4 Simple Long-Term ‘Hacks’ For a Better Life
Health and wellbeing have become buzzwords in modern society, with people becoming increasingly aware of the ways they can live a better life.
However, it can sometimes to balance the demands of daily life with the desire to implement the things proven to provide a healthier lifestyle.
Regular exercise, quality sleep and eating a balanced diet are amongst the key facets of a healthy life, although many people struggle to fit them all into their busy schedules.
The desire to be healthy and well can sometimes become the impossible dream, but even small changes to each day can have a massive difference.
Read on as we look at four simple long-term ‘hacks’ everyone can try to give themselves the best chance of living a better life.
Start the day with breakfast
The phrase ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ may be overstating things a little, but the sentiment is a life hack that everyone should try to embrace.
People who skip breakfast tend to find themselves feeling hungry by mid-morning and then start to snack on foods that are bad for them.
Eating a healthy breakfast is a great way to start the day, providing the fuel your body needs to tackle the trials and tribulations of daily life.
Nutrition specialist, Kelsey Herrick, says that a person’s body and brain works best when provided with morning fuel.
“If you are not nourishing your body at breakfast, your energy can be low, your productivity and concentration could be lacking,” she said.
“Cravings for higher calorie treats will increase and you can be left feeling irritable until your first meal or snack. Breakfast also helps you to have better control of your appetite which also helps with weight management.
“For those individuals with very high calorie needs, missing any opportunity to eat can make it very challenging to meet your nutrition goals.”
Sleep your way to better health
Numerous studies have shown that adults need between 7-9 hours’ sleep per night to function at their best the following day.
Failing to get enough sleep can leave you feeling irritable, meaning that your concentration levels suffer as the day progresses.
It can also have adverse impact on your long-term health, increasing the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, stroke and more.
With that in mind, searching for the best online mattress should be high on your list of priorities in order to improve your chances of sleeping your way to better health.
Sleep expert, Matthew Walker, says that getting the requisite amount of quality sleep every day is a vital component of a healthy lifestyle.
“Once you get past 16 hours of being awake, that’s when we start to see mental deterioration and physiological deterioration in the body,” he said.
“We know that after you’ve been awake for 19 or 20 hours, your mental capacity is so impaired that you would be as deficient as someone who was legally drunk behind the wheel of a car.
“If you were to ask me what is the recycle rate of a human being, it does seem to be about 16 hours and we need about eight hours of sleep to repair the damage of wakefulness. Wakefulness essentially is low-level brain damage.”
Reduce your sugar intake
There are a plethora of research studies that say consuming too much sugar can greatly increase your chances of dying from cardiovascular disease.
While certain foods contain natural sugars, it is the additional sugar that is added into a daily diet that can cause issues such as obesity.
A small amount of sugar can certainly contribute to healthy diet, but it is important to control the consumption to ensure it stays within safe limits.
Health expert, Dr Robert Lustig, says that reducing daily sugar intake is a life hack that everyone should try to embrace.
“We need to wean ourselves off sugar,” he said. “We need to de-sweeten our lives. We need to make sugar a treat, not a diet staple.
“The food industry has made it into a diet staple because they know when they do you buy more – this is their hook.
“If some unscrupulous cereal manufacturer went out and laced your breakfast cereal with morphine to get you to buy more, what would you think of that? They do it with sugar instead.”
Build a social support network
Spending time with other people is a great way to enhance your quality of life and can help to reduce your stress levels.
Setting time aside during the week to be with friends and family plays an important part in your psychological wellbeing.
Having good friends and a supportive family network has been proven to relieve stress and increase a person’s enjoyment of life.
Respected psychologist, William Chopik, says that people who have a strong circle of friends to support them have a better chance of living a good life.
“Friendships are really important for people’s happiness,” he said. “In general, they offer improvements on metrics like depression and anxiety.
“Friends serve as a source of support. You can share things with them that you may feel you can’t with partner or family member—particularly if you’re having trouble with said partner or family member.
“These are relationships of choice. You choose to hang out together because you enjoy each other’s company.”
Living a better life – the final word
In an ever-increasingly pressurized world it might seem impossible to live a happy life, but embracing a few simple changes can make a real difference to your health and wellbeing.
A few tweaks to your diet, sleep and social life can serve to give you a better life without requiring too much effort, so implement them now and reap the rewards!
