Turning Health Habit Intentions Into Health Habit Actions

     You struggle to drag your half-asleep body out of bed early in the morning to go to the gym. You choke down a bland, leafy salad instead of the cookie you see sitting on the counter. You go to bed before your favorite show comes on TV. You don't like to do these things (or at least I don't like to do these things), but you do them to keep your body in good, healthy shape.
     For me, I always thought I did these things to maintain my physical well-being. As I've dived into this topic of psychological well-being, though, I've found that enough sleep, a balanced diet and an exercise routine all help your mind just as much as your body.
     So how do I, and the many others out there who have good health habit intentions, turn those intentions into actions? Here are some tips to help.

Sleep 

     The Sleep 101 app on my phone tells me I'm a consecutively 96 percent efficient sleeper. I don't buy it. I never wake up refreshed, and I feel as if I spend more time waking up and tossing and turning than I actually do in a REM cycle. Anyone else feel my pain?

     Here are some tips taken from the Mayo Clinic and The Happiness Project to help you start working towards better sleep habits ...

 

     Along with being more rested and refreshed, good sleep habits allow you to learn more and retain more information. Researchers have found that sleep accelerates your ability to learn. While sleeping, you process the information you gained the day prior. So the more sleep you get, the more information you can remember and process. Let's get sleeping!

     Exercise

     Who really wants to wake up at 5:45 every morning to be at the gym by 6? I know I don't. And who really wants to be all sweaty and exhausted (again) by 7:30 in the morning? I don't enjoy the sweaty part, but the exhaustion does eventually wear off.

     I've probably made up every excuse in the book not to go to the gym ... I was up too late the night before, my knee hurts, it's really not making much of a difference. While your excuses for sticking to your exercise routine may differ from mine, getting started and sticking to that routine can be the hardest part. Apply some of these exercise tips to your gym routine, and I bet you'll start to find it easier to move your butt to the gym.

 

     While these tips will hopefully get your more excited and willing to go to the gym, researchers now say people need to focus on the psychological benefits of exercising as much as, if not more than, the physical benefits. By connecting on a more emotional level and allowing people to see the benefits of exercising in the now instead of in the future, this change in the way exercise is perceived will make it easier to get started and stick with it. No more excuses!

Balanced Diet

     If I had to pick one type of food I could gorge myself on for the rest of my life it would either have to be my mom's homemade baklava or her homemade mac and cheese - two extremely sugary or salty, high caloric choices that absolutely put me at ease.

     As much as I'd like to eat mac and cheese for every meal and baklava as a snack every time I get hungry, I know I can't because they are not the healthiest of options for me. Finding that balance in terms of diet is key - I may not be able to eat mac and cheese and baklava every day, but I can have them once in a while.

     Everyone's definition of a balanced diet differs because of allergies, likes and dislikes of certain foods and other factors. An easy way, though, to figure out how to have a balanced diet with whatever types of food you like best is by using the Food Pyramid.

Photo courtesy of seniorjournal.com

 

     Remember that your health habits not only affect your physical well-being but your psychological well-being as well. You might find some of these tips work for you while others don't, but being aware of what choices you're making and how they affect your well-being will help you start making those positive changes.