Healthy Activities

Our minds and bodies benefit from a certain amount of consistency and regularity each day. Below are some tips on how to increase our health and happiness by living a healthier daily life. Relaxed Pace and Gentle Transitions
Moving from one activity to another throughout the day works better when we have a relaxed and easy pace. This is because our internal energies naturally flow from one function to another in a smooth and regular fashion. Allowing ourselves to slow down and transition more gently from one thing to another has a genuine healing effect. Reduce Multi-tasking
When we multi-task, our focus and concentration are split between multiple activities. This energetic split causes us to become less efficient and more agitated. When this process goes on long enough, we become scattered, restless, anxious, and frustrated. Slowing down and doing one thing at a time is actually faster than doing several things at once because we are more focused, efficient and relaxed. It is not always possible to do just one thing at a time, but the more often we do, the healthier we become. Morning Time
Getting around 8 hours of sleep the night before, helps us wake up rested in the morning.
Waking up slowly in the morning and starting our activities gradually helps the day get going smoothly. 
Scheduling time to have a healthy breakfast benefits our entire day. A healthy breakfast does not have to be complicated or time consuming.  
Scheduling a few extra minutes to get to work or school makes our commute much more relaxing (specially when there is extra traffic or an accident). When you notice how stressed many of our fellow motorists are on the road as they try not to be late, it is easy to see how beneficial an extra five minutes in our morning routines can be. Work Time
Leaving our workspace clean and ready to go the day before makes transitioning into work more relaxing and enjoyable. 
Having a few meaningful mementos in our workspace helps brighten our day and have a relaxing and calming influence. 
Taking breaks during the workday is a necessary part of maintaining our focus and concentration. Even getting up and walking around for a few minutes has a beneficial effect. 
Eating lunch on break is an important part of a healthy day. Skipping lunch or working at lunch makes things more difficult for our bodies and peace of mind. 
Leave work at work whenever possible. Transitioning out of work and into the rest of our lives is important. We benefit most from leaving work mentally, emotionally and physically at the end of the day. Evening Time
Taking a few minutes to settle in when we arrive home is very helpful. Putting away our work things, changing into home clothes and simply catching our breath for a few minutes allows us to mentally shift into home gear. 
Prioritizing what we need to do around the house helps us mentally relax. Some things might need to happen now, and others might need to wait for another time (perhaps the weekend). Knowing the stove we want to clean or the floor we want to mop will get done during the weekend allows us to mentally let it go on Wednesday night and be more relaxed. 
Many hands make light work: when we involve the whole family in household responsibilities it evens out the workload and teaches responsibility to our children. It can also be a fun family time when approached as a time to be together. For younger children, household duties can be made into games. For teens, turning on the stereo and letting them pick the music to clean by can make the process more fun. 
Eating a healthy dinner supports our good health. If you are the cooking sort, dinner can be an enjoyable way to feed your family a multitude of dishes. If you are not, dinner can still be a simple and nutritious meal that fits easily into your life. See the Health Links page for recipe ideas and the Healthy Eating Page for more tips.  
Fun time is as important as work and chores. We benefit from fun activities that touch our creative side and help us connect with others. See the Healthy Activities page for ideas. After dinner is a great time to relax, unwind and enjoy some free time. 
Winding down before bed is helpful for good quality sleep. Turning of the TV, computer, smartphone, or stereo 30 to 60 minutes before bed helps our minds settle down and improves our quality of sleep. 
Going to bed on time is the foundation for a good tomorrow. There is no single magic bedtime that is right for everyone, but getting around 8 hours of quality sleep each night is an important part of good health.