This article contains affiliate links. Read the full disclaimer here
Your body is a temple that needs to be taken care of if you plan to live a long and happy life. Living a healthy lifestyle is one of the primary ways of taking care of your body.
Still, it is more than eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep every day, or drinking at least eight water glasses. It is wise to look at your body as a physical shell that contains you inside and will take you throughout your whole life.
You should not abuse your body with unhealthy habits if you intend to live long. Life is beautiful, and nobody wants to struggle with unnecessary health problems if you could easily avoid it.
Below are 77 ways to live a healthy lifestyle that covers different aspects of life other than exercising and healthy eating.
We’ll cover all aspects of life that may influence your health. These aspects include your habits, exercising, financial matters, relations with other people, and working.
1. Get enough sleep
Lack of enough sleep is usually associated with eating more junk food. You will not need to eat junk food and snacks to stay awake and make yourself feel better. Lack of sleep also causes premature aging, and no one wants it.
2. Eat breakfast every day
It’s vital to have breakfast every day as it will give you enough mental and physical power. A healthy breakfast supplies the body with essential minerals, vitamins, and energy for the entire day.
Ensure that your breakfasts are high in protein as the morning is the best time of the day to eat lots of protein. Eggs, avocados, chicken are all excellent sources of protein.
Also, keep in mind that skipping breakfast may tamper with your workout programs because it slows down your metabolism.
3. Forget the second cup
It’s okay to take coffee in the morning if you need to. However, that second cup can make you feel jittery. Substitute it with some green tea or even better herbal tea to make you feel balanced throughout the day.
4. Eat slowly
People who eat fast tend to eat a lot of food. Try to slow down when eating, and you will consume less to feel satisfied. It will prevent you from overeating.
5. Drink more water
Most people don’t drink enough water. Water is essential for the proper functioning of the body. You need it for body functions such as removal of waste products and oxygen movement in the body.
It is important to drink at least eight glasses of water to replenish the water lost through breathing, bowel movements, sweat, and urine.
Taking enough water suppresses appetite, helps with a bloated belly and improves your appetite.
6. Protect your skin
Stay out of direct sunlight to avoid damaging your skin or use sunscreen when out. Cleanse your skin more often to open sweat pores.
Clogged pores can build up toxins and cause blemishes in the skin.
7. Take a stand and find things to make you laugh
Make efforts to stand up, go for a quick walk during the day, and stretch at work. You will feel more energized when heading back to your desk, and you will be ready to handle the rest of your obligations.
Finding things that make you laugh; on the other hand, will lower your stress levels and make you feel good. Studies have shown that adults who have a sense of humor have healthier lives and outlive those who don’t.
8. Avoid exposure to toxic substances
Toxic substances like fertilizers, mercury, and lead may have detrimental effects on your health. Don’t touch toxic substances using bare hands, and always consult professionals on how to handle them.
9. Eat more vegetables
They are essential for the general well-being of our health. Take several servings of raw, stir-fried, or steamed vegetables every day. This will reduce the risks of developing cancers of the ovary, pancreas, bladder, esophagus, cervix, breast, colon, and lung.
10. Eat more fruits
Fruits are a great source of minerals and vitamins. Some fruits like oranges have more health benefits than vitamin C pills. Consume lots of fruits to get vitamins and minerals direct from nature instead of taking synthetic supplements.
Some of the best fruits include blueberries, papaya, guava, kiwi, grapes, apples, bananas, oranges, avocado, and watermelon.
11. Pick bright colored foods
Vegetables and fruits with bright colors contain high amounts of antioxidants that help remove free radicals in the body.
Eat fruits and vegetables of different colors like orange from papaya and orange, white from mushroom and banana, red from apple and strawberries, blue from blueberries, and yellow from mango and pineapples.
12. Avoid processed foods
These foods are unhealthy since most of their nutritional value is gone, and also preservatives that are bad for our health are added. They usually contain high amounts of salt that leads to heart diseases and high blood pressure.
Eat natural and unprocessed whole foods for the proper functioning of the body and shed off unwanted kilos.
13. Avoid trigger foods
These are the types of food that make you argue for more food. The most common trigger foods are pasta, chips, candy bars, cookies, chocolate, and donuts, although they differ from one person to another.
