Elevate Your Self-Care this Spring with Simple Habits

Elevate Your Self-Care this Spring with Simple Habits

As we say goodbye to winter and spring into warmer weather, it’s a great time to refresh some old routines. Consider some new, simple, and impactful self-care habits. Little changes can have a significant impact, can help you reach your wellness goals, reduce stress, and lead to a happier, healthier you! 

Connect with Nature

Getting outside in the fresh air and natural sunlight does wonders for your mood and overall mental health. The American Psychological Association reports that time in nature is good for mental health and can even “sharpen our cognition.” Connecting with nature is a powerful stress reducer and restores your ability to concentrate and pay attention. The good news is that connecting with nature doesn’t have to mean a trip to Yosemite. There are small ways to do it every day.

• Try this: Make it a habit to pour your first cup of coffee in the morning, open the door, breathe in the fresh air, and let the sun hit your face. Just a little time without the phone in your hand and looking up at the sky can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which lowers heart rate and blood pressure and induces a calming effect. Extra points if you can also focus on one thing you are grateful for - maybe it’s as simple as the cup of coffee in your hand!

Take a Short Walk after Each Meal

Taking a stroll after a meal has long been thought to help the body digest, and studies have linked walking after a meal to reducing blood sugar levels. This is incredibly beneficial to the body for many reasons, including warding off Type 2 diabetes. Good news emerged in 2022 when the Journal of Sports Medicine did a meta-analysis, looking at the results of seven studies relating to the benefits of walking after a meal versus sitting. The result: researchers found that even just a 2-to-5-minute walk had a significant impact on moderating blood sugar levels. The benefits of just a short heart-pumping walk within 60 to 90 minutes of a meal helped minimize blood sugar spikes.

• Try this: Make it easy. Keep your walking shoes by the front door and your Copper Fit Arch Relief Plus on your feet all day for extra support. The adjustable compression band has a built-in adaptive arch orthotic. It’s designed to provide compression and relief from fallen arches, flat feet, and plantar fasciitis, so there’s no excuse to stay on the couch. Once you walk, the arch support's comfort might make you want to keep going.

Wake Up Early. 

Chances are, you’ve heard of Mel Robbins, the motivational speaker with a top-rated podcast. She’s a big fan of getting up early, although she readily admits she really doesn’t want to! It’s initially not easy, but the benefits are enormous. Establishing a morning routine can also reduce stress or feeling overwhelmed by providing structure and predictability to your day. While some people are naturally night owls, it works for them to stay up late and sleep late. For most schedules, “hitting the snooze” too often leads to a less productive day. So, if you want to stop hitting snooze and start your day with a better habit that leads to more good habits - just give yourself an extra 30 minutes in the morning to take control of the day!

• Try this: Start by setting your alarm 5 minutes earlier on day one, gradually working towards waking up 30 minutes earlier each day. To improve your sleep quality, adjust your bedtime and avoid consuming alcohol and caffeine in the afternoon. Establishing a morning routine you enjoy, like a refreshing shower or a brief yoga session, will make waking up easier and help kickstart your day.

Pump Iron 

The word is out; weight training is IN. It’s not just for bodybuilders anymore. Not only does weight training help tone, strengthen, and manage weight, but keeping your muscles engaged helps you age better, period. Muscle helps protect joints and helps you to maintain balance and flexibility. We naturally lose muscle mass and strength. Strength training can help counteract this loss by stimulating muscle growth and maintenance - all important factors to keep you on your feet and maintaining independence as you age.  Weight training doesn’t have to mean big barbells, either. Simple bodyweight exercises like planks, push-ups, and lunges will do, and a simple exercise band can make at-home movements more challenging. 

• Try this: Start with a set of small weights and a YouTube video like How to Start Lifting Weights. Make sure that you have proper stability when lifting weights. Make sure you have a cross-trainer with good support and ankle support like the Copper Fit Pro Series Compression Ankle Sleeve. It is embedded with kinesiology bands and offers targeted compression to support your ankle without limiting mobility.

So there you have it: easy ways to step into spring with a plan to take better care of yourself! Simple strategies to up-level your self-care will pay off in the long run. You won’t regret it!