15 Small Actions That Can Make You Instantly Healthier

15 mini actions that you can take today that can make you instantly healthier and happier.

When massive transformations and massive results are the goal, it’s easy to believe that you need to make big, flip-the-world-upside-down types of changes to your daily routine.

The reality is (thankfully), less overwhelming.

You can start to be a healthier person, living a better life in mere moments. In fact, the most life-changing transformations I’ve ever experiences or seen resulted from small changes done consistently over time. Half steps rather than leaps and bounds. That’s where life-changing transformation occurs.

These tips might sound too easy. And if you’re thinking “what the heck, I could do that now if I wanted to!” then you are on the right track.

15 Tips That Can Make You Instantly Healthier

Yes, cutting out all added sugar, giving away your TV and committing to 60 minutes of exercise every day will make you healthier. But be real. We’re in the middle of a pandemic, the folks in your household might get pissed if you give away the TV and committing to 60 minutes of exercise every day for the rest of your life leaves very little wiggle room for mistakes.

The good news is you don’t have to give up the things you love to be healthier. You don’t have to flip your world upside down (in fact you shouldn’t)! All it takes to be instantly (seriously) healthier is a few conscious decisions throughout your day. For example, clicking on this article to learn something beneficial.

Start your day with a large glass of lemon water.

There are many benefits of starting your day with a glass of water. Whether warm or cold, rehydrating first thing in the morning flushes toxins and waste that have built up in your system over night, improves digestion, increases focus and energy and hydrates your skin. You’ve just spent 8 hours without a sip of water – of course you are thirsty!

Why add lemon? Squeezing half a lemon and adding fresh juice to your water gives you a boost of vitamin C and other antioxidants that protect your cells from damaging free radicals. Plus, it’s tasty which encourages you to drink more!

Refrain from drinking coffee for the first 2 hours you are awake.

“Waking your body up with coffee is like setting off a fire alarm as an alarm clock” – Aubrey Marcus (Onnit)

If coffee is the first thing in your empty stomach there is nothing to slow down it’s entry to your blood stream. And while that might sound like a good thing for caffeine-lovers, it’s not. Your body responds to the onslaught of caffeine by releasing a stress hormones en masse. Short term: there’s that kick in the butt you want to get you going. But once that initial rush wears off you are left in a more exhausted state than you started off in.

Your body, when left to it’s own devices, produces it’s own “wake up” hormones and signals. Coffee disrupts that. Plus, it leaves yo more dehydrated than you were when your alarm clock went off. Start with a tall glass of water. Let your body wake up on it’s own. Save your cup off coffee until a couple of hours later when the food in your belly slows the rush of caffeine to your system and actually helps to stand in for the “wake up” hormones that start to dissipate around that time.

p.s. Ladies, it might be beneficial to start weaning yourself off off coffee and caffeine in general. Studies show that caffeine can lead to breast and ovarian cysts, a higher risk of non-fatal heart attack, decreases fertility rates and a messed up gut biome.

Take a high quality multivitamin.

This is not breaking news. Vitamins and minerals prevent disease, help you feel energized and keep you healthy by preventing deficiencies. Ideally you get them from eating a wide variety of minimally processed, nutrient-dense foods. If you don’t get enough of them you’ll develop a deficiency and depending on the deficiency, experience negative symptoms.

Here’s what you might not know. Over 30% of Americans have some kind of nutrient deficiency at a clinical level (prolonged, with obvious symptoms). The number of people with sub-clinical deficiencies, sometimes in more than one nutrient, is much higher.

A high-quality multivitamin, like this one that I’ve been taking for more than 3 years now, can help to fill in the nutritional gaps and lay a solid foundation to build on. Yes, you should focus on eating as many whole foods as possible to get your vitamins and minerals from real food sources. BUT, the reality is we all have days that are sub-par. Keep in mind that your lifestyle – including exercise – may actually increase your need for above baseline recommendations.

Stop drinking calories.

Alcohol. Soda. Juice. Sports drinks. Empty calories with very little, if any, nutritional benefit. It’s far too easy to over-imbibe and consume more calories through a straw than you think you are…we just don’t think about the calories we drink the way we think about the calories we chew.

Cutting back on caloric-beverages not only reduces unnecessary calories from your diet, it reduces the amount of added sugar in your diet. The daily recommended added sugar limit for women is 25 grams (37.5 grams for men). The average sports drink contains 32 grams alone!

When it comes to alcohol specifically, keep in mind that alcohol is a toxin. Your body commits an abundance of effort to rid itself of the offending presence. That means that when you drink a beer or a glass of wine your body focuses on metabolizing the alcohol first…everything else (the burger you ate, the chips and guacamole, the game day snack foods), is second priority.

Meditate for 5 minutes.

There’s no secret here. Meditation has gained popularity over the last decade as a way to calm your mind, encourage self-acceptance, increase focus, manage pain and a slew of other wonderful benefits. And though 5-minutes might not be enough to reap all of the rewards, it’s enough to start a habit and find some peace.

Quiet your anxious mind. Reduce the noise pummeling your focus and energy. Fall asleep faster. Get inspired. Learn. Develop a long-lasting, life-changing habit. Those are a few things that you can gain from just 5-minutes of quiet meditation a day. Once you feel that sense of calm you are much more likely to grow with this habit.

Buy organic varieties of this list of fruits and vegetables.

There is no doubt that eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables contribute to a healthier you. But these varieties, aptly named The Dirty Dozen, are the crops that farmers and producers use the most chemicals and pesticides on. For these twelve items, it’s worth spending the extra money to buy organic.

