Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Healthy Habit of the Month VII.

The forgotten healthy habit.
This post is the seventh installment of SeektobeMerry's "Healthy Habit of the Month" series. Sourced from my bff's at Weight Watchers, online articles and my own efforts to keep fit and trim, throughout 2013, I will attempt to integrate one new healthy habit into my life each month. Join me!

Hello my fellow health-minded friends! How are we doing this month!? Like everything else in life, I'm finding that some days I juggle my healthy habits much better than others. "One perfect week" went really well for me (even if it would be more accurately titled "one super-close-but-not-quite-perfect week") and I never miss my scheduled weekly workout, but I'd be lying if I said my accountability buddy and I are still in touch and too many breakfasts have been sans a piece of fruit. It's a work in progress. For this month, I decided to venture a little outside the standard healthy habit line of thinking and focus on a part of our daily routine that all too often gets sacrificed for just about everything else...

Healthy Habit of the Month #7: Sleep on it.
When people think about good health, diet and exercise are usually their primary focus, but research shows that getting enough sleep is just as important to our overall wellbeing. Not only does getting enough sleep actually help us maintain a healthy weight,  but it's been linked to our mood and memory as well as serious biznaz like cardiovascular health and fighting cancer (read more HERE). The problem is (as we all know) sh*t happens. Stuck at work, out with friends, up with the baby, an AMAZING tv show... everything seems to get in the way of a good night's sleep. So what can we realistically do about it? How about for this month we all pick 1 day per week where we establish a bedtime and get our recommended 8 hours? Just like scheduling a workout, why not schedule your sleep? Because though we may not be able to reach our sleep goal every night, once a week seems do-able and our bodies will no doubt benefit from the guaranteed rest. Good luck and sweet dreams! 
(and for some "good sleep" tips, click HERE, HERE and HERE.)

Check out past "Healthy Habit of the Month" posts here: 
Month 1: Adding a fruit or vegetable to every meal
Month 2: Schedule a workout
Month 3: Find an accountability buddy
Month 4: Keep track (of your movement)
Month 5: Challenge yourself
- Month 6: 1 Perfect Week

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