Healthy Habits
It can be easy to get sidetracked in the midst of a pandemic. But there are still habits that we can still practice at home to begin or maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Overcoming the Barriers to Exercise
Click the 'Podcast' button to listen to what we have to say about the barriers of exercise. If you enjoy that, more information on these topics can be found on the two exercise pages.
Daily Habits to do Right Now
Stretching
The benefits of stretching either in the morning or at night have been claimed but is there really a difference when you stretch? The benefits may depend on the type of stretches done during those time periods. Static stretching, defined by the article “Current concepts in muscle stretching for exercise and rehabilitation.”, is when a specific position is held with the muscle on tension to a point of a stretching sensation and repeated. Usually, we are taught to stretch before a workout but a few studies have shown that this may actually be detrimental to muscle strength if the stretches are static (Page 112). Due to this, dynamic stretches are considered ideal before a workout or sports event in order to increase muscle strength before physical activity (Page 113). With this in mind, dynamic stretches may be ideal in the morning in order to prepare us for the day while static stretches can be used at night. Benefits of both types of stretches include relieving muscle tension, increasing range of motion and increased flexibility (Page 112).
Gardening
The benefits of exercise outside versus inside are most notable in beginners than those who have been consistently exercising in regards to anxiety levels (Lawton 8). Considering a number of studies show the relationship between psychological well-being and how comfortable we are in nature, exercising outside may not be something everyone is comfortable with. Gardening can help someone build their relationship between themselves and nature while providing a key factor that improves mental health: autonomy. Autonomy is known to improve mental health due to increasing the feeling of control an individual has (Lawton 9). Picking what plants to have, where to put them and the schedule to tend to them can help promote well-being.
Staying Hydrated
Water intake has been stressed as an important part of our daily routine and fortunately it seems that society agrees. This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy. Most common complaint is that either you have to use the bathroom more often or it’s just hard to make sure you drink “enough water”. There’s a few factors that determine if we need water such as how much we sweat, thirst, urine color or physical symptoms of dehydration such as headaches or confusion (Jéquier pp. 117, 119,121). In order to combat the hassles of drinking water and avoiding dehydration can easily be done by replacing sodas at meals for water or focusing on getting most of your water intake at certain points of the day. For example, drinking a liter of water in the morning before leaving the house may be more convenient than drinking water throughout the day.
Minimalism
Minimalism has been on the rise and is praised for making daily choices easier. The Hick-Hyman Law is “one of the core phenomena in the study of human information processing: mean response time is a linear function of average uncertainty” (Wifall p. 555). In simpler terms, this means that as more options we have, the slower our reaction time is as we consider all the possibilities between our choices. Our minds don’t do well with over-stimulation because we really aren’t meant to multitask, but minimalism is all about reducing that stimulation that can be overwhelming (McMains 2011). Reducing the clutter around us is directly related to reducing the clutter in our heads, literally.
