5 Tips to Improve Your Health

When you think about improving your health, your brain probably shifts immediately to images of sweating at the gym and grimacing through mouthfuls of salad. But while diet and exercise are important aspects of your overall health, there are several other aspects that factor in as well. Let’s discuss five things you can do to improve your health. 

1. Make better dietary and exercise choices: You don’t have to chug protein shakes and pump iron to make a difference. Each good choice you make builds upon the last. Take it slow at first. Replace one or two takeout meals per week with more nutritious options. Walk your dog for five extra minutes each day. After a while, these healthier choices will become habitual. 
2. Reduce stress: It’s no secret that stress can have damaging effects on your health, including wrinkles, strained heart health and more. While you may not be able to prevent stress, you can take steps to reduce your stress levels at the end of each day. Find something that relaxes you, be it a bubble bath, meditating, getting a massage or finding time to read. Dedicating at least 15 minutes to relaxing each night can combat stress before it can grab a firm hold of you. 
3. Quit bad habits: Smoking and excessive drinking are often linked with an assortment of illnesses that can not only jeopardize your health, but can also increase several of your insurance premiums. But there are plenty of other habits that can affect your health as well, such as biting your nails because it spreads illness-breeding bacteria from hand to mouth. Find a friend for support or seek professional help to transition away from these bad habits. 
4. Plan a gathering with friends and family: As social beings, spending time with loved ones can help enhance emotional wellbeing. Not only do you get to vent your frustrations, but interacting with friends and family often leads to laughter as well, which helps reduce stress hormones in the body. Call up some friends today to get your mental health back on track! 
5. Get some sleep: A solid seven to nine hours of sleep each night helps your body regenerate cells and heal in numerous ways. In fact, without enough sleep, you may become more susceptible to illness, heart disease and weight gain. Even when you’re extremely busy, making time to sleep boosts all of the other efforts you make to improve your health.