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Achieving Wellness: 5 Simple Steps for Better Mental and Physical Health
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Health resolutions are at the top of the list every new year. The start of a year is a great time to reexamine what we want and how we can build an action plan to get it. It’s a time of self-reflection. What is my relationship with my body? How has my mental health changed over the past twelve months? How can I make my well-being a priority?
The answers to these questions look different for each person, but there are many practices we can all implement to boost our mental and physical health throughout 2023.
Attend Social Events
Meaningful social interactions are crucial. They promote healthy development and communication skills. They bring joy and support into our lives. They boost self-confidence and compassion, allowing us to empathize with others and build emotional intelligence. The COVID-19 pandemic uprooted and forever changed how we socialize.
We learned new ways to interact with our closest confidants and strangers alike. We followed Teamly’s advice and created strong team dynamics in our workplaces. We recognized that the most productive and successful work environments highlight employee wellness. We set up consistent check-ins with our coworkers and employees to clarify expectations and provide critical resources. In 2023, we’ll likely experience fewer (if any) lockdowns, and many of our companies will expect a turn toward pre-pandemic norms. However, we will maintain solid team dynamics and healthy work-life balances.
As social outings become more common, they can promote our health. Social events bring levity and excitement to our daily routines. We can engage in exercise through fitness classes, sing along to our favorite bands at their concerts, and join demonstrations for causes we hold close to our hearts. Social outings are some of the best ways to find entertainment and community, which are essential when improving health. For example, we might spend quality time with friends and root for our favorite competitors using Tick Pick’s tool for great deals on UFC tickets.
Get in the Kitchen
Unsustainable and often unsafe diet trends often find their way into our new year’s resolutions. This year, we can focus on cultivating practical, well-rounded diets that provide nutrients and allow us to enjoy delicious food and drinks.
Usually, the greatest enemy of a healthy diet is convenience. When we’re on the go and juggling responsibilities, we might not have the time or energy to cook three square meals a day. This is where meal prep comes in.
When we choose a day to cook and assemble our meals for the upcoming week, we make it easier to get the recommended calories, vitamins, and minerals we need for optimal health. We won’t have to swing by fast-food restaurants as often or skip meals because we’re too busy.
Cooking itself can also be a therapeutic and enjoyable practice. When you have excellent cookware, like the Gordon Ramsey-approved steel pans and cutting boards offered by HexClad, cooking becomes a pleasure rather than a hassle. This year, you can make sourcing fresh ingredients and preparing wholesome meals a resolution that you maintain.
You can combine your new year’s commitment to nutrition with a cleansing reset. Juice cleanses can be the perfect way to improve digestion, detox the mind and body, and boost immunity. PUR provides cold-pressed juice cleanses made with locally-produced and in-season ingredients. Not only are these juices delicious and smooth, but they also maintain 100% of the nutritional value of their raw ingredients. PUR also bottles local ingredients at the source whenever possible, helping reduce its carbon footprint. You can feel incredible as you enjoy the health benefits of a juice cleanse while supporting a business committed to sustainability.
Stay Active and Recover
Often, our diet resolutions go hand in hand with fitness goals. In 2023, there’s a lot we can do to stay active safely and help our bodies recover.
We all know (hopefully not by experience) that excessive or incorrect exercise can lead to injuries. Some of us may be trying to figure out how to start working out again while healing. Thankfully, there are resources like Incrediwear’s knee sleeve that accelerate recovery and relieve pain. You can wear it during and after a workout to avoid exacerbating the injury.
There are many exercises to incorporate into your routine to build muscular and cardiovascular strength. BarBend recommends hammer curls to boost your upper body and grip strength and make your wrists and biceps more resistant to injury.
Physical health doesn’t stop with effective and enjoyable workouts. You must focus on the recovery process. Getting enough sleep and consuming enough vitamins, H2O, and electrolytes will boost your energy and promote your overall fitness level. You might explore The IV Doc to discover IV drip therapy near you, helping you combat dehydration and fatigue from the comfort of your home or office. You can also follow in your favorite athlete’s footsteps by taking a cold plunge.
As 1AND1 Life explains, the cold plunge is a cold water bath (below 60 degrees Fahrenheit) that reduces swelling and inflammation and assists our bodies as they remove waste products from muscle tissue.
Start New Hobbies
With a handle on exercise, recovery, and nutrition, you can focus on implementing activities that spark joy, thus promoting your mental health. 2023 might be the year you start drawing or taking dance lessons. You might choose to study a new language or learn an instrument. You can use tools like Rocksmith+ professional-grade guitar tuner to receive real-time feedback and help you develop your musicality.
Hobbies are crucial to our mental health. They provide enjoyable challenges, relieve stress, and allow us to explore our passions and skills. They bring excitement to each day and increase our sense of well-being. You can also find community through your hobbies.
Treat Yourself
It’s been said many times in a joking or blase manner: Treat yourself. Though it sounds inconsequential, even frivolous, treating yourself has incredible health benefits.
When you give yourself something you want or enjoy extra rest or a spa day, you’re practicing self-compassion. You can do this in many ways. For example, you might explore Fleur du Mal’s luxury lingerie to find products that make you feel confident. You can upgrade your skincare routine by using Pacifica’s vegan collagen products that protect and nourish the skin.
As Oprah’s blog states, engaging in hobbies will enhance emotional recovery and improve how you respond to challenges. Treating yourself is like telling yourself that you’re worth it. You deserve to receive and enjoy good things. With this practice, you’ll see positive changes in your mental (and physical) health this year.
Conclusion
From buying yourself luxury lingerie to flexing your skills in the kitchen, you have many opportunities to promote your physical and mental health in 2023 and beyond.
