Recognize and actively address chronic unmanaged stress in your life, as it profoundly impacts physical health, can lead to conditions like pre-diabetes, and drives fat storage, even if diet and exercise are in check.
Develop and pursue a purpose that extends beyond yourself, as this is a significant factor in improving mental health, overall health, and longevity.
Cultivate and maintain positive, meaningful social connections with trusted individuals to share experiences, reduce feelings of isolation, and benefit mental health, overall health, and longevity.
Incorporate practices such as yoga, meditation, walking in nature, bathing with salts, and journaling into your routine to build mental resilience and better withstand stress, even if you start them later in life.
Prioritize spending time in nature, as recent research highlights its significant benefits for mental health, overall health, and longevity.
Engage in physical exercise to offload stress from your system, as it helps to sweat out cortisol from your body.
Reduce cortisol levels by speaking out loud about your thoughts with someone you trust, or by journaling, to get them out of your brain-body system instead of ruminating.
Ensure you get enough sleep and maintain consistent bedtimes and wake-up times, as this is a really important foundational aspect of health.
Drink enough water to consistently maintain a properly hydrated state, as this simple change can make you feel significantly different.
Immediately upon waking, before engaging with daily thoughts or tasks, practice gratitude for simple things like your bedding to intentionally shift into an oxytocin state and avoid a cortisol state.
While still in bed immediately after waking, practice deep breathing, feeling into all directions of your breath and tuning into your body to identify and release any tension.
Avoid having your phone in the bedroom and use an old-fashioned alarm clock to prevent immediate engagement with external digital stressors upon waking, allowing for a more mindful start to the day.
Intentionally incorporate rituals into your day, such as mindfully preparing and savoring a cup of tea, treating these moments as a form of meditation to infuse mindfulness throughout your day.
Consider incorporating a daily health drink that supports digestion and enriches the gut microbiome by increasing beneficial bacteria, as this can impact overall well-being.
Take a probiotic first thing in the morning, ensuring a 10-minute gap before consuming any food or drink.