Five easy things moms can do every day to feel healthier and improve well-being.
What we aren’t good at is taking care of ourselves. We set goals to go to the gym, or sleep more or eat better, but in the end life gets in the way and we just let it go. We don’t have to do this!
Here are 5 quick things that you can do to feel healthier:
Do one thing that makes you happy every day.
It doesn’t need to be a big thing, but do something. Make a playlist for your car and listen to music that makes you sing out loud. Serve breakfast for dinner (because no one ever complains when dinner involves pancakes). Bring your book in the car and read a chapter while waiting to pick up the kids at school. Whatever small thing it is that makes you happy.
Replace the junk food snacks.
I am willing to bet that before you had kids pre-packaged cookies were not a staple of your diet. But now they are because they are in the cupboard. You get tired or stressed or bored, and there, right in front of you, is a little disk of self-indulgence. So you eat one, or 20, and you feel better for 30 seconds and then you feel not so good.
Keep something that you really love in the cupboard that will fill that need, when you get tired or stressed or bored, and go for that instead. Chocolate covered almonds or honey roasted peanuts or individually wrapped chocolates (so you can’t take a handful). And, if you have something that combines sugar and protein (such as sweetened nuts) you won’t be affected by the sugar so quickly and you won’t get that cookie crash.
Play with your kids.
We all have grand plans when our kids are born, to get down on the floor with them and play. And we do, at least until their sibling is born, and then we as often as not let them have at it.
Playing with your kids is proven to make you happier, and happiness leads to healthiness. First of all, play makes you smile and the physical act of smiling actually makes you happy. Also, by sheer definition, play is fun—more fun than work. So put on a tiara and frolic with your kids, at least for a bit.
Get just a little more sleep.
I know you are thinking that’s not likely, but I am serious. Try to fit just a little more sleep into your day. Actually I am suggesting you build it into your schedule. Right there between going to the dry cleaners and finishing your project for the meeting. Make a plan to take a 15-minute nap right after lunch, before you head out to do errands. Or sleep 15 minutes later three times a week. Wherever you can fit in just a little more sleep.
If you sleep in 15 minutes three days a week, that’s 45 minutes more sleep. Add in two naps, and you’re up to more than an hour more of sleep. Every bit of sleep makes a difference.
Do one thing that will get your heart rate up.
Can’t make time for the gym? No problem. Even a little cardio is better than none. Why? Because getting your heart rate up produces more endorphins and endorphins actually produce a euphoric feeling. Try taking the stairs instead of the elevator, dancing around the kitchen while cooking a meal, walking the dog, riding a bike, kicking a soccer ball, or jumping on the trampoline. Getting your heart rate up regularly is a very healthy thing to do.
Give these five tips a try for a week, and see what a difference they make.
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