When life gets crazy, remembering the millions of ways to keep your body well gets overwhelming sometimes. When mental health takes a dip or life gets too busy and you probably don’t have the mental capacity to keep one more ball in the air. If you design the following 4 things into your daily habits, keeping your energy and maintaining a basic healthy lifestyle will be a breeze.

1. Establish An Evening Routine

The downfall of most Americans is the almighty sleep schedule. We caffeinate to wake up and possibly be kind, then we medicate to wind down and sleep for a few hours. Sleep is the only time some parts of your body repair themselves. Lack of sleep causes glitches in your system. Organs like your liver and gallbladder house strong emotions such as anger and anxiety. When you aren’t getting the sleep you need, those emotions go out of whack, which is why you tend to be irritable and easily ticked off after only receiving morsels of sleep.

1 in 5 Americans faces clinical insomnia. This could be due to:

Stress
Anxiety
Depression
Hormonal Imbalance
Physical Pain
Hot Flashes
Food Intolerances
Allergies
The Water Works (Peeing ALLLLLLLLL Night Long )

Investigating why you struggle to fall asleep, then stay asleep will lead to a solution that kills those problems at their root instead of medicating to cover them up. It will save you loads of time, money, and health scares down the road. There is nothing wrong with using supplements to get your body back on track, but that is not the end goal.

The most simple, effective thing you can do for your body is to create a bedtime routine specific to your needs. If you stay awake due to racing thoughts, stress, anxiety, or depression, schedule some wind-down time before going to bed so you can journal your thoughts. For years I saw this as a luxury – something I would do whenever I had time. If you don’t make it a priority, you will never have time.

If you’re experiencing pain, it may be helpful to eat more anti-inflammatory foods and diffuse oils before bed like thyme, clove, lavender, rose, or bergamot.

Whatever your routine looks like, stick with it. You will be able to feel what works for your body and what doesn’t over time. Even if you go to sleep later than usual, when you turn on your sleepy playlist or grab your journal and flood the pages with your thoughts, your body will recognize what time it is, your brain will tell your body’s repair team “Guys, gear up; it’s SHOWTIME!” and you will get more effective sleep consistently.

If you experience further issues getting to sleep, there is nothing wrong with using supplements to get your body back on track, but that is not the end goal. Getting a professional analysis may be most helpful to form a personalized method to get good sleep faster.

2. Develop A Morning Routine

It’s called a sleep cycle for a reason. What you do when you wake up sets off a domino effect of actions that influence the quality of sleep you’ll get that night. It’s not as overwhelming as it sounds.

When you wake up, instead of immediately reaching for a coffee, drink 16 ounces of water first. This will help your brain wake up and begin moving. Next, write down 3 things you’re grateful for. Observe how they make you feel. It can be your job, people in your life, or things as simple as nature and emotions. There is always beauty to be discovered, we just have to look for it. Beginning the day by finding goodness and contentment in your life as it is right now changing how you approach the rest of the day’s events.

You know the saying, “the days are long, but the years are short?” It’s true. We get so caught up in the anticipation of our future goals, dreams, and the life we wish would show up sooner rather than later, we miss the beauty to be relished now.

I have plenty of grand projects and programs weaved into the future of HCSB for you all. Those goals are dear to me, but if I were to get too absorbed in the future, they would never come to pass because I would fail to appreciate what the scenery looks like on my way to “the next level.” I would miss so many pieces along the way that would make the programs what they’re destined to be. Remember the journey to someday is just as beautiful as the arrival. In fact, acknowledging and appreciating the building blocks will make the results even sweeter.

After your gratitude practice, take 5 to 10 minutes to sit in silence and think. Even if you have to turn on a show for your kids and hide in the closet to accomplish this, go for it. Don’t hesitate to get them in the rhythm of a morning routine with you. It builds emotional and mental strength, so your whole family will gain better self-awareness, spiritual growth, connectedness, and communication skills.

Your entire morning routine can be as little as 15 to 20 minutes, or it can be as long as you’d like. You can’t give positivity to your family and others around you until you have positivity and peace in your spirit to give.

3. Get Active

Weight loss is a minimal side of exercise. You can lose weight solely from eating right. I used to pat myself on the back for clean eating, then neglect working out because that was only for Hans and Franz – gym buffs, and Cheerful Chelsea’s. Finally, I realized how much exercise impacts health beyond the number on a scale. It influences the aspects of your health that matter most:

Energy Levels
Motor Skills
Core Strength
Immune Health
Endurance
Memory
Lifespan
Disease Susceptibility

Of course, your sleep schedule significantly benefits from the amount of exercise you get. You don’t have to go full-on CrossFit overnight – or ever if that’s not your thing. Making it fun is the name of the game. If you need to make it a literal game, go for it, sistah! Dancing, sports, neighborhood walks, all of those things count! Remaining sedentary all the time heightens your vulnerability to cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening diseases at scary high rates.

4. Drink Water Throughout the Day

This is truly one of the simplest, most effective steps toward a healthier body. Without proper amounts of water, you lack vital oxygen and flow of nutrients. Water is a natural appetite suppressant. Instead of spending $40 to $200 on wraps, pills, and potions to minimize your appetite, treat yourself to 8 ounces of water before eating to notice your brain cells coming back from vacation, and enjoy the pain and pounds dissipating in no time.

Water is also important to balance your electrolytes. This directly affects your brain, bone, heart, and muscle health, and of course, your overall strength.

You can read about the full benefits of water here.

On a side note, as suggested under point number 2, instilling these steps in your kids will transform how they approach life as well. Forming these habits from a young age will not only improve their wellness and longevity, but they will learn to read their bodies, manage their stress, and operate in obedience to their spiritual wellness instead of peer pressure. Those advantages are just the tip of the iceberg.

Conclusion

“Health” is more than eating seeds, beans, and grass – I don’t even like beans. We need to ditch this idea that health is suffering when it’s quite the opposite. Being willing to take a few steps in a different direction from the rest of the world will lead you to unimaginable success and freedom everyone else in the rat race believes to be mythical or entirely out of reach. When I say success, I am talking about succeeding at living life on your terms instead of allowing your health to dictate your opportunities – the choices you will and won’t make.

Let’s Hear Your Feedback

I want to hear from you! Are you trying these tips? Tell me your experiences in the comments below, or tag me in your success stories on Facebook or Instagram. Got questions? Book a 20-minute consultation! If you’re ready to get rid of your pains, lethargy, and sluggish spirit, join my 90 Day Reset where you will receive:

Tools To A Wellness Mindset
The Most Common Myths That Complicate Health
A Personalized Health Assessment
A Thorough Understanding of How Your Body Works (so you can read and work with your individual body, not forcing it into a one-size-fits-all fad)
Exciting New Habits You Can Implement
Tons of Tasty Recipes
Access to Food and Hormone Testing
A Community of Positive, Supportive, and Likeminded Women