Most of them contain high levels of refined sugars, flour, fat, and salt. They cause a sugar imbalance in the body, triggering one to eat more.
14. Deal with emotional eating issues
Taking crash diets don’t work well. They are not a quick fix, and they will not sustain a healthier lifestyle. Make a pact to stop crash dieting and start making healthier choices that you can stick to every day.
15. Eat small meals
Are you a member of the clean-plate club? It would help if you considered using smaller containers and plates or eating multiple small meals spaced throughout the day.
This approach keeps the amount of food you are eating under control, which will help you eat less and not overload your stomach.
16. Avoid oily foods
Reduce your intake of deep-fried fast foods like wedges, chips, doughnuts, and fries. Most oily foods are fattening and contain acrylamide, which is a potential cancer-causing agent.
An ordinary bag of crisps is likely to have over 500 times of acrylamide than the level allowed in drinking water.
17. Avoid sugary foods
Sugary foods like cookies, chocolate, and pastries are not filling, but they trigger eating more, and they are also incredibly unhealthy.
18. Eat organic foods
Organic foods are without synthetic inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides. They are not processed using chemical foods additives, industrial solvents, or irradiation, and they don’t contain genetically modified organisms.
They tend to cost more, but it is not wise to save a few dollars only to feed your body with chemicals. It is wise to pay extra dollars for clean and healthy foods.
19. Cut out caffeine and soda
Drinks with caffeine speed up the production of urine, taking away more water from your body. Soda is an unhealthy artificial stimulant that causes weight gain. Ditch your soda and caffeine for fresh juices or plain water.
20. Prepare your meals
You control what goes into your food when you prepare it. Preparing your meals will eliminate any dilemma between choosing sub-optional food choices and healthy eating. Buy some quality kitchen equipment and practice making your food at home.
21. Pack your lunch
Fresh, fast food options are now more readily available than ever. Some of them are said to be healthy, but you don’t know how they prepare it.
Bring your lunch to work to make sure you are eating healthy foods. You can enjoy leftover brown bag lunch recipes if you are worried about the cooking time.
22. Eat at salad bars
Salad bars work in a fun and straightforward way.
Members pick their greens and select a certain number of toppings, usually limited to six depending on the outlet. They then finish their serving with dressing. Most of the salads have a wide variety of extremely healthy fillings.
23. Choose low fat and calorie alternatives
There are many non-fat and low-fat food alternatives in the market today. They include ice cream, spreads, soy milk, yogurts, and salad dressing.
24. Consume a lot of fiber
Fiber is crucial for the proper digestion of food. It would be best if you ate plenty of it because it prevents hard stool. Consume a lot of fiber by eating brown carbohydrates, non-processed foods, and lots of fruits and vegetables.
25. Get fishy
Eat fish several times a week to get a quality serving of Omega-3 fatty acids to reduce any chance of heart diseases. Fish are a great source of protein, necessary for repairing damaged body muscles and making new cells.
26. Exercise
Try to exercise every day to enjoy tremendous benefits like weight loss, higher bone density, low risk of diseases, and increased life span. Choose climbing the stairs instead of using the lift and walk over driving.
27. Intensify or change your workouts regularly
It is not wise to do the same workouts for an extended period of time as the body may fail to respond accordingly.
Try to change your workouts or make them more intense from time to time. You will also exercise different muscle groups, which is very healthy.
28. Lose weight
Shedding a few pounds is one of the best things you can do for a healthy and quality life. Your body will become more flexible, allowing you to participate in many sporting activities and workouts.
You will also get that figure you have always wanted to have, making you feel sexy and confident.
29. Work out different body parts
Avoid doing cardio exercises like jogging only. A good workout puts different muscle groups into action. You may engage in popular sports such as swimming, tennis, football, and basketball.
30. Pick sports you enjoy
You will naturally want to play games that you like and hence exercise without pushing yourself. The sports will add variation to your exercises and make you have fun.
31. Take healthy snacks
Eat healthy snacks such as fruit juices, salads, and fresh fruits if you get hungry at work. They are nutritional, and they don’t have a sugar rush that may trigger you to eat more.
Try to have them readily available so you can eat them and stop once you feel full. Avoid candy bars and cookies at all costs as they are super unhealthy.
32. Drink vegetables and fruit smoothies
They provide a quick and healthy way of getting vitamins and other nutrients. Throw your favorite fruits and vegetables into the blender and wait for thirty seconds to get a smoothie.
Some of them, like a blend of strawberries, banana, and coconut milk, are very tasty and nutritious.
33. Extract juice from fruits and vegetables
It’s called juicing, and it uses a juicer machine. It strips all-fiber away, making you drink minerals and vitamins directly from the juice.
Smoothies and juices complement each other. Juices give the digestive system of the body a break, while smoothies provide fiber, which is crucial for the proper digestion of food.
34. Try a vegan diet
Vegans are people who don’t consume animal-derived products. It is important to note that going on a vegan diet doesn’t necessarily lead to better health because there are some unhealthy vegetarian foods such as white carbohydrates, fad diets, and fried foods.
However, there are many proven health benefits that you may enjoy by eating raw and non-processed vegan foods like nuts, vegetables, and fruits.
You may start from vegetarian to vegan and then raw vegan. This progression has many benefits, including increased youth, energy, weight loss, and other health benefits.
35. Barefoot running/walking
There are very many proven benefits of barefoot running or walking. Some of them include minimal stress at the body joints, better posture, and less stress on your feet.
36. Move more
Sitting a lot is unhealthy for the body and the mind. Get up and walk around for several minutes every day, especially during your lunch hour, if you are locked in the office for most time of the day.
You can start a walking group with coworkers and friends, or try some sports. Another alternative is starting your day with a dose of exercise by walking to work.
37. Play
Play with your friends and family.
You may have a water gun fight, make mud pies, skip rope, go sledding, throw a Frisbee, blow bubbles, or run a race for fun.
You can organize family game nights from time to time to play tug-of-war with the dog or board games that make you laugh.
38. Don’t take your work home
Every person wants quality time to relax and interact with his family. Create this time by leaving all work at the workplace to avoid stressing yourself at home.
39. Relax before bedtime
Shut down your internet and keep all your electronic devices away one hour before bed. Use this time to relax and don’t exercise before bedtime to have relatively low blood circulation in the body.
Clear your mind before sleeping by watching television or reading a book to wind down.
40. Pay off debt
Paying off debts will reduce stress and improve your finances. Financial health contributes a lot to the general health of the body. Try all you can to pay your debts within the shortest time possible.
For example, pay more than the minimum, cash your savings accounts, and try to negotiate terms with creditors before borrowing.
41. Save and invest for retirement
It is wise to start saving and investing money to have more financial power and independence in the future to let you do things you like.
Start saving and investing now, and you will enjoy living a healthy life even after retirement.
42. Learn a new language
A new language will broaden your horizons and sharpen your brain. Experts have associated mastering a new language with a positive and pro-longed cognition in life. It makes your brain active and healthy.
43. Touch someone
Being in physical contact with someone that loves you and cares for you is an automatic stress reliever. Holding hands and hugging people you love is beneficial to both of you.
Massage also boosts the immune system by reducing stress and tension. Ask your loved one to give you a message or give a message to your loved one ā a win-win situation!
44. Change your weekend routine
Weekend activities like mini-vacations are essential to recharge the body. They should be affordable and effective. Try to do something new every weekend and change the scene.
Consider hiking in a nearby park with friends or family to get social interaction, fresh air, and exercise.
45. Spend time with children
Most people get inspired when they look at the world through a kid’s eyes. Spend time with children to have a life full of excitement and appreciate simple things offered by life.
46. Quit procrastinating
Resolve everything through taking action. You will find you have more time than you thought. If you quit procrastinating, you will be in a position to do things at the right time. You will do your workouts, prepare healthy meals, go to bed and wake up at the right time, and feel overall happier because you are getting things done!
47. Quit your addiction (technology)
Try to interact physically with people, even if you love using social media.
Step away from the screen of your computer or phone and meet your friends. You will minimize the amount of time you spend alone seated.
Physical interactions are healthy because you can play games with friends and have fun, contributing to healthy mental health.
