I don’t love New Year’s resolutions. It’s the resolution part that does it for me. It feels so inflexible and rule-like. However, I do like the concept of continuing to grow, learn and evolve.
So instead of a resolution, what if we refresh, rethink or reimagine specific aspects of our lifestyle? We can reframe the premise of a New Year’s resolution, essentially losing the dreaded ‘shoulds’ and fears of failure.
For this New Year’s refresh, let’s focus on adding in a positive, versus giving something up. And why limit it to just January?
Here are a dozen habit shifts to support our physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Subtle lifestyle edits have the potential to become monumental milestones over time. They’re in no particular order – it’s up to you whether you incorporate one, a few or all of these. It can be at any rhythm, at any time throughout the year; though 12 does work out nicely to allow for a month of dedicated focus on each at a time.
It takes time for a new behavior to become fully integrated in our daily lives. Focusing on one new behavior at a time, for a month or more, gives it time to become automated, to really stick.
1. Experiment with a continuous glucose monitor
At first glance, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) may seem like something that’s just for people with diabetes. The reality is that it can be a game-changer for all of us, providing insight that can help us to improve energy, athletic performance, weight and body composition and more.
A continuous glucose monitor provides instant feedback about how nutrition, sleep, exercise and stress affect our glucose levels. Continually elevated glucose levels generally aren’t a good thing; they’re linked to an array of negative effects, including insulin resistance, inflammation and increased body fat.
The CGM is a small little sensor that measures our glucose levels 24/7. The sensor is applied to the back of the arm and worn for up to 14 days. By scanning the sensor with our phone, we can see how our glucose (blood sugar) levels shift in real-time, allowing us to see how our bodies respond to specific foods, also our movement, stress and sleep.
My go-to brand is Nutrisense (nutrisense.io). It comes with a user-friendly app to track food, exercise and sleep, and provides easy-to-interpret glucose data in real time. Nutrisense also offers personalized support by a registered dietitian to help develop and reinforce healthful habits. It’s admittedly pricey though, at a few hundred dollars for a month’s worth of sensors.
Abbott has recently made its Freestyle Libre CGM more affordable and accessible. You still need a physician prescription, but there is no diagnosis needed – anyone can get it. Your physician submits the prescription to your pharmacy for either the Freestyle Libre 2 or 3 (either is good). The cost is $75 or less for two 14-day sensors.
Wearing a CGM is not something that most of us need to do indefinitely – even just one month of wearing a CGM can give us the insight we need to understand how our choices in food and drink are impacting our glucose levels, and, in turn, our energy, weight, inflammation and more.
2. Sleep with your phone in another room
I don’t know that I can fully express just how life-improving this has been for me. I first started this back in 2017, as part of the guidance from Ariana Huffington in a sleep challenge that we hosted centered on her book, “The Sleep Revolution.”
Our entire lives are on our phones, so if we’re using our phone as an alarm clock (which so many of us do), it’s tempting to look at alerts, texts, emails or social media anytime we look at our phone to check the time.
If the idea of sleeping with your phone out of arm’s reach is paralyzing, try committing to just one week. I promise it’s doable, and I think you’ll find it liberating.
3. Read a real book, with real pages.
Consider pairing this with the habit shift above, as books can be a convenient replacement for our smart devices.
Reading a real book helps us to unwind, quieting the noise of the day. There’s also some research that says we may actually remember what we’re reading better when it’s from the pages of a real, physical book.
On the flip side, when we read a book digitally, the light from our screens is stimulating. It can keep us awake longer and may even interfere with our sleep.
If reading a book is something you haven’t done in a while, don’t put too much pressure on it. The first step is to find a book that’s appealing to you. Keep it handy and commit to just a page or two a day, whatever time of day is best for you. My preference is at night before bed, but truly, it’s whatever works for you.
4. Breathe with Purpose: 4-7-8 Focused Breathing
This is my go-to for dialing back nerves before a big presentation or important meeting, also if I’m having trouble falling asleep.
The 4-7-8 focused breathing technique is simple: Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for a count of 7, and exhale for 8. This focused breathing is a powerful tool to help manage feelings of anxiety, reduce blood pressure and quiet the noise in our heads.
Aim to incorporate 4-7-8 breathing at least twice daily, ideally when you’re feeling stress or pressure, and at bedtime.
5. Supplement with Collagen
Collagen won’t actually change your life but is one of those things that can give us a little extra wellness edge with essentially zero risk.
The most abundant protein in our bodies, collagen is an essential component of skin, cartilage, bones, ligaments and tendons – in people, and in animals. The typical American diet tends to be centered on more of the muscle-based cuts of protein foods – the filet or steak, versus the feet or fins – so supplementation can be an efficient way to incorporate more collagen into our diets.
Potential benefits of collagen include joint health (specifically our ligaments and tendons), improved skin elasticity and hydration, and stronger hair and nails. Collagen may help protect our intestinal lining, improving nutrient absorption and digestion. And it’s just one more source of protein that also happens to be convenient to consistently add into our diets.
Available as collagen hydrolysate or collagen peptides, collagen powder dissolves easily,
making it easy to incorporate into food and drink like coffee, low-sugar sports drinks, protein shakes and smoothies.
For maximum benefit, aim for at least 10 grams of collagen daily (my preference is plain, though flavored varieties are available); reputable brands include Vital Proteins, Orgain and Great Lakes Collagen.
6. Compliment Others
Aim to give at least one compliment a day. The only rules: It must be specific, and it must be sincere. How often do we hear good stuff about others, yet we sit on it, keeping it to ourselves? It’s not intentional, we just get sidetracked and forget about it.
For one full month, make it a point to pass along any and all compliments. It can be something you notice first-hand, or something you hear from others. Pay attention to the reactions you get, the joy of a kind and true word, the gratitude when someone feels seen and appreciated. It’s such a simple act, yet one with great reward.
7. Immerse in Nature
I crave the outdoors. It centers me, bringing a sense of peace and clarity, no matter what else is going on. My best work often happens when I’m out for a walk, allowing my thoughts flow freely with no distractions.
And it’s not just me. Decades of research show that spending time in nature can reduce stress, improve attention, boost immunity and lift mood.
There’s a Japanese term for this dedicated time spent in nature, shinrin-yoku, that translates loosely to forest bathing. Our levels of stress hormones drop after a stroll in nature. This is significant, since elevated stress hormones are tied to high blood pressure, heart disease, GI issues, inflammation and more.
This doesn’t mean we must immediately book a hiking or camping trip. Shorter doses of exposure to nature – 15 or 20 minutes daily, even divided throughout the day – can enhance our feelings of wellbeing. And we don’t even have to be in nature – we can still reap some of these benefits by looking at nature – think green roof spaces, windowsill gardens or even simply our view from a window.
Take stock of your usual routine, looking for opportunities to increase your exposure to nature. Is there an outdoor space going unused that you can enjoy for morning coffee or dinner when the weather is nice – or for gym-goers or Peloton riders, could you bring your workout to the outdoors one day a week? A brisk five-minute walk outside after lunch, a walk-and-talk with a friend, a stroll with family after dinner, and playing outdoors with kids or pets can all benefit both our body and our mind.
8. Hydrate effectively
Being well-hydrated supports so much of the good stuff that we’re looking for: optimal metabolism, energy and focus, healthy joints, skin, hair and GI system.
Feeling tired is one of the first signs that we’re not drinking enough fluid. Other cues include rapid heart rate, inability to concentrate, headaches, constipation and muscle cramping.
Thirst really isn’t a great indicator of our hydration status – by the time we feel thirsty, it’s often too late. Instead, to determine just how much fluid you need, divide your weight (in pounds) by two. This is the baseline amount of fluid, in ounces, to aim for each day. If you weigh 150 pounds, for example, you’ll want to consume 75 ounces of fluid a day. You’ll need more if you lose a good bit of sweat, adding an extra 16-24 ounces for every pound of sweat lost.
What counts?
It doesn’t have to be just water. In fact, any fluid without alcohol – even coffee and tea – contributes toward our daily intake. Same goes for things like Greek yogurt, soups and smoothies.
