This guest post was contributed by Samantha Velez, Content Specialist for Steam Showers Inc, headquartered in Santa Ana, California.
Making time to be healthier may sound like a daunting task. But fear not! There are several small ways to improve your health from the comfort of you own home. Fostering healthy habits can be easy by making small changes to your home or looking for these qualities in a new home. The following tips are designed to assist you in making a transition to a healthier lifestyle that will promote wellness for years to come.
- Exercise – Most of us can probably relate to having a busy schedule. That’s why having a small at-home gym can be a life saver. You can convert a room or office in your home into a small gym with weights and other equipment, depending on what kind of exercise you enjoy doing. Increasing time spent exercising is beneficial for heart health, emotional health, concentration and attention; furthermore, exercising helps decrease risk of Alzheimer’s, risk of arthritis and depression.
- Work Out Your Brain – You may be working out at your home gym, but don’t forget to work out your brain! You can improve memory, attention and concentration and decrease risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia through puzzles and artistic activities. Dedicate a space in your garage for arts and crafts. Or, if possible, dedicate an entire room to a home studio where you can spend time painting and sketching.
- Relaxation – It may sound like a foreign idea in our fast-paced society, but scheduling time to “do nothing” and relax is extremely important to physical and emotional well-being. Take some “me time” at home. Create a spa-like bathroom with a soaking bathtub and steam shower unit. Relax with a book, your favorite music or a journal. Sometimes taking time to unwind is the best medicine.
- Meditation – Meditation is believed to improve self-awareness, tranquility and inner peace. Meditation also reduces anxiety; improves depression; lowers high blood pressure; and decreases risk of asthma and heart disease. Create a space for yourself to meditate within your home. This space could be an area in the yard where you can practice yoga or simply relax outside. Some homeowners keep a room as a “lady cave” or “man cave” where they can go to escape and be alone with their thoughts.
- Clean Eating – The kitchen is the heart of the home, and your home kitchen should inspire you to make healthy choices. Having a kitchen outfitted with the proper cooking equipment is the first step. Next, think about how you will store your food in your kitchen, or in your new kitchen, and consider whether or not there is ample counter space for prepping food. Limit eating out of the home and prepare meals at home. Eat fewer processed and prepackaged foods; limit alcohol, sugar and salt; and increase intake of whole fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Dedicate yourself to creating spaces at home that enable you to make better choices for your health and that give you the opportunity to do activities that lead to healthy living. We wish you the best in luck in achieving these goals within your current home or your new home, and we hope you have fun brainstorming ways to integrate these healthy habits into your routine.
