How to Overcome Unwanted Lifestyle Habits
If you were to look up the definition of the word ‘habit’, you would find the following: “a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.”
It’s interesting to note that the dictionary definition immediately can give us a negative connotation. A habit should be something that we often ignore, but should be something that we focus on daily. Habits form every part of our being and can lead us down paths that impact every aspect of our lives.
In his research, Charles Duhigg explained that habits are made of three key areas - Cue, Routine and Reward. An example that is given to explain this includes:
Cue: Your mobile receives a push notification that someone likes or commented on one of your photos. The notification serves as a cue (or trigger) that tells you to check your account.
Routine: This is the actual behaviour. When you receive the push notification, you automatically check your Instagram account.
Reward: This is the benefit you gain from doing the behaviour (e.g., finding out who likes or commented on one of your photos). Recall that the reward helps the brain figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future.
Some habits are great for us and keep us on track, others are harder to break and need to be focused on. In this blog we want to look at 5 habits that can negatively affect our lives, but can be so simple to turnaround.
5 Habits That Affect Your Health and What To Do Instead
Not getting enough exercise in your life
Exercise is simply the best medicine, it can help us prevent sickness, prepare our body for when we get old and can support our mental health. If we are not getting enough exercise, we truly open ourselves to potential health issues.
If you find you are struggling to get enough exercise, our advice is simple. Do something you love and do it little and often. For example, if you hate running, that’s ok, running is just not for you! Why not try walking, joining a boxing class, enjoy some tai chi or simply go to your local pool for a swim. Don’t let what you ‘think’ you should be doing dictate your movement.
Not making sleep a priority
Did you know that a lack of sleep can affect several areas of our well-being? From making us more susceptible to sickness, reducing our focus and even a cause for depression and anxiety. Sleep is so much more than counting sheep, it allows our body to recoup, recover and regroup ready for the next day.
If you are struggling to make sleep a priority, we suggest making it a time to enjoy self-care. Create a routine that makes you enjoy this time. Switch off the television, have a warm shower/bath, journal your daily thoughts, play some soft music etc. Make it a time that you want to be involved with, and not make sleep simply something you do at the end of the day.
Avoiding FOMO
The fear of missing out (FOMO) is essentially a deep-rooted fear that you are missing out or will miss out on rewarding opportunities. We usually experience FOMO when it comes to our social lives. FOMO has been shown to have a negative impact on people’s emotional wellbeing. FOMO is also associated with various mental health issues, such as fatigue and stress, which can in turn, cause people to experience problems with their physical health.
Our tip to you is to analyse what triggers FOMO and develop ways to top your cue, response and reward cycle. If you find that you don’t work well under pressure when asked to take part in an activity, time to reframe your thoughts. For example, if someone asks you out, reply with “Thank you, I’ll just have a think about it and get back to you.” If your phone notification makes you pick it up, put it on silent for periods of time. Find out what makes you look after yourself first and implement your plan.
Embrace the Now
In a world of constant appointments, social events, work deadlines - it can be easy to get caught up in the buzz and energy of being on the go 24/7. Yes, this can make us feel energised, busy and wanted but this can also mean we miss out on the joy of simply enjoying life.
When was the last time you spent a morning just doing nothing? Or going for a walk and enjoying the breeze through the trees? No doubt it’s been a while. Yes, life is busy but we urge you to find out how you can slow down and just enjoy ‘being’.
Our tip, allocate a monthly ‘Me Day’, use this as a time to disconnect from everything, get out into nature and enjoy being in your own company.
Fuel your Body Well
Nutrition and hydration are unfortunately two areas that we can all be guilty of neglecting. It’s easy to grab a fast food meal and enjoying a few wines to de-stress after a busy day. We will never say this is a bad thing, but remember, moderation is key.
If you struggle to maintain a healthy diet we want to remind you that you do not need to spend hours toiling in the kitchen, our tip is to allocate an hour a week to plan your meals and an hour a day to prepare. Meals can be simple, quick to prepare and should be something you can grab on the go.
If you're guilty of not drinking enough water, simple, buy a water bottle that has measurements on it and actively keep this with you for at least two weeks. Yes, you can enjoy a glass of wine, but please complement that with at least 2L of water a day.
Final Thoughts
Habits can be hard to break, yes, but they can also be simple to form. All it takes is some time to take a birds-eye view on our daily habits and slowly and surely implement changes that we can achieve.
If changing a habit continues to be something you struggle with, contact us at Power Physiology and let us provide you with strategies to support habit change.