48. Wake up early
Waking up early in the morning will give you more time to get things done. It is beneficial for both mental and physical health. Waking up early charges your body like a battery and makes you more active and enthusiastic about your daily chores.
You will get time to prepare your breakfast and do some exercises. All these provide momentum lowering the chances of working under pressure during the day.
Be an early riser, and you will be physically, mentally, and emotionally fit.
49. Be a coach
You can become a coach in different fields. Coach a youth sport or drama club members to shape the lives of young people.
It will contribute to healthy living because you will create new friends, exercise, and make new friends.
It is much better to coach youngsters during your free time than staying indoors and watching TV shows. Get out, interact, guide them, and share your experiences with them.
50. Take care of the environment
The environment contributes a lot to the healthy living of all people. It reduces air pollution and provides us with cleaner and healthier air for breathing.
Work to reduce carbon emissions, donate items that you no longer use, improve your gas mileage, and recycle materials like water bottles.
51. Make an effort to be happy
Try to find happiness, whether you feel sad or not. You will always get something that makes you smile and appreciate the people around you.
Focus on your good sides and how you have helped people during low times to avoid stress.
Reflecting on your good experiences makes us feel we are worthy of living and being happy.
52. Avoid negative people
Positive mental health contributes a lot to a healthy life. Toxic people are not useful in your life because they try their best to make sure they humiliate you or bring you down. Ensure you avoid them at all costs and eliminate anyone you feel is negative from your life.
Negativity from within is no different from negative people. Its effects may even be more harmful. Listen to the thoughts in your mind and get rid of the ones that take your happiness away.
Staying positive will cut out unhealthy dependence on other substances and food to be happy.
53. Don’t be affected by the way other people think about you
Many people get upset when people focus on their “bad” side. This may lower your self-esteem and may have detrimental effects on your health. Try to ignore what other people think about you and try to focus on your positive sides.
54. Love yourself
Do you truly love yourself?
Well, loving yourself is a great motivation to take care of your health, desire to live longer, and touch the lives of other people who live around you.
You will have the necessary courage to make sure you live harmoniously with people around and take the steps required to lead a healthy life.
55. Meditate
Meditation makes your mind quiet and calms your soul. It will let you enjoy the beauty of silence in this modern world, where most people are very connected to everything through their TV, cell phones, and the internet.
Simply sit somewhere and focus on breathing and try to think about nothing. Every time a thought appears, acknowledge it and let consciously go of it.
56. Take a long shower
Warm and long showers feel good and are beneficial to your health. The key is to stay for 5-10 minutes because too long showers can dry your skin.
A hot shower improves blood circulation and can treat joint and muscular pains associated with muscle overuse, muscle tears, and arthritis.
The warmth stimulates blood flow to loosen muscles, tendons and activates your self-healing ability.
Other benefits of a warm shower include warming up, decreasing insomnia and stress, and relieving coughs, shoulder and neck pains.
57. Memorize something daily
Memorization keeps your brain sharp and your memory functioning. It will allow you to have many quotes at your disposal. You may memorize sayings, poetry, and philosophies.
It may even make you an explorer, enabling you to view the world as a map with many places still being undiscovered. You will get out of your comfort zone and take advantage of the many things that still need to be learned and discovered in your life.
58. Have a purposeful life
Cheerful, healthy living starts from within.
Make sure you are living in line with your purpose. Finding your purpose and following through with it will make you happier and let you live a life full of meaning and passion.
Moreover, you will be determined to lead a healthy life to achieve your purpose.
59. Breathe deeply
Oxygen is a vital source and sustainer of life. Every person knows how to breathe, but we don’t do it properly, especially when we take shallow breaths that occupy only 1/3 of the lung capacity.
Learn to breathe deeply to completely fill your lungs and expand your abdomen with minimal muscle movement as athletes do.
60. Get a good posture
Good posture makes you look attractive and smarter. It improves your breathing. It also prevents complications of wrong sitting postures like joint and muscle pains.
61. Drink moderately
Alcohol becomes diuretic when drunk excessively. Excessive alcohol consumption negatively affects the body with substantial impacts on the proper function of the brain, lungs, liver, and other major body organs.
