“Breakfast is essential for brain stamina and weight management,” says Angela Ginn, a dietitian in Baltimore, Md. Studies show eating breakfast helps you lose weight and keep it off. Ginn recommends easy, grab-and-go breakfasts such as yogurt with sliced mango or blueberries, or toasted whole-grain waffles topped with nut butter, a sliced banana and cinnamon.
ThinkStock
Move more
Create opportunities for exercise throughout the day. Take a short walk during lunch, and spend a few minutes playing outside with the kids. “Dance around the house,” says Marjorie Nolan, a dietitian and personal trainer in New York City. “Any sort of movement that increases your heart rate by 10 percent or more is stimulating your muscles and metabolism.”
ThinkStock
Listen to music
Upbeat music can boost your energy and mood, and soothing music can relieve stress and promote sleep. Listening to music also can lower blood pressure, alleviate pain and even promote heart health.
ThinkStock
Add a fruit and vegetable to each meal
“Each provides fiber and essential vitamins for heart and skin, and anti-aging benefits,” Ginn says.
ThinkStock
Get enough sleep
“We tend to underestimate the impact that lack of sleep has on our life,” says Cleveland (Ohio) Clinic sleep psychologist Michelle Drerup. Lack of sleep can cause concentration problems, irritation, depression and anxiety, as well as headaches, gastrointestinal and respiratory problems, and other ailments. The average healthy adult needs six to eight hours of sleep each night, Drerup says. For better sleep, avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening, and don’t nap during the day.
ThinkStock
Everyday health tips
Improving your health can be as easy as enjoying a nutritious meal or listening to your favorite tunes. Here are five simple ways to improve your well-being today:
