Feel Better Every Day. Simple Daily Challenges that Will Improve Your Health

Feel Better Every Day. Simple Daily Challenges that Will Improve Your Health

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Do you still remember the legendary Tamagotchi? Many of us once had a virtual pet in our pocket that needed to be fed, played with or given a peaceful night’s sleep. This simple formula of care could also be applied to our virtual avatar and the health of our bodies, which, although it doesn’t send us notifications or beep like Tamagotchi, speaks to us every day in its own language.

Sometimes it whispers for water, other times it screams with hunger, craves vitamins, and occasionally keeps quiet to remind us that we are important too. Listening to the signals of our health in today’s fast-paced world is not easy at all. We place a high focus on various areas, whether it’s work, school, household, or family. The metaphorical beeping of our inner Tamagotchi often takes a back seat, because it usually requires some extra actions.

In today’s article, however, I will convince you that taking care of your health doesn’t have to be as difficult as it may seem at first glance. Here’s a summary of simple daily challenges that will help you boost your health with minimal effort and fit playfully into your daily routine.

Diet, Exercise, and Mental Well-Being on the Journey to Health

For simplicity, we’ve divided our steps into three packages of diet, exercise and mental health. In each of those areas, we’ll explain the fact of why it’s important and approach minimalist actions to work on it.

1. Diet

Our body is like a little chemical factory that processes everything we put into it as the main supplier and functions accordingly. If we take care of a healthy and balanced diet, where we have all high-quality micro (vitamins and minerals) and macro (protein, carbohydrates, fats) nutrients, it can help us avoid various chronic diseases.

Conversely, if we indulge in various fast foods, semi-prepared foods, smoked meats and other ultra-processed foods, our chemical factory gets a lot of salt, saturated and trans unsaturated fats – fatty acids, sugar or other problematic nutrients that can make its red lights flash over time. Their signal can then manifest itself, for example, with high blood pressure, cholesterol, cardiovascular disease and other problems. [1]

Diet, exercise and mental well-being on the journey to health

1.1 TOP 5 Benefits Why You Should Care about Your Diet

The diet we eat can affect [2 – 7]:

  1. the level of the risk of cardiovascular and chronic diseases, diabetes and some cancers
  2. the brain and cognitive functions that give us the ability to perceive, remember, learn, think or make decisions
  3. composition and function of the gut microbiome, which supports both digestion and absorption of nutrients and plays a role in our body’s immune function
  4. Mental health, as deficiencies in key nutrients have been linked to worse mood or increased risk of mental disorders, according to studies
  5. the immune system, as its optimal functioning is linked to sufficient calories or optimal intake of energy, macro- and micronutrients (e.g. vitamins D, C, A, E, omega-3…), which are primarily taken in from the diet

Diet itself also has an impact on life expectancy, as, for example, increased consumption of industrially processed foods is associated with a higher risk of obesity and mortality from various diseases. A nice bonus in terms of diet is also better athletic performance and body composition. In fact, with sufficient intake of all nutrients, you will boost performance in any sport and also improve your body composition in favour of muscle mass and fat loss.

1.2 Daily Mini-Challenges to Improve Your Diet with an Emphasis on Health

Eating healthy doesn’t have to mean getting up 3 hours early the next day to cook for the week and pack in the calories you need. You can also start with specific mini-challenges that won’t overwhelm you at all. Feel free to choose just one for today, or as many as you can handle. Then, once you’ve mastered them, you can add more and gradually work your way up to big changes in small steps.

For greater clarity and emphasis on simplicity, we will summarise the individual actions into a table that will convince you that you can apply them yourself.