62. Spend time with healthy people
Experts have proven that we are an average of the five people we spend the most time with. It is better to spend more time around healthy people who will make healthy living more fun and easy. Eat your meals, and do your workout with such people regularly.
63. Learn when to say no
Don’t feel like you have to eat just because you got offered some food or are out with your friends. Just say you are not hungry if you don’t feel like eating to avoid overeating or eating unhealthy food. Instead, just drink a cup of herbal tea.
64. Stop smoking
The medical field has nowadays, multiple times, clearly proven that smoking is detrimental to your health.
It increases the risks of chronic diseases such as heart attack, esophageal cancer, kidney cancer, and lung cancer. Smoking light cigarettes don’t decrease health risks.
It is advisable to quit smoking as soon as possible for better health, and don’t start if you don’t smoke.
65. Avoid passive smoking
Passive smoking is also known as second-hand smoking or breathing in air from smokers.
It has effects similar to those of direct smoking. Avoid cigarette smoke where you can and always try to get away from smokers.
66. Say no drugs
Drug abuse is detrimental to your health. Take drugs only when prescribed by a physician. Avoid hard drugs like cocaine, bhang, and heroin to live a long healthy, and happy life. Most drug abusers tend to neglect everything important in their lives, including their health.
67. Get some sunlight
You likely spend most of your time holed up in the office if you have a regular 9-5 job. This lifestyle limits your time of getting out and having fun outside underneath the sun, which is not very healthy.
Try to make a point of going out with friends at least twice a week to get some sunlight and change the environment. The sun feels fantastic, and it will fill your entire body with life, warmth, energy, and inspiration.
68. Maintain good dental hygiene
Good dental hygiene makes you more desirable and is related to general body health. Brush your teeth twice a day, floss them at night, clean your tongue, and rinse your mouth after every meal.
69. Find reasons to laugh
The brain releases serotonin or the happy hormone when you have a grin on your face. Smiling and laughing are natural ways to make yourself happy and comfortable.
Utilize them as you grow older, keeping in mind that happiness leads to smiles that lead to happiness.
70. Reduce your attachment to possessions
People who are heavy-set with material desires may have a lot of troubles after losing their possessions. Possessions may end up owning you or deny you time to practice a healthy lifestyle.
Try to strive for minimalism, and you will learn to focus on the present and what is truly important in life.
71. Don’t take life too seriously
Learn to appreciate and laugh at the little things to make your whole existence a lot easier. Be amused by your failures and mistakes, and use them to learn to avoid messing up again.
You will also be more open-minded and find you live life with less friction and stress, a significant healthy living component.
72. Help other people
It brings happiness to help other people overcome their obstacles and challenges. It can change you in ways you never expected and allow you to establish strong relationships with different people.
It feels truly incredible and makes you feel great inside, and no matter what your life’s purpose is, helping other people should always be the center of it.
73. Figure about your dreams and goals
Everyone has the goal and dream of having a long healthy, and successful life. Set these dreams and goals to avoid aimlessly wandering through life.
The vision of your perfect life will keep your mind focused and help you spot even the smallest things that are crucial for the overall progress towards your goals and dreams.
74. Start your days correctly
Wake up and set aside some time for a morning routine consisting of personal development activities like self-inspection, observing nature, reading, and listing things you are grateful for.
Focus on things that make you feel optimistic, blissful, and empowered to have a positive tone for every day. This intentional way of living will make your days more fulfilling and enjoyable.
75. Travel
Most people find traveling as the most exciting activity they can do with their friends. You will observe different cultures that will expand your mind and make you appreciate more what you have.
You will interact with people from other parts of the world who may share with you their wisdom and teach you new ways of improving your health.
76. Learn to control your mind and emotions
The human mind is a stream of consciousness. You can decide where the stream flows by using techniques such as meditation and flushing out negative thoughts.
Your mind will control your emotions that determine your happiness.
77. Wash your hands
The human hands host millions of noxious and unseen germs. Wash your hands regularly, and keep in mind that your hands are not always safe.
Adults should be keen on their kids and give them a constructive model to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Featured image credit: Photo by Vitalii Pavlyshynets on Unsplash
Discussion about this post