7 Simple Shifts to Improve Your Life | Your Story
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Your Story is a series in which you, the reader, are invited to be a guest writer on Your Friend Jane and share your own story, relating to mental health and personal growth.
Eleanor Wyatt
When you're busy or stressed, it's easy to let your self-care slide. Before you know it, you've ditched your positive habits and replaced them with unhealthy ones. Today is a great day to turn things around. With these simple suggestions, you can look and feel better almost immediately.
1. Get Enough Sleep
Are you sleeping fewer than seven hours every night? Your first step in looking and feeling better is to find a way to get more sleep. Adequate rest can reduce stress and improve your health, focus, mood, and weight. Try these tips:
Don't exercise two hours before bed
Good Housekeeping suggests installing blackout curtains in your bedroom
Create a consistent sleep schedule
2. Exercise Regularly
Exercise is one of the easiest ways to feel better instantly — it gives you more energy, improves your sleep quality, and boosts your mood. It can also help you build muscle and lose weight. Anything that increases your heart rate counts.
Some fun activities are:
Walking or group fitness classes with friends
Recreational or lap swimming
Playing outside with your kids
3. Do Something You Love
Is your life consumed by work, chores, and family? Make time to do something that's purely for fun and just for you. Take an art class, join a community choir, or try a new sport. If you're missing your friends, schedule a once-a-week happy hour. You're likely to leave feeling happier and more energetic — a feeling that carries over into the rest of your life.
4. Work from Home More Often
Whether you run your own business or work for someone else, try working from home once or twice a week. Working from home can reduce stress, maximize productivity, and help you develop work-life balance. Also, the time you save not having to commute can leave time for health-boosting activities like practicing yoga, preparing nutritious meals, and reading more often.
5. Improve Your Eating Habits
In times of stress, healthy eating is one of the first things to go. That’s why it’s important to focus on making better choices when it comes to meals and snacking. Eating well is one of the key factors when you work on making your home a stress-free environment. This doesn’t mean you have to go on a crash diet; start out by clearing out the pantry of food high in sugar and carbs, using smaller plate sizes, and keeping plenty of cold water in the fridge.
While junk food is comforting in the moment, it often leaves you feeling sluggish and heavy. Remember, we all want to eat food that makes us feel good! Johns Hopkins Medicine notes that there are simple ways to improve your eating. Some include:
Eat a small salad before lunch and dinner
Add fruit to your dessert
Go vegetarian a few times a week
Drink seltzer instead of soda
6. Revamp Your Closet
Are you holding onto "skinny" clothes? Donate or sell them ASAP. "Goal" clothes seem like a motivating factor, but they're more likely to make you feel bad about yourself. Instead, go through your closet, and keep only the things that make you feel amazing just as you are.
If you don't have many outfits that inspire confidence, it's time to go shopping. Buy work clothes, a dressy ensemble, and a pair of jeans that look and feel great, regardless of the size.
7. Ditch the Distractions
When your mind is going a million miles a minute, it's hard to feel centered and calm. Feel more balanced and improve your mental clarity by eliminating distractions. Some options to try:
Delete social media apps from your phone
Meditate for five minutes a day
Turn off the TV and podcasts when you cook or shower
Exercise without music
Small, positive changes like optimizing your home for stress-free living, getting enough rest, and exercising can have a big effect on the way you look and feel. Now’s the perfect time to do some things that can change your life for the better.