A simple step for every dayBenefits for your health
🍎 Have at least 2 pieces of fruit during the day.A higher intake of health-promoting nutrients such as fibre, micronutrients, and macronutrients.
🍫Always have a nutritious snack on hand (protein bar, sandwich, oatmeal in a cup, fruit with yoghurt…)Protection from starvation and intake of important micro and macro nutrients.
🍭 Swap regular sweets for protein snacks (bars, flapjacks, cookies, protein drinks, dairy products…)Promoting muscle growth and maintenance, and affecting bone health. [15]
☕️ Try a day without sweetening and omit sugar, for example, from coffee or teaReducing calorie intake, the risk of being overweight and dying from cardiovascular disease or certain cancers. [8]
💦 Reach for water in the morning, not coffeeReplenishing fluids lost during the night improves circulation and promotes optimal functioning of organs, including the brain. [9]
📱 Eat without TV, mobile phones and other distractionsSo-called mindful eating (mindful eating) can improve your eating habits, prevent overeating and give you more control over your diet. [10]
⏳ Eat at regular timesHelp with better weight control, lower risk of metabolic disorders, reduced hunger and cravings for unhealthy snacks. [12]
🥬 Add vegetables to every mealReducing the risk of obesity, cardiovascular and many chronic diseases, including some cancers. [13]
🥜 Snack on nuts once a dayPositive effect on cholesterol levels, blood pressure and lower risk of cardiovascular disease. [14]
🥓 Limit industrially processed foodsImproved health, lower risk of various chronic and cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers. [16]
🐟 Include fish in your diet (salmon, anchovies, sardines, herring…)They are a source of omega-3 fatty acids, which have anti-inflammatory effects, lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. [25]

Articles about diet that will teach you to eat healthier:

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2. Movement

From an evolutionary point of view, we were born to move. Our ancestors were mostly hunters and gatherers, hunting for food, gathering various raw materials, migrating in search of better conditions, and walking long miles every day to keep themselves in good physical condition and to benefit from the abundance of benefits of exercise.

Nowadays, however, sedentary lifestyles play a major role, having, in a way, chained us to our chairs. Every day we sit at work or school. Then we tend to lounge on the couch or choose various other, again sedentary, activities, such as cafés, park benches, long periods of sitting on the toilet with a mobile phone in hand, cinema, theatre, restaurants and bars, where, among other things, we are again expected to sit. The result is very low energy expenditure, which is not adequately compensated by sufficient physical activity. Our bodies are wasting away, our muscles are wasting away, and this comfort takes a toll in the form of higher risk of chronic diseases, stroke, certain cancers, high blood pressure, obesity and cholesterol. [17]

From an evolutionary point of view, we were born to move.

2.1 TOP 5 Benefits Why Movement Should Interest You

Physical activity can affect our health in the following ways [18 – 22]:

  1. prevention or lower risk of chronic diseases (obesity, cardiovascular problems, cognitive dysfunction, inflammatory bowel disease, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, etc.)
  2. better insulin sensitivity, blood glucose control and lower risk of type 2 diabetes
  3. strengthening of muscles and bones, higher bone density, better balance, coordination and lower risk of osteoporosis
  4. anti-inflammatory effects and strengthening of the immune system
  5. longevity

2.2 Daily Mini-Challenges to Reap the Benefits of Exercise and Improve Your Health

Again, as with diet, you don’t have to run to the gym first thing tomorrow morning and do Ronnie Coleman-style strength training. For starters, incorporating movement into your daily routine gradually will do the trick.

The WHO recommends that at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity per week is necessary to reap the benefits of exercise. This is roughly equivalent to 1 episode of the Harry Potter film series. At first glance, this seems like a lot, but when you break it down, it’s about 22 minutes a day. However, you are free to manage this time as you see fit, and you can set aside 30 minutes for exercise five days a week, knowing that you won’t have to think about it over the weekend. But I definitely recommend natural movement on the weekend as well, ideally in conjunction with a hike or bike trip, for example. [23]

A simple step for every dayBenefits for your health
🕺🏼 Try morning stretchingImproving flexibility, muscles, joints and blood circulation. [30]
💪🏼 Take a few minutes to warm upPositive effect on high blood pressure, heart health and cholesterol. Life extension. [26 – 27]
𓊍 Take the stairsTaking the stairs for 20 seconds to a few minutes, three to five times a day, can improve cardiorespiratory fitness. [24]
🚶🏼‍➡️ Go at least 3867 stepsThis number of steps is associated with a lower risk of mortality from various causes. In the case of the number of steps, of course, the more the better, and you can gradually get up to a number 10,000. [28]
🌳 Take advantage of your break from work/school and go for a walk outsideImproved mood, feeling more energetic, reduced fatigue and negative impact on cognitive performance. [29]
🤸🏼‍♀️ Exercise with your bodyweightSaving time, developing stability, strengthening the core important for posture, developing coordination and flexibility, burning calories and overall strengthening the whole body.
📿 Get a fitness braceletMore accurate step counting and, in conjunction with the app, a variety of motivational challenges to push you further and further increase the positive impact of exercise on your health.
🚶🏽‍♀️‍➡️ Add micro-movement during the day (a few squats, a small walk)All the benefits of the movement mentioned above.
Greater accountability for the exercise and mutual motivation.The many health benefits mentioned above.
🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️ Try to find a sparring partnerGreater accountability to the exercise and mutual motivation.

