From exercising 30 minutes daily to fuelling with healthy food, little adaptations to routine can help maximise productivity levels and make you feel happier.
The main challenge when getting into a healthy routine is consistency and discipline, so it is about making small changes and then motivating yourself to stick to the habit and prolong that feel-good factor.
If you want to feel happier and confident, here are six tips for feeling better in 30 days.
GOAL SETTING
Goal setting gives you vision and motivation to plan and achieve something, whether it’s for sport or in the workplace.
Everyone has big dreams but they cannot be achieved that easily and need to be broken down into small and long-term goals.
Start by coming up with small goals, from what foods you want to cut out of your diet to different changes you may want to make in your life.
Achieving goals, no matter how small, will give you confidence, but should you not achieve them, don’t feel disheartened and try and turn this into a positive by altering your aims and setting out to achieve them in a different way.
If you don’t set goals, how do you truly know what you want?
EATING HEALTHY FOODS
‘Eat well, feel-good’ may seem like a much-used cliché but it is crucial to maintain a healthy weight and reducing the risk of heart disease.
Carbohydrates, proteins and fats are all building blocks to provide energy and lead to overall better performance in the mind and body.
Start by eating more vegetables, fruit and meat and you will see the results mentally and physically.
DRINKING WATER
Drinking between one and four litres of water a day will help you look better and focus better.
The most common cause of headaches and migraines is dehydration so drinking regular water will help prevent this, as well as improving your metabolism.
For athletes, keeping hydrated will allow you to perform more effectively and keep your joints and muscles more supple, which in turn will prevent injury.
EXERCISE DAILY
Exercising daily improves your strength and cardiovascular system to help provide more energy to your body. In addition, it increases blood flow to, and oxygen levels in, the brain which boosts concentration and helps reduce the risk of diseases.
Whether you walk for 30 minutes or jog on the treadmill for a similar period, exercise reduces blood power, cholesterol levels and fuels the cells that fight viruses and bacteria. Consistent exercise will make you look and feel better.
PROPER SLEEPING PATTERNS
Sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle and vital for mental health and hormone balance. Whether you’ve just finished a 12-hour shift at work or a heavy two-hour fitness session, your body needs to recover both mentally and physically.
We are not machines, therefore between six and eight hours sleep a night will help your body recover and strengthen itself.
Proper sleeping patterns will increase performance, decrease the risk of injury and weight gain, and make you feel fresh.
STRETCH DAILY
One area that is often overlooked is stretching, even though keeping your muscles flexible has major benefits.
Lengthening tight muscles through stretching will improve your posture and make you feel more confident.
Stretching also decreases the risk of injury and can assist in making you faster and fitter.
Why not take up a yoga or pilates class once a week and see the benefits stretching has for the mind and body?
