Making New Year's resolutions is easy. Maintaining them is difficult. Too often, we set goals to make sweeping, complex changes that are well-intentioned but unrealistic.
One year, I decided to prepare our family's meals for the week every Sunday. I bought containers to store each meal, created a menu and shopping list, went grocery shopping, and came home with all the food, only to realize I was completely unmotivated to dedicate my Sunday afternoon to cooking an entire week's worth of meals at once. . Instead, I decided to eat each meal as needed, as I always have.
Like many other people's experiences, my ambitious resolution failed before it even began.
It takes self-control and discipline to make and sustain changes to your existing habits and routines. When your resolution involves multiple steps, a significant time commitment, or anything that doesn't offer some immediate gratification, it's even harder to stick to.
To help, I'm sharing four simple health resolutions that require limited daily effort while still providing broad health benefits plus some form of immediate gratification.
These resolutions still require daily consistency, but they only require a one-step effort with a minimal time commitment. Consider adding one or more of these to your 2024 healthy habits.
Floss daily
With only a third of Americans flossing daily, you may be one of the people who would benefit from adding this habit to your oral hygiene routine.
Many people only floss when eating popcorn or when they feel food stuck in their teeth, according to my dentist, Dr. Victoria Spindel Rubin. “In reality, food is always getting stuck between your teeth… If you don't floss, you fail to clean 40% of each tooth,” said Spindel Rubin.
In addition to combating periodontal disease, Spindel Rubin highlighted that flossing is linked to better heart health and improved diabetes control. But you only reap the benefits with the right technique.
Spindel Rubin stated that proper flossing technique involves “wrapping the floss around the tooth and moving it up and down a few times to remove plaque and biofilm.”
Don't let a little bleeding stop you from flossing. It's normal for your gums to bleed at first, but this will lessen as you continue to floss regularly, according to Spindel Rubin. “If the bleeding doesn’t stop…see your dentist to be evaluated for periodontal disease,” he added.
The process may seem involved, but flossing only takes a few extra minutes before bed. For those who brush their teeth every night but often skip flossing afterwards, Spindel Rubin suggested flossing before brushing. It's a habit stacking technique — doing the new activity right before the ingrained habit combines them in a way that makes the new habit easier to maintain.
Where is the immediate gratification I mentioned? After flossing with the proper technique, run your tongue over your teeth and notice how much cleaner they become compared to brushing alone. That's a reason to smile.
Get up and move your body once an hour
Do you have a job that makes you sit most of the day? Long periods of sitting are associated with increased risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and overall mortality.
The good news is that a small effort to break up prolonged sitting with brief periods of standing and moving can make a big difference in your overall health. Standing and moving every hour for just five minutes is effective, according to a Columbia University study published in January that investigated the minimum amount of activity needed to counteract the negative health implications of excessive sitting.
Even one minute of walking every hour improves health, as demonstrated by lower blood pressure in study participants.
To make it easier to stay consistent with your resolution to get up every hour, set an alarm on your phone or other devices.
In terms of immediate gratification, you'll feel better mentally and physically when you stand and stretch after sitting for a long time, and adding just a little cardiovascular activity can improve your mood.
Express gratitude daily
It just takes a little effort to find reasons to be grateful. And daily expressions of gratitude lead to many health and well-being benefits, including increased happiness and reduced stress levels.
Several studies during the height of the pandemic showed that practicing gratitude had the ability to reduce stress and improve mood. Gratitude practices can also reduce depression and increase self-esteem.
So, how do you practice gratitude daily? It can be as simple as making an effort to thank anyone you meet who gives you their time and energy.
For more consistency and routine, you can keep a gratitude journal and write three things in it every night that you were grateful for that day. For more than a decade, my husband and I have kept a white gratitude board in our bathroom.
Every night, we each write three things on it that we were grateful for that day.
Recognizing that you have reasons to be grateful is rewarding in itself. All the health benefits are just icing on the cake.
Pet your pet more
Approximately 68% of households in the United States have a pet, according to the National Institutes of Health. If you are a pet owner, you know the positive effects they provide through companionship and emotional support.
Dogs, in particular, can also promote an active lifestyle and some even detect impending epileptic seizures and the presence of cancer in their human companions.
In addition to simply having your pet in your home, spending time physically interacting with your pet can reduce stress and anxiety. While petting your pet, have you ever noticed an immediate feeling of calm and contentment spreading through both of you?
In a small study of 242 college students, researchers found that students showed more positive impacts on stress levels, happiness, and well-being when touching dogs compared to when just watching them, and positive mental health outcomes increased. with duration. Science confirms: you should commit to petting your dog more often.
Barring allergies or other issues, if you don't have a pet, perhaps now is the time to consider one. Shelters are full of dogs and cats eager to provide you with health benefits. That said, adding a pet to your home is an important, long-term emotional, physical, and financial responsibility—not a simple New Year's resolution.
As someone whose family includes five rescue dogs, I can attest to both the added responsibility and the enormous benefits. It's not always easy, but it's more than worth it for my family. Make sure it's the right choice for you and your family before making the commitment.
Source: CNN Brasil
I am an experienced journalist and writer with a career in the news industry. My focus is on covering Top News stories for World Stock Market, where I provide comprehensive analysis and commentary on markets around the world. I have expertise in writing both long-form articles and shorter pieces that deliver timely, relevant updates to readers.
