5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Health for 2021

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Small Changes Can Help You Improve Your Health for 2021

If the year 2020 has taught us anything, it is that our health cannot be taken for granted. Perhaps you are looking forward to a new year and a new you. You want to improve your health as much as possible but aren’t quite ready to be a gym rat? Yeah, me too.

We all know it can be very difficult to set new goals and achieve them. But when it comes to your health, every small step in the right direction matters. Even if all you can manage are a few small changes, they can have big effects on your overall health and wellness. Here are five super easy ways that you can improve your health for the upcoming year by making small, manageable changes.

Drink More Water

We all know that water is extremely important to how our bodies function. Yet, it seems like everything you read says to drink so many glasses of water that it just seems overwhelming. Think about your current water intake. Perhaps you’re like me and drinking water is literally not something you desire doing at all. There are so many fantastic, yummy beverages out there that just fixing a glass of water doesn’t appeal...unless you make it a priority for your wellness.

Even drinking one more glass of water than you normally do, can have a significant impact on your health. It can relieve headaches. Help your achy joints. And help your digestive system move more smoothly. Your skin will be more refreshed and you will just feel better. So, make it a priority to just drink one more glass of water today. Maybe start your morning every day with a glass of water. Just this small step can have great benefits for your health. Perhaps you can replace one regular beverage every day with a glass of water instead. If your goal is to lose a little weight in the new year, one less soft drink a day would be helpful, right?

When you’re ready, set a new goal and work toward the daily recommendations of water.

Take Short Walks

Walking 30 minutes at a time 4 to 5 days a week can have a significant impact on your heart health as well as maintaining a healthy weight. But if you are a bit standoffish about making that big of a change to your regular lifestyle, did you know that taking short walks has benefits as well? Just getting up and walking around for five minutes several times a day will not only get your blood moving around, but also keep you from sitting for long periods of time.

Take your short walks out the front door and around the yard. Maybe walk down to the mailbox or down to the street. Walk around the house. Just get up and move around. You may find that five minutes turns into 10 minutes before you even realize it. These brief walks are great mental health breaks and contribute to a life of mindfulness. Take a look around you. Notice what you see, hear, smell. Find something new and interesting to look at. These moments force you to take a bit of time away from your daily routine and reset your body to a state of movement rather than stasis.

Setting this small goal of taking short walks each and every day will have you looking forward to these moments, feeling much less stressed, and enjoying the health benefits of improved circulation. Just 5 minutes! . You can do that!

Simplify Your Digital Life

For 2021, wouldn’t it be nice to decrease some of your digital stress? Perhaps your digital life seems to be a little out of control. How many hours a day do you think that you spend online with various social media platforms? How much drama in your life do you think could be eliminated just by simplifying your digital footprint a little bit?

It could be as simple as choosing one hour every day to go tech-free. Or perhaps you can eliminate some of the notification systems on your social media to cut down on digital intrusions on your day. Unsubscribe to some of those emails that you are never going to read.

In short, find ways to simplify your digital life so that you have a bit more free time for the things that truly matter. It also helps you to avoid getting sucked in to those endless and pointless conversations that do nothing but cause you stress. You know those digital trolls are everywhere and it makes their day to ruin yours. Don’t give them that opportunity.

Drink Green Tea

While you’re enjoying a moment of tech-free downtime, why not have a little cup of green tea? Did you know that green tea has some really awesome health benefits? Like helping your brain work better? It might even help you lose a little weight. Some studies even suggest that green tea could help protect you against cancer or lower the risks of heart disease.

I’d say that’s reason enough to brew up some hot water and make you a nice little cup of green tea. You can buy it in premade tea bags just like your regular black tea. Or you can buy loose leaf green tea and get yourself a fancy tea diffuser. Either way, toss in a lemon slice or a bit of honey or trying a new green tea recipe, but try to work in a cup of green tea every day. Your brain and your health will thank you.

Relax Your Mind and Body with a Little Yoga

Okay, you knew this one was coming, right? But you don’t have to be a fancy yogi to work a little yoga into your life. Yoga helps to relax your mind and your body and keep you limber and flexible. All of those things are great for your mental and physical health. But before you go freaking out about doing yoga, just remember that there are lots of different types of yoga poses, and some of them are very easy to do. Why not learn three or four yoga poses that you can easily do on your own without having to commit to a full-blown yoga program?

Here are a few recommended, very easy yoga poses that anyone can do.

• Mountain pose--improves posture and helps you feel more centered.
• Tree pose--helps improve balance and leg strength
• Child’s pose--helps relieve back pain
• Corpse pose--helps your whole body relax

Take a few moments each day to work in a yoga pose or two. It doesn’t take long to feel the effects of a good stretch and well-positioned pose. Maybe after you master one or two yoga poses you'll want to learn some more of them?

The Takeaway

Making small changes can have big impacts if you make them a part of your routine. Maybe those smaller changes can improve your health enough to encourage you to do more. It could be just the oomph you need to kick off your new year with a better focus on your own health and wellness. I wish you the best in 2021!

I am Christina. I am a writer. I like writing to make people's lives better.

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