Do These Simple Things Every Day for a Healthier and Happier Life!
Stagnation means death. Progress means climbing to the next level. Our life is not infinite. All the more reason to proactively ensure that we make the best out of it. Health is certainly the most important thing, because without it everything comes to nothing. If you want to be fit and mentally active, energetic and happy with yourself well into old age, you should start working towards this sooner rather than later. In this article, we have put together 13 very simple tips on how to achieve this.
1. Keep an open mind and retain your curiosity
Our brain wants to learn. The more new and unknown things we expose it to, the more active and functional it remains. Therefore, keep your curiosity and never consider your knowledge as complete. There is something new to discover every day.
2. Break out of your comfort zone often
Get in the habit of doing something new for you at least once a week. Decide to take a different route on your way to work or on a walk, try new foods and restaurants, or learn to skateboard. No adventure is too small, and of course, too big to give your comfort zone the cold shoulder.
3. Foreign languages improve your problem solving skills
Speaking more than just one language is becoming increasingly important in our globalized world. Surprisingly, foreign languages also have the added benefit of making us smarter. Learning another language has profound effects on our brain and improves our cognitive abilities. Studies show that being bilingual or multilingual has a direct impact on our brain's command system, which is responsible for planning, problem solving, and other mentally demanding tasks.
4. Allow yourself enough sleep
If we can get around 7 hours of high-quality sleep a day, it's not just our bodies that benefit. Restful sleep also has a positive effect on our psyche and even our emotional life.
5. Athletics makes your life easier
If you've always been athletic or would like to prove yourself in this field, athletics is not only a great choice to get your body in shape. It's actually a great way to improve your brain power. Research has shown that kids who are active in sports do better in school than their non-athletic peers. Athletes build their brains every time they have to make complicated split-second decisions. Research has shown that athletes' movement patterns are much more than automated responses. Over time, they become part of a regular strategy for coping with constantly evolving challenges.
6. Optimize your nutrition
You are what you eat. You should stick to this saying. It has not lost any of its truthfulness. Find the ideal diet for you and, above all, the ideal rhythm when it comes to eating. Not all people benefit from 5 meals a day. Not everyone gains from interval fasting or other restrictions. Despite all the health aspects, though, make sure above all that you enjoy your meals. Food nourishes our body; the pleasure of it nourishes our soul.
7. Take advantage of the "protégé effect”
This means learning by teaching. Share your knowledge with the world or pass on your knowledge and life experience to others. You can practice this freely whenever the opportunity arises. Or you can get down to business and get involved in tutoring or as a learning buddy for disadvantaged children and young people.
8. Drink plenty of water
Our body consists to a large extent of water. The more we supply it with, the better it feels. All our systems, but mainly our brain, only really work at full speed throughout the day when we are well hydrated.
9. Cultivate your social contacts
Some people need more of them, some less. But we all need them. We are group or herd animals; it's in our DNA. Keep regular contact with people you like, who are good for you and who enrich your life. It would be at least as important to break off contact with people who drain you, exhaust you, or who are toxic to you in some unhealthy way.
10. Exercise is the ultimate secret weapon
If you prefer a more leisurely pace and competitive sports or going to the gym are more off-putting to you, then go for a walk. Every movement that you allow your body and your psyche every day will be worth it many times over. Unfortunately, modern life takes place mainly in a sitting position. You should actively do something against this plague. Doctors even go so far as to call sitting the new smoking.
11. Take notes
Journal writing is much more than just antiquated occupational therapy for lonely hearts. You can think of every line you jot down by hand as mental hygiene. Everything that has left your head and found expression on a sheet of paper, you can worry about less.
12. Read a book every day
One page is enough, more as the mood strikes. Reading is important for our brain, but it also inspires us and gives us fresh ideas for our everyday life. It's best to take time for this ritual in the morning. It gently wakes up your brain and makes it fit for the day.
13. Learn to play an instrument
Research suggests that playing a musical instrument regularly changes our brain. Not only does it improve our cognitive abilities, it can even increase IQ in children and adults by up to 7 points. In fact, the brains of musicians are structurally and functionally different from those of non-musicians.
Today's Conclusion: Make the best of it
Whether this one life is the first and the last for us or whether we can still count on a generous grace period, we owe it to ourselves to make the best of our time on this earth. There are so many things we can do and not do, so that we can succeed. Our mental and physical health is the most important aspect of this. It is everything and without it we have nothing. That's it for today. Thanks very much and see you soon.