The Dirty Dozen

• Apples
• Celery
• Cherries
• Grapes
• Kale
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Potatoes
• Strawberries
• Spinach
• Tomatoes

Set a meal timer.

One of the simplest and yet most powerful ways to improve your health is to eat slowly. It improves digestion, leads to great satisfaction and ultimately, weight loss. And yet we’re so distracted and rushed that we inhale what’s in front of us faster than we can download TikTok.

It takes your brain roughly 20 minutes to recognize fullness signals from your body and translate that into the idea that you should stop eating. Next time you sit down to dinner, time yourself. In all likelihood, you won’t get anywhere close to a full 20 minutes (I’m not calling you out, that’ true for the vast majority of humans). You don’t have to jump right to max minutes to reap the benefits. Start by adding 2 minutes to that timer. Gradually work your way towards a full, enjoyable, undistracted meal time.

Unplug a couple of hours before bed.

Quality sleep is the gift that keeps on giving. From losing weight, to recovering from illness, to managing stress, to a healthy metabolism, to staying focused – getting a good nights sleep is imperative to your health and happiness. And yet…

To instantly improve your health, create a nightly ritual that helps you sleep soundly. Part of that nightly routine should be disconnecting from electronic devices. Your phone, tablet, lap top and TV emit blue light. Blue light triggers your brain to stay awake and alert. That’s the last thing you want in the few hours before bed, when your body naturally wants to unwind, un-focus and rest.

Two hours before your bedtime turn off the TV and put your phone away. Immediately you will feel less anxious. No more cruising Insta, no more answering work emails. Instead grab a book, a cup of tea and let your body do it’s thing without interference.

Call to make those appointments you’ve been putting off.

All of those appointments with doctors that you graciously pay health insurance for? The ones you’ve been putting off? Make them.

Take the time now, before you need medicine, to check in with your health care providers. Ask questions, get answers and dig deeper. The more information you have about your health the more educated your choices can be. If you don’t choose make time now, you will be forced to make time later.

Create a sleep zone.

There are few things you can accomplish simpler or faster than turning down the heat. That’s just one step you can take to instantly improve your health by creating a space that is more conducive to a restful night’s sleep. Your body runs through hundreds of processes even while you sleep. It produces hormones that are imperative for health and recovery. It digests, protects, repairs, and grows. Help it do all of those things by setting up a sleep atmosphere that is contributes to a higher quality of sleep.

• Turn the heat down. Studies show that 68 degrees is the ideal temperature for sleep.
• Close the shades.
• Get rid of any blue light producing electronics.
• Clean up clutter.
• Invest in a good mattress and pillows.
• Get a white noise machine.

Call a friend.

You cannot unravel the connection between mental health and physical health. Take a moment to reach out to a friend, loved one or mentor who you haven’t spoken to in a while. It will put a smile on your face, a smile on their face and lift both of your moods.

A year into this global pandemic we’re realizing just how isolated we feel. If you can’t physically see the people you used to see, reach out in other ways. Humans need humans. We are social beings (introverts and extroverts alike). The very idea of connecting with another person is enough to change your mood.

Eliminate 1 fake food from your diet.

Want instant results? Cut out the fake friends. Fake food…I mean. Processed foods sit on your shelf packed full of preservatives, sugars, trans fats, additives, and lab-produced flavorings. Your body doesn’t need that junk, nor does it want it.

Improve your health and begin to reduce cravings by eliminating just a single “fake food” at a time. Here’s how to know if you should throw it out:

1. Doesn’t require a label when you buy it? Keep it.
2. Requires a label but has less than 5 ingredients but you recognize every one? Keep it.
3. Requires a label and has more than 5 ingredients but your grandmother would recognize every one? Keep it.
4. Requires a label and no matter how many ingredients it has, lists something that you can’t pronounce and don’t recognize? Ditch it.

Move more.

Move your body every day. It doesn’t have to be a workout. You don’t always have to make it to the gym. But your body is happiest when it’s moving. Get up and get moving. Add a little bit more to every day. Schedule a 10-minute walk at lunch. Set a reminder to get up from your desk every hour. Take your dog for a hike. Stretch. Set a step goal. Every little bit counts.

Practice deep breathing.

In all types of exercise – from yoga to running to power lifting – breathwork is important. Most of us don’t practice breathing. I learned recently that despite years of exercising and practicing breathing, deep, full breaths aren’t natural for me when I’m at rest.

Conscious breathing is easy to do. You can do it anywhere and induce immediate benefits. Wherever you are simply pause, close your eyes, breath deeply all the way into your belly and slowly exhale. Repeat. You will instantly feel more connected to yourself, calmer, less anxious and more energized.

Take 5 minutes for yourself.

In a society that glorifies productivity, it is uncommon to seek out time for oneself. But just 5 minutes a day is enough to reconnect with your emotions, your physical and mental wellness, and your environment. I encourage all of my clients to start finding small, 5-minute chunks of time during their day in which they can let go of their responsibilities to everyone else and focus solely on the responsibility of prioritizing the self.

Think of all that you can accomplish in just 5 minutes of Me Time. You could practice meditation or deep breathing. Write in a gratitude journal. Make a cup of chamomile tea. You could schedule your workouts. Or you could simply sit in the quiet and peace of consciousness.

Bonus: learn something new.

The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know. Julia Goss

If there is one thing that has truly helped me maintain my sanity and develop a growth mindset over the past years it’s this: learning something new every single day. Most of us are pretty good at a few things. And while it’s impossible to be an expert at all things, learning is not just about idle musings.

Learning something new widens your perspective. It gives you more information upon which to act and react. Knowledge helps you to adapt and grow, create and inspire. It builds confidence. You have been learning your whole life. Don’t pause that momentum.