Little steps make Big results!
Grab Your Toes and Pull - laying down or sitting down, grab your toes and pull the towards you. It will stretch your muscles and increase your circulation. This benefits every tendon, joint and muscle all the way from your hips to the tips of your toes. And with all the sitting we do all day. We can use all the help we can get.
Wash Your Linens - You know that we all love the feeling of freshly washed sheets, but sometimes it ends up being on the chore list of things that are just going to have to get done "later". Keeping your sheets and pillowcases freshly washed at least once a week can dust mites which can be a major allergy trigger. It is one of those chores that when you have it done, you fall into your fresh crisp sheets and are almost guaranteed a great night of sleep - and who couldn't use one of those.
Do 25 Jumping Jacks - Have you got a few minutes and are looking for a quick pick-me-up. Try some jumping jacks instead of that afternoon cup of coffee or trip to the vending machine. Also, physical movement can stop stress in its tracks and works as an instant mood elevator. Almost like magic.
Turn Your Phone off at Night / or at least on Silent - I am so guilty of keeping my phone on "just in case there is an emergency", and yet I am woken up constantly by middle of night email newsletters, other insomniacs facebook updates and weather reports. If you are nervous about there actually being an emergency like an ageing parent or a child newly out on their own -- you can set up your phone to actually ring through the do-no-disturb setting if the caller calls more than twice.
Get Your Shots - Be sure you are up on all your boosters, get your yearly flu shot. Talk with your Doctor about the new vaccines coming out for shingles and TDaP.
Keep Your Medical Info Handy - keep a card in your wallet, or a file readily available on your phone that has a list of any allergies that you might have or if you are like me and take medications every day keep a list of those and the doses that you take. It also is a really good idea to give this information to a spouse, or your primary contact, so that if you are every hurt and unable to speak for yourself, the doctors will be able to know your basic needs.
Crank Down the Volume - Nagging our children to turn down their music isn't just because their music drives us crazy. Music that is too loud, especially in headphone can damage hearing to the point of hearing loss. Try and follow the 60 / 60 rule - which is... Keep volume at no more that 60% of volume for more that 60 minutes a day. After that, try and keep it at a much more reasonable volume.
Nuke Your Sponge - right after your phone... and possibly your remote, your kitchen sponge is going to be the dirtiest thing in your house. Toss in in the dishwasher when you put in a load of dishes, or as you are finishing cleaning up your kitchen, put your damp sponge in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Don't Lose Sleep - Sleep is a necessity for me. I can't function if I don't get enough of it. That means, that I have had to learn lots of ways to teach myself to fall asleep. If you have trouble falling asleep some nights, learn some visualization techniques, some breathing exercises or even self-hypnosis. Find something that works for you. Sleep is much to important to our bodies to leave it up to chance.
Check Yourself Out - Once a month in a well lit room, check your body. Anything looking different or strange. Keep track of those cute little moles and freckles, any changes. If you can't see your back, use a mirror or get a loved to look for you. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in women.
Chomp on Some Carrots - Yes, they are amazing for you eyes. In fact, they are even more amazing than they were first thought to be. Plus adding a veggie snacking habit can only benefit in you in more ways that I could even list.
Wear an Activity Tracker - It is true that fancy fit-bits and expensive trackers are all the rage, but you can buy a cheap pedometer or turn on the activity tracker app on your phone and it counts steps too. The point is, people who wear an activity tracker are more active than those who don't. You can even a free pedometer sometimes at your local health department, because they work in getting us moving.
Have Your Heart Tested - It might have been a while since you had a full physical or had your health screened. Thanks for the Affordable Care Act - this service is available now to almost everyone. Check with your job human resources to see if they offer any free screenings at the office, or perhaps you can check with your local health department. If you go to Healthcare.Gov you can find a list of places that give free screenings in your area.
Fight the Blahs with Sunlight - During the winter months it can be so hard to get enough sunshine. Try and get some as soon as you wake up in the morning. I know this is a big one for me, so as soon as I roll out of bed, I groggily open my curtains. It isn't an instant cure all, but I feel so much better throughout the day as I walk through my house with the sunshine pouring is than I do will all my curtains pulled tight and living in the dark.
Say "Yes!" to Puppy Videos - it is a proven mood booster / smile maker and puppies videos make us happy. If you are not a puppy person, watch some kitty videos, or hamsters or grandmas dancing to club music. 5 minutes giving into the gorgeous goodness of life can do a lot to boost a poor mood.
Have an emergency Hot Cocoa - a study published in Appetite magazine says that even a little bit of chocolate can boost your mood immediately. yes, I did just give you the suggestion that you should eat chocolate to be healthy. (be sure you don't read over the part where I also said, little bit)
Go Outside! - It is absolutely great to go outside in the spring and fall, it is wonderful to go out in the summer time. But when the cold winter rolls around lots of use easy excuse of it being just too cold. But being outside is still amazing for us, even when the weather is cold. Fresh air is good for us and if combined with activity or exercise it is even better. I had a friend send me a message the other night, that she was feeling so upset and so she went outside to just have a little bit of peace quiet from her 4 kids. She told me about how standing in the cold night air, feeling the snowflakes fall on her face and breathing the night air made her feel so amazing. She took 5 minutes, went outside and it changed everything about how her day was going.
