object. Hold it behind your back, and see how far you can lift it up behind you with your arms staying straight.
Finally, there is a third category of mobility exercise is stability, which is a bit different than the others. This is, essentially, your ability to balance. Balancing is, in turn, essentially how well your body is at holding or returning to a static position.
The most common example of this in our everyday lives is simply standing on one leg. That is your body’s ability to hold its balance. You might think, “What’s so important about having good stability?”
For one thing, if you don’t want to fall over, being steady as a rock is a rather nice thing. It can help prevent injuries from falls or from exercising. Most exercises require stability as there will always be some form of support required to hold something up.After all, we essentially always use gravity in some way to aid us in our exercises. Whether you are lifting weights or pushing up your body, gravity is the main form of resistance. Even if you use machines, it just converts weights downward pull into sideways resistance via pulleys.
But, I digress. My point is, humans movies around! We are meant to be mobile! So, doing exercise that helps us keep our mobility returns us to a more natural state for our bodies. And, as I mentioned, can help prevent injuries, aches, and pains.
One more thing related to this that is important. Good posture is paramount. If you want to prevent those aches, pains, headaches, and other health problems you could have later in life, starting with improving your posture is a great first step.
Spend Time Outside
According to the CDC, spending time outside has many health benefits, and it is certainly something you can do every day! And, although it certainly is a factor, being outside isn’t just beneficial because it offers you a chance to be more active.
Being in the sun helps stimulate vitamin D production. Those of us who may not spend enough time outside may find ourselves being vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D deficiency can in turn cause a loss of bone density. Which, if you don’t want to break your bones (you only have 1 set) is something I would recommend avoiding.
Spending some time outside can also just reduce stress, and improve mental health. Generally, humans don’t like to be couped up in confined spaces for long periods of time. Which is something some of us may have had a lifetimes experience with by this point…
The fresh air, the sunlight, the flowers! There is just something so nice about spending time at a park. The birds chirping, the bees buzzing. There is just a magical feeling in the air when you really stop and feel the outside.
No Electronics
Mental health is just as important as physical health. They are both permanently intertwined with each other. Like a Yin and Yang. If you have bad physical health, it probably will hurt your mental health. If you have bad mental health, you probably will give up on your physical health.
One of the most simple, yet most powerful, things you can do every day to improve your mental health is to simply spend less time on electronics. Pick a couple of hours in the day, when you don’t use an electronic device at all.
Now, the intention here is something with a screen such as a phone, tablet, or laptop. The whole point is to get you to do other things, not limit the things you can do. So, if you want to bake a cake, go for it! If you want to paint something, you are Picasso!
It is very important for us to be able to see tangible things come out of our time. I honestly believe one of the things that impact mental health the most in our day to day lives is simply feeling like we are wasting our lives away.
We can spend our time doing pointless things just to “pass the time.” Passing the time is the biggest lie and biggest robbery in our lives. Would you light your wallet on fire? You can always make more money! You are born with a certain amount of time, and that’s it! Why would you waste it?
Therefore, it is incredibly important that we realize our precious our time is to us, and not waste it. Live in the moment and don’t let anything steal your time from you. If you ever have a feeling like you are just passing time, immediately stop.
Get up, and find something that will be a better use of your time. It doesn’t even have to be something super important. It can be just something you enjoy doing, but it should be something where you are active either physically or mentally.
Don’t let your body go on autopilot and drag you down the river of life whichever way the current decides to flow. Feeling like we accomplished something in our day is one of the most satisfying feelings we can have.
However, nobody is going to accomplish things for you. And, even if they did, that misses the whole point.
That may have been a lot of information, so I will leave you with this bit of advice. Every day, set out with some goals to accomplish during your day. That way, you not only accomplish something, but you know you accomplished something.
Many times, we can do a lot with our time, but we just don’t pay attention to it. So, at the end of the day, we feel like we didn’t do anything of value. When, in reality, you just simply never paid attention enough to how much you are able to do with your time when you spend it wisely.