Opportunity to Change: How to Build New Healthy Habits
By Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD
The world has changed so much in the past few months. People are working from home if they can, kids have transitioned to virtual learning, and weekend travel, after work happy hours, and family events are cancelled or hosted on Zoom instead. So many of the things that add structure to your daily schedule have likely disappeared during this time.
But now that the dust has settled and you might have a better idea of what the rest of the year holds for your work and social schedule, it may be time to rethink your habits. While staying at home can be challenging, especially if kids are running around, your situation may also present opportunities to make changes for the better.
Read on for some tips on how to make the most out of your new routine and build healthy habits.
1 – Use new chunks of time to incorporate more exercise.
No longer commuting to and from work? Use that time to fit in a walk around the neighborhood before or after the work day. If you used to go out to lunch when you went into the office, restructure your lunch hour at home. Start with 30 minutes of walking, jogging, or a quick workout routine in the living room before sitting down to eat. Even if you have a busy day of meetings, there are still options to incorporate more activity. Take some of them on the phone while you walk outside.
2 – Put the “active” into family activities.
If you’re looking for ideas to keep your family busy, consider organizing a family workout. Set up exercise stations in the living room and add family workout hour to everyone’s schedule. You can even have your kids come up with the routine to mix it up!
3 – Plan your meals each week.
Working from home can make it really easy to graze on snacks throughout the day. To prevent this from happening, spend some time planning your meals and snacks for the week. Meal planning is also helpful for grocery shopping, especially if you are trying to limit trips to the store and make bigger but less frequent purchases. Having a plan, and spending time to prep meals and snacks in advance, will help you stick to a healthy eating routine.
4 – Rethink your sleep hygiene.
Is your sleep quality declining while you stay at home? You’re not alone! Both the stress of the current situation and dramatic changes to your daily routine can affect how well you sleep. If you’re struggling, consider starting new habits that can help you relax before bed, such as journaling, reading a light or funny novel, meditating, or doing a few minutes of yoga. Check out this post for more tips to improve sleep hygiene.
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