Most fresh fruits and vegetables are at least 80% water, and even unexpected foods like grilled chicken and salmon are more than 60% water.
As for sports drinks, most of us don’t need the added sugar found in traditional sports drinks. Some of my favorite zero-sugar electrolyte replacers include MyHy Zero, nuun, and Liquid IV Sugar Free – all are rich in electrolytes with no artificial sweeteners.
9. Smartphone pickup challenge
Any idea how many times a day you pick up your phone? Our smartphones keep a tally of this (more on this, below), making this pickup challenge easily measurable.
It’s not that using our phones is inherently bad. But so many of us have that Pavlovian response of picking up our phone anytime we have a moment of downtime. We glance to see if a text came through, swipe to refresh our email (even if we just checked it a few minutes earlier), scroll mindlessly through an endless barrage of social media.
On average, we spend more than four hours a day on our mobile devices. This constant stimulation damages our memory and attention span and triggers our brain’s reward pathways so that we want more and more – not unlike an addition to drugs or gambling.
The goal of this challenge is simply to beat your personal pickup record. Look in your settings to find your pickup history. Whatever the number is, there’s no judgement. My initial daily average was 59 pickups, with a high of 90 pickups. Now I try to keep it in the 40’s or below.
Aim to reduce your daily average by at least 20% for the first 10 days. Once you achieve this, drop by another 10% for the next 10 days, then another 10% by the next 10 days. So, if your pickup average is 50, aim for a max of 40 pickups, then 36, then 32 by the end of the month.
To find your personal pickup history:
• iPhone users: settings => screen time => see all activity, then scroll down to see pickup data
• Android users: settings => Digital Wellbeing => show your data
The numbers are easy to track and make it fun to compare our data and challenge with others with the overarching goal of better managing our smartphones, which can ultimately help us to better manage our stress levels.
10. Ultra-processed trade-out
Last month we covered the perils of ultra-processed foods: increased anxiety, inflammation, risk of certain types of cancer and more. This isn’t to say that we must forego these foods altogether. What we can do, though, is identify one or two less-than-nutritious things that we consume regularly and find a better alternative.
If cookies are your thing, try the Oreo-style cookies by Catalina Crunch, or the chocolate chip or snickerdoodle shortbread-style cookies by High Key – both brands are low-carb with zero added sugar and no artificial sweetener. Chocolate lovers, give Lily’s chocolate bars a try, available in varieties like Salted Caramel and Blood Orange Dark Chocolate. If one of your vices is a sugary frozen coffee drink, try a DIY version with Cool Brew blended with milk of choice, chocolate or vanilla protein powder or collagen powder, and ice.
Your trade-out won’t be exactly the same of course. And it might feel uncomfortable at first, as you train your taste buds and your brain to adapt to these new alternatives. Over time, though, it’s possible to settle into a new pattern and feel satisfied with these better-for-you options.
11. Mindful drinking
If it’s been a while since you’ve thought about your relationship with alcohol, take a little time for an honest assessment of how it’s affecting your wellbeing. There are the physical aspects – how you feel after drinking, how alcohol is affecting your weight, blood pressure, energy levels. And there’s the mental side of things as well – how is alcohol affecting your anxiety, your productivity, your relationships with family and friends?
This month’s Wellness column is all about zero-proofing it, whether it’s for the full 40 days of the upcoming Alcohol Free For 40 challenge, or more or less. Going alcohol-free for a block of time, whatever the reason, can serve as an effective mental and physical reset, giving us space to reflect on what balanced drinking may look like for us.
12. Prioritize movement (or flexibility)
We typically recommend at least 150 minutes of exercise per week, or at least 20 minutes daily, including at least two days of strength training. For some, this may be just your warmup; you get much more on the regular. If that’s the case, use this opportunity to add more flexibility and balance-focused movement to offset your intense training regime.
For the month that you focus on this habit shift, make it a priority to carve out time daily for a walk, bike ride, yoga class, strength training – any type of movement. If you’re already way ahead of this, protect this time for stretching or balance exercises, or using a trigger point roller or massage gun to increase circulation and support healthy muscle and connective tissue.
