How To Live A Healthier Life (Without Really Doing Much)

Anyone that knows me knows that I don't really think chronologically. While everyone is getting excited about Halloween, I'm planning Christmas and on Christmas Eve I'm thinking up my Summer Bucket List.
So it makes sense that I'm thinking about New Year's Eve.
No, no it doesn't   it does to me   I am you and it still doesn't make sense   the fact you exist doesn't make sense   let's stop this now.
And what do we all do on New Year? Make stupid resolutions that we have a 1 in a billion chance of sticking to. Unless you're one of those odd people with that thing called . . . willpower. But they're strange; in fact, those are the people that we should be against - they obviously just enjoy making the rest of us feel bad. Yep. As of now, it is officially okay to put those people in a pit and watch them fight to the death.

Anyways.
One of the things we all find ourselves saying throughout the year is: 'I'm going to be healthier'. And, you know, you'd think we would. Our health is kind of what keeps us alive. It's not exactly unimportant.
So I think it's more to do with the fact that 'becoming healthy' is . . . well, it's hard. And time-consuming and, at times, expensive. Which is exactly why I decided to make this post - all about how to become healthy without going too much out of your way.

 

1. Drink water. Lots of it.
The easiest way (for me) to do this is to buy bottles of water in bulk and drink a bottle at a time - not only are you able to see exactly how much you drink per day, it goes down a lot quicker. (And means I don't have to get my lazy ass up to refill my cup. But that's not the driving force, I promise.)
Let me throw some benefits to drinking water out here for all of you:

• Helps to lose weight (yes, you can lose weight through drinking water.)
• Clears out waste and helps digestion
• Natural remedy for headaches and helps reduce cramps
• Your brain functions more effectively - I mean, I managed to type that with a straight face and without any spelling mistakes. Result.
• Stops you from feeling hungry, so all you people dieting should take note
• Reduces the risk of cancer
• Helps your skin
• And more, but this post isn't about water, so I'm moving on. Google it.

2. Sleep more. (The ideal is 9 hours apparently. I'm not really sure where this time is supposed to come from, but still)

Like we need an excuse to sleep. (By we, I mean all the people in the world I am actually interested in interacting with.) But I kid you not, sleeping more is actually very beneficial to your health. Especially in teenagers because - according to ridiculous amounts of studies that I could read but wont because I could just as easily find the results off of Facebook - we don't get enough sleep to deal with school.

They say this as if any amount of sleep could prepare us for the horror of waking up at six in the bloody morning for school. (I'm not going to swear on this blog, except for in diary posts. Let's see how long that lasts.)

But sleep is actually really important. For the multiple reasons I will begin to list below.

• Well, obviously, you need energy.
• Keeps your heart healthy! Sleep keeps your cholesterol and blood pressure lower, which in turn keeps your heart healthier. 
• Reduces stress. A lot. Not even just mentally; the physical signs of stress (eg hormones, chemicals and all that jazz) can be reduced with a decent amount of sleep. Sleep also reduces the risk of depression. (Which I find really weird as excessive amounts of sleep are a symptom of depression, but who am I to question the internet?)
• Makes you smarter.
• And helps your memory.
• Makes you active 
• Helps you to lose weight
• Sleep is your body's time to repair itself.

3. Eat fruit.

Now, I actually love fruit. I know some weird people have an aversion to fruit. I don't know why . . . However, if you like fruit, it's such an easy way to become a little healthier. I'm not saying eat tons - even if you just have an apple with your lunch, or a bowl of fruit salad instead of cereal in the morning you can still reap the rewards. (That actually sounds really nice to me. Hm. I want watermelon now.)

4. Exercise more.

I know, I know - I said you wouldn't really have to do much. And you don't. By exercise I don't mean go out and join a cross-country running team (maybe go for a jog round a park once a week with your best friend, but that's not really necessary) I mean get off a stop or two early off the bus and walk it, or play Zumba on the Wii. Or set yourself small challenges to do. Let me hit you up with some examples.

• Walking your dog
• Do bicycles throughout the ad break when you're watching TV
• Do starjumps while using your mouthwash
• Walk more
• Take the stairs, not the escalator or the lift. Yes, there was a dot.
• Run up your stairs instead of walking them
• Also, hula hooping is amazing for you - and fun. And it burns a lot of calories. Just saying.

Each of those things sounds - and is - little, but when you do them altogether it counts. And would you prefer to go running? Well, yes  oh . . . me too  next Saturday?  Yeah, sure!
5. Twitch

Yeah, me too. When I first found out that small movements - tapping on your remote, moving your legs up and down while sitting, pacing, moving your wrists etc. - increased your metabolism and weight control I was a bit like . . . "you sure, mate?", but studies I'm not sure which studies, but they're out there  have shown a link between small muscle movements and weight control. 

So there are 5 easy, little things you can do to get healthier, without actually doing anything. So now, on New Year's Eve, when I'm writing a resolution . . . No, I still won't be able to stick to it.
Au revoir guys!