New Year Healthier Resolutions

"New Year is a time to Dream Bigger"

Wishing you Happy New Year.

New Year's resolutions are a bit like babies: They’re fun to make but extremely difficult to maintain. It's hard to keep up the enthusiasm months after you've swept up the confetti, but it's not impossible. This year, pick one of the following worthy resolutions, and stick with it. Here’s to your health!

Stay in touch

         Feel like old friends (or family) have fallen by the wayside? It's good for your health to reconnect with them. Research suggests people with strong social ties live longer than those who don't.

         In a technology-fixated era, it's never been easier to stay in touch - or rejuvenate your relationship - with friends and family, so fire up Facebook and follow up with in-person visits.

Save money

         Save money by making healthy lifestyle changes. Walk or ride your bike to work, or explore carpooling. (That means more money in your pocket and less air pollution.)

         Cut back on gym membership costs by exercising at home. Many fitness programs on video game systems like Nintendo's Wii Wii Fit Plus and Microsoft's Xbox Kinect Your Shape Fitness Evolved can get you sweating.

         Take stock of what you have in the fridge and make a grocery list. Aimless supermarket shopping can lead to poor choices for your diet and wallet.

Cut your stress

         A little pressure now and again won’t kill us; in fact, short bouts of stress give us an energy boost. But if stress is chronic, it can increase your risk of - or worsen - insomnia, depression, obesity, heart disease, and more.

         Long work hours, little sleep, no exercise, poor diet, and not spending time with family and friends can contribute to stress.

"Stress is an inevitable part of life."

Relaxation, sleep, socializing, and taking vacations are all things we tell ourselves we deserve but don’t allow ourselves to have.

Volunteer

         We tend to think our own bliss relies on bettering ourselves, but our happiness also increases when we help others.

         And guess what? Happiness is good for your health. People with positive emotions were about 20% less likely than their gloomier peers to have a heart attack or develop heart disease. Positive emotions can make people more resilient and resourceful.

         Someone who makes this sort of resolution is likely to obtain a tremendous personal benefit in the happiness department.

Get more sleep

         You probably already know that a good night's rest can do wonders for your mood - and appearance. But sleep is more beneficial to your health than you might realize.

         A lack of sleep has been linked to a greater risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. And sleep is crucial for strengthening memories (a process called consolidation).

         So take a nap - and don't feel guilty about it.

Travel

         The joys and rewards of vacations can last long after the suitcase is put away. "We can often get stuck in a rut, and we can't get out of our own way".

         Everything becomes familiar and too routine. But traveling allows us to tap into life as an adventure, and we can make changes in our lives without having to do anything too bold or dramatic. It makes you feel rejuvenated and replenished. It gets you out of your typical scenery, and the effects are revitalizing. It’s another form of new discovery and learning, and great for the body and the soul.