Articles about the movement that will introduce you to its benefits:

3. Mental health and relaxation

Imagine that your mind is like a laptop that runs nonstop. After a while, it starts to overheat, chopping and finally crashing, thanks to thermal protection that simply shuts it down to prevent fatal consequences at the last moment. Your mental health is very similar. You could say it makes up half of our overall health. It certainly doesn’t benefit from being nonstop in traffic, chasing something every day and experiencing a lot of chronic, i.e. long-term stress, which raises blood pressure, weakens immunity, causes irritability, headaches, nervousness and many other adverse effects. [31]

We also need to switch off from time to time, to cool down our processor in the form of our head and recharge. Of course, the endless scrolling of social media before bed doesn’t count. Well, why should you care?

Mental health and relaxation

3.1 TOP 5 Benefits Why You Should Care about Mental Health

Taking care of our mental health can also affect our overall health in the following ways:

  1. lower level of perceived stress
  2. better quality sleep
  3. psychological well-being
  4. better concentration
  5. reduction of fatigue and exhaustion

3.2 Daily mini-challenges to relax and improve your mental health

Even in this case, it is not necessary to make an appointment for 3 months at the spa tomorrow, to skip all obligations, not to go to work or to ignore everything that matters to you every day. For starters, it may be enough to remember the usual energy rechargers in the form of sleep, social relationships and activities that make you happy.

A simple step for every dayBenefits for your health
🧘🏻‍♂️ Take 10 minutes for meditationRelieve stress and anxiety, improve mental well-being. [32]
📚 Read a few pages of a book before bed instead of scrolling through social networksImproving overall sleep quality. [33]
📝 Write down 3 things you are grateful forBenefit in feelings of happiness and fewer depressive thoughts. [34]
🎞 Find time for a hobby or activity you love (gym, cinema, books, music, hiking…)Lower risk of stress, depression, anxiety and low mood. Feeling happier and more relaxed. [35]
😴 Try the 3-2-1 method (don’t eat heavy meals for 3 hours before bedtime, quit work for 2 hours, and don’t look at the screen for 1 hour)Deeper sleep and improved overall sleep quality [36]
👩🧑 Spend time together with your loved ones, whether family or friendsSocialisation and positive influence on our mind. [37]
🌿 Get out into natureLong-term positive effect on feelings of anxiety and depression [38]
🌞 Treat yourself to time in the sunSunlight stimulates the production of vitamin D and promotes the production of serotonin, which has a significant effect on our mood. [39]
🛀🏼 Take a warm bath before going to bedA shower or bath scheduled 1-2 hours before bedtime for at least 10 minutes can help speed up falling asleep time and improve sleep quality. [40]
😴 Sleep 7 – 9 hours every day [41]Making the most of the benefits of sleep.
📱 Treat yourself to a digital detoxBetter sleep, higher levels of perceived well-being and life satisfaction. Lower stress levels. [42]

Articles on mental health that will give you more clarity on its importance:

Conclusion

When asking how to support your health, don’t immediately panic that you need to take steps that will turn your life upside down. Thanks to scientific studies and various research, we now know that sometimes real mini-steps are all it takes to move your fitness and health forward every day.

Whether you’re packing a healthy snack in your bag today for tomorrow, parking further away from your destination to take a walk, or taking a hot bath before bed. Each of these actions can be a small step for humanity, but a big step for your health. What’s more, each activity can be seen as a start on which to build for the future. After all, you never know if a 10-minute stretch will nudge you towards a particular sport that will change your life forever, in the best sense of the word.

The perfect start to any of these mini-challenges is today!

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