As we kick 2016 in to touch, and turn a new leaf with the start of a New Year, how can we ensure we start 2017 on the right foot in terms of our health and wellness?
We’re bombarded with information that leaves us drawing up New Year resolutions that soon become overwhelming and difficult to stick to, so what are the key tips for improved health and wellness in 2017?
Take the Blues Seriously
After the festivities of Christmas, where social get-togethers and a sense of joy abounded, it’s no surprise that January hits hard emotionally. Many people are left stretching a January pay cheque further than it wants to be stretched, possibly starting to worry about the debts from Christmas, and looking out of the window to grey day after grey day. It’s not surprising that January is the not-so-proud owner of ‘Blue Monday’.
However, boosting your emotional well being and giving your health and wellness a powerful start in 2017 is actually relatively simple. If you can boost your exercise levels, even just a small amount, then you can boost the happy hormone serotonin [1] . Aerobic exercise can be particularly beneficial, so consider getting some mood-boosting fresh air with running or cycling. However, if the grey days leave you wanting to stay inside then now is an excellent time for joining a new exercise class. Many health and wellness classes offer discounts for January-joiners. What’s more, if exercising really is a change from the norm for you, then the NHS can even boost you along the way with Exercise as a Prescription [2]
Raise a Glass to Cutting Down Drinking
After the over-indulgence of the festive period, and perhaps some hangovers you’d rather forget, January is the perfect time to cut down on your alcohol consumption in a bid to improve your health and wellness in 2017. What’s more, taking booze off your grocery list will cut the costs giving your finances a well-earned break.
Alcohol has been repeatedly shown to damage your health in anything more than small amounts. It’s linked to certain cancers, diabetes and heart disease. Reducing your drinking can help to reduce your weight, aid de-stressing, help you to sleep better, and generally be healthier.
If you need to work out if you should cut down your alcohol consumption in 2017 then take the Alcohol Self-Assessment Test
Take Your Sleep Regime in Hand
With busy lives and demands and pressures from work, family, and more, it’s easy to cut the corners on sleep without realising just how big an impact it has on your health and wellness.
The start of 2017 makes an ideal time to think about your sleep regime and see if you can boost both the number of hours in the land of slumber, as well as the quality. Have yourself a relaxing evening routine that sees time to unwind prioritised over bright screen exposure, and devote some time to sprucing up your sleeping area making it restful and pleasant.
Improved sleep will help to boost your mood, prove beneficial for your heart health, boost your immunity, help you to manage your weight, stave off type 2 diabetes, as well as improving your concentration and memory. [3]
Grey Days Causes Problems for the Sunshine Vitamin
Our last key health and wellness tip for 2017 is all about one specific vitamin: vitamin D. This humble vitamin has hit the headlines increasingly over the last few years and it really is time for everyone to make room for increasing their intake of this vitamin that plays a crucial role in our health and wellbeing. A staggering 1 in 5 people over the age of 10 have a vitamin D deficiency in the UK. [4]
Whilst it is possible to get some vitamin D from our diet, most notably from oily fish and eggs, and it is present in many fortified foods such as cereals, the best way of getting this vitamin is through sunshine exposure. This is a problem in January when the skies are grey and damp. Therefore, it’s even more important to consider a supplement to ensure you’re getting your recommended 10mcg per day. [5]
Powerful Health and Wellness Tips for 2017
If you can consider the health and wellness tips above as you start your journey into 2017 you can take the small steps that are not only sustainable once the New Year’s resolutions are broken, but that will help improve your health and wellness for the future.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2077351/
[2] http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/pages/exercise-for-depression.aspx).
[3] http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/consequences
[4] http://www.nhs.uk/news/2016/07July/Pages/The-new-guidelines-on-vitamin-D-what-you-need-to-know.aspx ).
[5] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/537616/SACN_Vitamin_D_and_Health_report.pdf
