12 habits to reinvent your health this fall

There are three months left in the year. If you feel like you haven’t achieved your health resolutions this year, why not start today? If you decide to work towards a healthier version of yourself, this does not mean that you have to make drastic changes to your lifestyle. The small adjustments you make to your habits can often be the most effective starting point.

When you’re ready, use these science-backed habits to take the next step toward better physical and mental health.

Do you want more tools to really boost your healthy habits? Check out what foods to eat for a happiness boost, hacks to manage stress, and tips to restart your sleep habits.

Read more: Best elliptical trainers for your home gym

12 daily habits to improve your health

We are talking about small adjustments that benefit everyone. With these small adjustments to your daily routine, you can start working towards better health without having to spend a lot of time, money or pleasure.

1. Prioritize sleep

Going without sleep is a lot like expecting your phone to run on 12% battery all day. Your body needs time to not only rest and recharge, but also to exercise important worksuch as learning new things and solidifying memories.

Adults should get it minimum 7 hours turning a blind eye every night. If this is a challenge for you, go to your circadian rhythm. This is your body’s natural process that should help you fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up rested.

How do you use your circadian rhythm for better sleep? Go to bed and get up at the same time every day.

2. Walk more

Taking a walk improves your physical and mental health, so it’s definitely worth adding to your list of healthy daily habits.

On the physical front, walking regularly supports your immune system, reduces joint pain and makes it easier to maintain a healthy weight.

Every exercise helps your mental health, and that including walking. If you want to change your daily habits to combat symptoms of depression or anxiety or improve your mental well-being in general, make a point of putting on your walking shoes every day.

3. Read for 30 minutes

Are you feeling stressed? Open a book. One study has shown that read for half an hour can have the same stress-reducing effect as well-known sources of calm, such as yoga and humor.

Reading also does a lot for your brain, for example strengthen connections. That study found that diving into a book has both short- and long-term benefits for your brain health. So, make reading one of your daily habits to maintain the boost. When you do that, you also get to work actively combat cognitive decline as you get older.

4. Meditate

Another one stress reducer and mental health boosterMeditation gives you a way to tune into the present moment. In our busy, hyper-connected world, this can go a long way in not only keeping yourself healthy, but also protecting your happiness.

Starting to meditate can be as simple as: read a little about it and set a timer for, say, 5 minutes a day. There are also plenty of good apps to guide you. You can even incorporate a meditative mindset into your regular activities, like mindful eating.

5. Spend time in nature

By getting out into nature we can calm ourselves. It provides an effective counterbalance to all the screen time built into most of our days. A growing body of research shows that time in nature:

• Improve our cognition
• Increase attention span
• Lower risk of mental illness
• Increase empathy and social connection

You can combine this with other healthy habits, such as your daily walk. Ideally, you focus on green (like a forest) or blue (like bodies of water) spaces when you’re outdoors.

6. Eat more plant-based foods

You probably already know that eating nutritious food makes you feel better. As an umbrella concept, healthy eating habits can feel a little vague.

So let’s be specific: work on putting more plants on your plate. A plant-based diet helps you maintain healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels and reduce your risk for certain chronic conditions. Plants are packed with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that we need to keep our bodies working optimally.

Try to include more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes in your daily meals. It can be helpful to keep a vegetable bowl on your counter so you can grab things for a quick snack too.

7. Drink more water

This is one of those areas where it’s easy to see how healthy habits help. Since we are mostly waterit makes sense that we need to constantly replenish our body’s supply. Getting enough water helps your body flush out waste and keep your joints lubricated, while acting as a shock absorber for your spine and aiding your digestive processes.

To build healthy habits around water, carry a reusable water bottle with you. Whenever you’re bored, take a sip. Your body will thank you.

8. Reduce alcohol intake

Reducing the alcohol you consume does a lot for youespecially if you used to drink a lot:

• Lowers the risk of high blood pressure, depression and other conditions
• Reduces the symptoms of these conditions
• Helps your body absorb nutrients better
• Improves sleep and minimizes fatigue
• Supports liver health

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that men drink two drinks or less every day, while women stick to a maximum of one drink per day. To help yourself, find a non-alcoholic drink that you really like. Soda water, bitters, and lime can scratch that cocktail itch without having to add another alcoholic drink to your daily total.

9. Quit smoking

Does this come as a surprise? Smoking is bad for your heart and lungs, and it is bad for your lifespan. Long story short: if you want to live longer and healthier, quit the habit.

While you’re figuring out how to get healthier, don’t turn to vaping. It may be less harmful, but it is just as addictive and still occurs health risks.

Smoking is one of the most difficult daily habits to break. The CDC and the American Lung Association have resources to help.

10. Spend time with those you love

If you’re pursuing healthy habits to feel happier in 2024, stick with your people. Social connection contributes greatly to improving our mood.

If you already have a group of friends or family, let this be a reminder to reach out to them. Call someone you haven’t spoken to in a while or invite a few people over for a game or movie night. Then check how you feel. Better? That’s what we thought.

If you don’t have a social circle, make 2024 the year you consciously work on making connections. This may mean striking up a conversation with a colleague or getting to know your neighbors.

11. Take a break from electronics

Screen time is taking its toll. Studies directly link this lower psychological well-being.

Fortunately, the opposite is true. A digital detox can:

• Improve your sleep
• Increase your focus and productivity
• Reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety
• Support social connections in real life (see point above)

You could try stepping away from social media apps for a while and see how you feel. If you want to incorporate this into your healthy daily habits, make sure you set aside time each day when you don’t have a screen. To help you sleep better, you might want to do this the last hour before going to sleep.

12. Take up a new hobby

Your healthy habits can also be fun and rewarding. What have you always wanted to do? Your answer to that question could point you to a new hobby you can explore in 2024. You can get started with it help you reduce stress and promote mental well-being.

Plus, some hobbies can get you moving, supporting both your physical and mental health. Maybe you start playing football in the park, or you can go exploring yoga.

Ultimately, you have many options for healthy daily habits that you can incorporate into your lifestyle. You can pick one or two, or go big and go for the whole dozen. Either way, you’ll be on your way to a healthier, happier you.