You might not be aware of how much significance a daily habit can have on your wellness. There have been studies done and stories of individuals who have transformed their lives through subtle changes. Although the results of micro-habits aren’t immediate, we can see the effects of our efforts in the long run. In this article we will dive into 9 Micro-habits for wellness that can have lasting effects on our overall happiness and quality of life. We will also discuss the methods used to uphold our desired habits.
Since we live in a fast-paced world which rewards us instantly, it is not easy to follow through with delayed-gratification. Even though social media rewards us instantly with memes, likes and joyful interactions, it doesn’t compare to the pleasure we feel when we’ve accomplished a large task at hand. It’s completely possible to change your habits and learn to love the process of delayed gratification.
What are micro-habits?
Micro-habits are small actions we implement in our daily routines to create lasting results and help us achieve our long term goals.
An example of a micro-habit: Reading 10 pages of a book each day.
Reading 10 pages a day might not seem like a powerful habit, however, over time 10 pages become 300 and eventually you have finished an entire book. (Reading 10 pages a day amounts to 12 average sized books per year.) If you feel as though you don’t have the energy to make big changes, you can start with the small ones and still feel remarkable shifts within your life.
How to follow through on desired habits
A very important step in following through on your daily habits is to set the goal and visualise what you’re striving for in your life. It will be much easier to accomplish small daily tasks when you have the bigger picture in mind.
You can set up a vision board to remind yourself of your objectives. Place the vision board in a place that you’re able to see clearly every morning. Having a visual of your goal will make it feel as though it’s right around the corner and you will be more motivated to take steps in the right direction.
You can set your goals accordingly. Reflect on what you want. Do you want better health? Ask yourself what subtle change you can make each day to get you closer to your target. It can be as simple as drinking more water throughout the day to keep yourself hydrated.
Downloading special apps for scheduling activities can help immensely. Setting reminders on our phones can help us remember our habits.
Healthy habits to implement in our daily lives
If you have doubts about accomplishing your goals, you can keep in mind that it doesn’t take too long to create a habit. Science says that the average time for creating a habit is 66 days. You may also develop a habit in 18 days or less. So you must take it one day at a time, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel each day. Remind yourself what you’re striving towards.
Let’s get into the 15 micro-habits for wellness you could potentially implement into your routine.
1. Drink a Glass of Lemon Water First Thing in the Morning
Water plays a key role in our health. It helps detoxify our organs and bring nutrients to our cells, which intern brings longevity and vitality to our lives. Adding a lemon kickstarts your vitamin C levels for the day as well as helping your body stay hydrated.
To create this healthy habit, keep a glass of water by your bedside or set a reminder. You can cut or juice a lemon the night before. That way you give yourself assurance that you will find the time to do it in the morning without much hassle.
2. Stand Up and Stretch Every Hour
Stretching might not seem as impactful, however merely stretching 10 minutes per day has profound effects on our bodies. Stretching helps us keep our muscles flexible and aids with blood circulation.
You can use an app or mark it on your schedule to help you enforce your habit.
3. Practice Deep Breathing
The beauty of micro-habits is that they are extremely simple and easy to implement in your daily routine. Breathing deeply will reduce stress, as well as improve oxygen flow and relax your entire nervous system.
Take a minute to focus on slow, deep breaths. Try inhaling for 4 seconds, holding for 4 seconds, and exhaling for 4 seconds.
4. Take a Short Walk After Meals
Taking a short walk after every meal will aid digestion, stabilise blood sugar levels, and boost your mood. It’s very important to get our blood flowing during the day especially after meals.
If you find it difficult to leave the house, or you don’t have enough mental energy, you can start by taking a walk around your home, or in your yard. Even a 5-10 minute walk will give you immense results over time.
5. Replace One Sugary Drink with Water
We know it’s very important to stay properly hydrated throughout the day. We might think we’re intaking enough fluid when we’re drinking such things as sodas, however, sodas could potentially have harmful ingredients which impedes our bodies from receiving true hydration.
You can start by swapping out one soda or juice for a glass of water each day, and keep your health goals in mind to help you enforce your decision.
6. Add a Serving of Vegetables to Each Meal
Adding a serving of vegetables to each meal will increase your energy and boost your nutrient intake. It might help your body to fight off chronic diseases in the long run. That’s why it’s important to be mindful of what we consume and reflect on how it will affect us later.
If it’s hard for you to eat vegetables plainly, you can start by adding a small amount of greens in your regular meals. Substituting certain foods with small amounts of veggies will help you implement the habit into your daily routine.
7. Limiting Time on Social Media.
As life can sometimes feel chaotic, most of us tend to turn to social media for our daily dose of dopamine boosts. We constantly feel the need to distract ourselves which doesn’t leave much time for reflection or understanding of our thoughts or emotions. Although social media is great in small amounts, at times it’s necessary to silence the outside world.
Putting away your phone when you really want to reach over and check your instagram, facebook, or snapchat can be extremely beneficial for your overall mental health and wellness. You can set limits on your apps to help you recognise just how much time you’re spending on your phone.
8. Limit Screen Time Before Bed
Limiting blue light exposure before bed has been said to have enormous benefits on our sleep quality and melatonin production. If you’d like to improve your sleep quality, it’s better to stop using your phone try not using your phone or laptop for at least 30 minutes before bed.
Setting up limits on your apps or reminders to shut off your phone is a good way to enforce this habit. Try to substitute your phone habit with another healthier one. You can find yourself a long skin-care routine, or try picking up a book before you go to sleep.
9. Say ‘I love you’ in the mirror.
Saying ‘I love you’ daily can boost your mood throughout the day and have powerful long lasting effect on your self esteem. This simple action can have an impact on your interactions and how receptive people act towards you. The more we love ourselves the more the world rewards us, and this can simply be done by telling ourselves ‘I love you’ in the mirror, which helps us believe it more and more each day.
An easy way to remember this action would be to write ‘I love you’ on the mirror, that way you wouldn’t forget to tell yourself each day.
Do not get discouraged if you don’t see results right away. The point of micro-habits are that they are small and subtle changes that can lead to a healthier lifestyle without feeling overwhelmed. Therefore the effects won’t be immediate, however, they will have a powerful impact on your quality of life. Start with one or two, and gradually build them into your daily routine for health and wellness.
You can choose one or a few habits from our list of 9 micro-habits for wellness, and start to implement them into your routine. You can test them out and see which ones work best for you and your health.
