Believe it or not, it is easy to have some bad habits in our life that we are not even aware of, we commit to doing them every day; yet they perpetuate bad health (physical, mental, relational, and even spiritual). The good news is that these five habits can be easy to fix if you have the right support group already in place. Check out these 5 Habits and see if you are committing any of them – if you are, work on replacing them soon.
1 – Working or Living in Isolation
In my consulting business the number one reason most of my clients come to me (and at the time they are not aware of it) is due to isolation. They do not have deep friendships with anyone. Being in isolation, especially when the stress of life happens will send a person to dark places (think work-a-holic, rage-a-holic, sex-a-holic, alcoholic, etc…). Getting out of isolation is easier said than done. There are typically relational barriers keeping you in isolation that you will need to work through. Nevertheless, once you are surrounded by other healthy people, who ARE for you, life’s stress is much more manageable.
2 – Drinking Too Many Soda or Energy Drinks
Water, it’s what your body needs. Your body functions much more efficiently when it is properly hydrated and the sugary (or sugar substitute) drinks DO NOT nourish your body. We need to be drinking our body weight in ounces every day (of water). When I feel a cold coming on I start slamming the water hourly (i.e. 20-32oz of water every hour for two days). That usually flushes my system and I bounce back from the cold quickly. When I forget about the water intake the head cold tends to stick around much longer.
3 – Not Moving
Our bodies were designed to move; however, because of the laptop/desktop computers, much of our daily work is spent at a desk. I like to get up every hour and walk and/or do some push-ups. I even plan my gym/workout for the middle of the day. My watch reminds me hourly to GET MOVING, and I get up and take a walk around the office building I’m in. Moving brings in the fresh air, encourages blood flow, and helps to clear your head, and gets you breathing.
4 – Phone Addiction
I have shared this many times before, but we spend way too much time on our phones. Here’s an article from Harvard Research about the negative effects of the blue-light from our phone. Try to implement these habits into your life:
- No phone at the dinner table (whether with your family or with clients)
- Taking a day off from all technology (try one Saturday every month).
- No phone (or smart device) use 2 hours before bed (your sleep will thank you later).
- Use the first ten minutes of your morning routine to pray or meditate, not reaching for your phone.
- In a meeting with someone? Put the phone away – out of sight – it really comes across as being rude if you look at your phone when you are talking with your family, a client, or your significant other.
5 – Poor Sleep Habits
Poor sleep habits seem to get me the most. I love watching College and NFL Football; so on Saturday and Sunday nights, I tend to stay up too late and end up paying for it later in the week. WEB-MD has 13 tips on getting a better night’s sleep and you can find them HERE. Also, according to the Alaska Sleep Clinic, having a consistent sleep time is imperative:
Getting into a regular routine of going to bed and rising at the same times every day is one of the most important practices you can perform for better sleep. Part of keeping a healthy bedtime routine is to keep it up even on the weekends by avoiding staying up late and sleeping in. Depriving yourself of sleep during the midweek and binge-sleeping on the weekends does more harm to your sleep cycles than good.
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