Take the stairs
Making small, daily changes such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator may seem minor, but they can make a big difference for your heart in the long run. “Individuals who are physically active are much less likely to develop cardiovascular disease,” explains Johns Hopkins cardiologist Chiadi E. Ndumele, M.D., M.H.S.
healthy heart
🍎 Health Hack ~ A New Year’s Resolution: Good Health
Make Health Your Resolution
Find ways to boost your health, fitness, and well-being, and be an inspiration to others!
- Make healthy food choices. Grab a healthy snack on the go. Eat more fruits and vegetables.
- Be active. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park farther away and walk.
- Protect yourself from injury and disease. Put on a helmet, sunscreen, or insect repellent. Wash your hands for 20 seconds.
- Manage stress. Don’t overschedule or overcommit. Take short breaks throughout the day.
- Make an appointment for a check-up, vaccination, or screening.
🍎 Health Hack ~ Chill Out
Chill Out and Capture the Z’s
According to Johns Hopkins sleep expert Rachel Salas, M.D., when it’s time to sleep, it’s time to chill – literally. Knocking the thermostat down to 68 degrees or lower before you tuck into bed can help you sleep better. Darken your room by drawing the curtains or dimming the display on your alarm clock to really get those quality Zs.
🍎 Health Hack ~ A New Year’s Resolution to Eat Mindfully
Practice Mindful Eating
These days, it’s common to chow down with your eyes glued to a screen, but eating when you’re distracted leads to overeating. Take time to slow down and pay attention to your food, pausing to put down utensils between bites. “When you eat mindfully, it’s easier to notice when you feel full, plus you’re more likely to enjoy the foods you eat,” says Johns Hopkins dietitian and research nutritionist Diane Vizthum.
🍎 Health Hack ~ Laughter is the Best Medicine
Have a Laugh
Read a few pages of a funny book, watch a clip of your favorite comedian, or call a friend who always cracks you up. Laughter obviously lightens your mood, plus it stimulates your heart, lungs, and muscles. It makes your brain release more feel-good endorphins. And it can relax your muscles and help your circulation.
🍎 Health Hack ~ Christmas Day
Modify Eating Your Times to Jive with your Relatives’
Do your in-laws’ meal schedules fly in the face of yours? Here’s how to compromise: Say they wake up later than you do and serve a late breakfast at 10:30. Then they skip lunch and serve Christmas ‘dinner’ at 3 p.m. To keep your blood sugar steady without overdoing it on calories, have an early-morning snack (such as a piece of whole-grain toast) before your relatives rise and shine. Their late breakfast will count as your ‘real’ breakfast, plus some of your lunch. Enjoy the 3 p.m. meal – but don’t overdo it! – and have a small snack at around 8 p.m.
🍎 Health Hack ~ Need a Mood Boost?
Indulge in some tasty foods such as dark chocolate, leafy greens and other folate-rich foods, blueberries, chamomile or lavender tea, and magnesium-rich seeds such as pumpkin or sunflower seeds. Nutrients in these foods are thought to be related to emotional health.
🍎 Health Hack ~ 3 Tips for Healthy Holiday Eating
- Take 10 before taking seconds. It takes a few minutes for your stomach’s “I’m getting full” signal to get to your brain. After finishing your first helping, take a 10-minute break. Make conversation. Drink some water. Then recheck your appetite. You might realize you are full or want only a small portion of seconds.
- Distance helps the heart stay healthy. At a party, don’t stand next to the food table. That makes it harder to mindlessly reach for food as you talk. If you know you are prone to recreational eating, pop a mint or a stick of gum so you won’t keep reaching for the chips.
- Don’t go out with an empty tank. Before setting out for a party, eat something so you don’t arrive famished. Excellent pre-party snacks combine complex carbohydrates with protein and unsaturated fat, like apple slices with peanut butter or a slice of turkey and cheese on whole-wheat pita bread.
🍎 Health Hack ~ Believe in the Incredible Power of Your Mind
In a 2014 study conducted at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine under the direction of lead researcher Brian Clark, 29 volunteers had their wrists wrapped in surgical casts for four weeks. Half of the participants were instructed to sit quietly and visualize flexing their immobile wrist for 11 minutes a day, five times a week. The other group did nothing. When all the casts were taken off, the researchers found that the wrist muscles of those in the visualization group were twice as strong as the wrist muscles of the control group. (Clark et al., 2014).
🍎 Health Hack ~ Stuffy Nose?
It can be difficult to sleep with a stuffy nose and cough. Try these tips to breathe easier and have a better night’s sleep:
Use an extra pillow to prop up your head and ease sinus pressure.
Sleep with a humidifier or vaporizer in the room.
Take a hot bath or shower before bed.
