20 Actions to Improve Health Success This Summer
The sun is shining, there’s a warm breeze and the sound of the full leafy trees rustling down the street. Summer is here, and it’s the perfect time to start improving on your physical and emotional well-being. Your health success depends on your mindset, and attainable goals you choose for yourself can help you on that journey.
Here are 20 actions to help improve your health success this summer:
1. Go to Bed early
Sleep is essential to the proper functioning and healing of our bodies. Good quality and quantity of sleep can help with memory, metabolism, mental health, cardiovascular health, athletic performance and most importantly immune function. Studies show that people who don’t get quality sleep or who aren’t getting enough are more likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus, such as a common cold virus. Lack of proper night time rest can also affect how fast you recover, if you do get sick. Quality sleep is an essential requirement for your immune system to work properly.
As the saying goes, “an hour before midnight is worth two afterwards”.
2. Increase your fitness frequency
Instead of working out longer, try shorter, more frequent fitness sessions.
3. Add Vitamin K2
This nutrient plays a vital role in making sure any calcium you consume, makes its way into your bones and not your arteries.
- Natto
- Eel
- Cheese
- Beef Liver
- Chicken
- Butter
- Sauerkraut
- Egg Yolks
4. Take a time out
Everyone needs downtime, whether it be a hike or weekend getaway. Taking time to rest has many health benefits, including increased immunity, can provide a memory boost, lowers anxiety and increases productivity.
5. Increase your Protein
Protein is a macro-nutrient that plays an essential role in thousands of functions within the human body. The building blocks that make up protein are known as amino acids. For optimal health, your body needs all the essential amino acids in the right ratios. Add a healthy source of protein to every meal and snack. Protein rich foods, including plant-based protein foods, are an important part of healthy eating. They include foods such as beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, lean meats and poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, lower fat milk and lower fat dairy products. For a more detailed list of high protein foods, check out Canada’s Food Guide.
6. Make it Colder
Cold showers reduce anxiety & soothes tired muscles. Sleeping in a cooler room improves quality of sleep and prevents disease, and even slows down the aging process.
7. Schedule weekly planning sessions
Each week set aside time to review and plan. Set a list of goals for the week, then decide what days they each need to be completed. Failing to plan is planning to fail.
8. Save your money
Set an automated transfer into one or two special accounts with every paycheck and you’ll be amazed at how you can accumulate resources without even knowing. Some banks even offer a “round up” savings option where you can deposit the difference on any purchase to the nearest dollar and add to your savings account.
9. Meal Preparation
This will help you regain some time and decrease the chance of off-track eating.
- Choose a few meals for the week and batch clean, chop and cook them ahead of time to make meal time quick and easy.
- Pack up any leftovers for an on-the-go lunch.
- Keep prepared snacks in the fridge for a cool, refreshing and healthy treat in warmer weather. Fruits and vegetables are a great choice as they are nutritious, delicious, and hydrating.
BONUS TIP: If you love smoothies, double your recipe the next time you make one for yourself. Freeze the extra in popsicle molds for a healthy, cold summer treat on a hot day.
10. Get more Fresh air
When the weather is nice, get outdoors! Benefits are lowering blood pressure, reduces stress and simply makes us happier. Make the most of the warm and sunny days ahead by spending more time outside.
11. Send a Message to a Loved One
Write an extra message in a birthday card or even send a letter “just because”
Leaving a handwritten note lets your loved one(s) know how important they are to you.
12. Test out some new recipes
Don’t get stuck in a rut …. do a search on Google or check out our board on Pinterest for healthy dinner recipes and find some new recipes to try. Try picking up something new at a local farmers market where you can find fresh produce in season. Then search for a recipe based on your new ingredient!
13. Don’t eat until noon
Fasting has become popular and for good reason; improves blood sugars and boost brain function.
Intermittent fasting is an eating plan that switches between fasting and eating on a regular schedule. Research shows that intermittent fasting is a way to manage your weight and prevent — or even reverse — some forms of disease. Read more about how to do it safely, and learn more about the benefits from Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Mark Mattson.
14. Take magnesium before bed
Trouble falling or staying asleep? You may be magnesium deficient.
Magnesium is a mineral you need to get from your diet. Try increasing the amounts of magnesium rich foods you eat at dinner. Great sources include spinach, Swiss chard, black beans, almonds, pumpkin and chia seeds, and dark chocolate.
You could also add a supplement to your bedtime routine and see what happens.
16. Make Time for connecting
Schedule time for your social life. Set regular date nights with your spouse, plan special activities with your children, take time to visit with friends and family. Plan your priorities first and work the rest of your schedule around them. Rocks first … sand last.
17. Start a gratitude journal
Where your attention goes your energy flows. Speak more about what you are thankful for and less about what’s wrong.
This is a very simple yet, very powerful exercise. At the end of every day, write down a positive experience that you’ve had. What have you done today to make someone happy? What has someone done for you? What have you learned? What are you grateful for?
Positive psychology research has shown that people who do this exercise each day for one week will have improved life satisfaction, are happier, calmer, and notice decreased feelings of depression. People even report less sickness and better sleep!
Make this a regular practice and you will notice a huge shift in your health.
18. Wake up earlier
Early morning is often the most productive and least distracted time we have available. With an earlier sunrise in the summer months, getting an early start is easier to do.
Early sun light exposure first thing in the morning is important for winding our body’s internal clock and calibrating high quality sleep at day’s end. Surprise bonus: It also correlates with healthier body weight!
Getting more sunlight is a great way to increase your intake of Vitamin D, which along with being necessary in building and maintaining healthy bones has a list of other benefits.
19. Drink more water
Enough said.
20. Add spinal testing to your chiropractic routine.
