Hello, readers of Yahoo! I’m Natalie Rahhal and I’m here with some small steps you can take towards your biggest health goals this week.
This long weekend after Thanksgiving (and Black Friday, if you celebrate), I’m determined to take it easy. It’s one of those rare times of year when going slow is practically sanctioned by the state, so I plan to make the most of it. In an age where we’re acutely aware of all the ways we can maximize health, it’s easy to forget that doing less is an important part of wellness: we need rest. But with the next period of holiday festivities fast approaching, it’s also time to think about the little things we can do to feel our best and calmest during the most chaotic of times.
Stress doesn’t care what time it is, even if it’s midnight. So what can you do if your mind is racing at 2am and you’re struggling to get back to sleep? The experts have a few tricks up their sleeve so you can quickly return to dreamland. Try making mental “schedules” where you imagine walking around your grandparents’ house, your childhood neighborhood, or your favorite store. “Familiar but neutral images calm the brain,” clinical psychologist Leah Kaylor tells CNN. You can also try these other calming strategies the next time you look at the clock and are desperate to start procrastinating again.
🐟 Try the longevity diet
Globally, people are living longer than ever before, and we’re learning a lot about how and why along the way. Genes matter, but don’t worry if you don’t have a family full of centenarians; Lifestyle choices, such as how often you move and what you eat, also matter a lot. In fact, as Women’s Health reports, a longevity expert has created an entire diet designed to help you live longer. It’s loaded with vegetables, fish and olive oil and light on things like red meat and ultra-processed foods. Your body (and your taste buds) will thank you for incorporating more fresh, delicious foods into your day.
🦴 Eat plums for stronger bones
It was the year of “grandma’s” snacks that came back into fashion (hello, high-protein cottage cheese!). But have you considered getting some plums? They contain plenty of bone-healthy nutrients, including fiber, magnesium, potassium, vitamin K, polyphenols, copper, and boron. They don’t just fuel the bone-forming process; they can help prevent resorption, a process of bone loss that happens with age. Dietitians tell EatingWell that everyone should plan to eat a handful of these dried fruits at least a few times a week. An easy way to introduce your plums? Toss them in your morning oatmeal.
🧺 Wash your clothes after a flight
If you’re feeling a little queasy after hours on a plane, there’s a good reason why. Airplanes are equipped with HEPA filters that go an impressively long way in eliminating germs, but there’s only so much contact and proximity to other people in flight. To avoid bringing bacteria and viruses home to your family, throw your travel clothes straight into the laundry. Wash and dry them at the highest temperatures the materials will tolerate, with a good detergent. The process is highly effective at killing any germs that may have been clinging to your clothes, according to HuffPost.
✍🏼 Write your way to a calmer state
Grab your pen: Writing down your feelings ‘rewires’ your brain, psychologists tell The Conversation. Research has shown that levels of distress decrease after people engage in “expressive” or emotional writing sessions. The process gets your thoughts and feelings out of your head and onto the page, promoting a sense of safety because you are no longer trapped alone in your mind with those emotions. This in turn encourages resistance. To supercharge the effects, once you’ve written your thoughts, throw away the paper (literally) and (metaphorically) turn over a new page. It’s definitely better to get a friend or relative out.
🚶🏽➡️ Try these solutions without sitting
After the holidays, most of us will go back to work, and for those of us who work at home, we will turn our backs. Unfortunately, experts have warned that sitting could be the new smoking, as all that sedentary time isn’t great for our health. What is a remote employee to do? Real Simple has some helpful tricks for sneaking more exercise into your day. Experts suggest using “transition” moments in your schedule—such as at the end of a meeting—as opportunities to get up and stretch or take a walk. And to double the benefits, start drinking more water. Not only will you be more hydrated, but you’ll also need to leave your seat more often to use the bathroom.
☕ Alternate coffee and tea for better longevity
Which is better, coffee or tea? Trick question – the answer could be both, according to new research. As Self reports, research published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that people who consumed seven or eight cups or glasses of water, tea and coffee over the course of a normal day had the lowest risk of cancer of any group in the study. But how much of each, you ask? Scientists have solved that too. The ideal ratio is three cups of tea for every two cups of coffee per day (regardless of tea and coffee, make sure you drink enough water). Eating this combination was linked to a 45% lower risk of dying in the study. So put the kettle on – for longevity!
🪡 Cross stitch your way to calm
We have a theme! “Grandma’s” hobbies (and eating habits) are back in style this year. And taking up at least one – cross stitch – is a good idea for your sanity. The focused nature of crafts like cross stitch has a meditative quality that can calm the mind and body. “Elaborate hobbies create little zones of predictability, which regulate the nervous system and restore the sense of action,” psychologist Jenny Shields tells the Washington Post. Threading the needle through a pattern not only creates a beautiful design (well, maybe after the first try or two), but it narrows your focus to one thing, interrupting anxiety spirals. A bonus: When you consider the activity’s historical ties to women’s suffrage in the US and storytelling in Bangladesh, cross-stitching can give you a sense of connection to something bigger than yourself, notes the Washington Post.
🩸 Take a pomegranate to lower your blood pressure
Nearly half of US adults have high blood pressure, a leading risk factor for heart disease. And three-quarters of those people don’t have their blood pressure under control. Medications are essential for some, but changing your diet and exercise routines can help prevent and reduce high blood pressure. If you want to maximize your benefits from the individual ingredients, Parade suggests starting with pomegranate. The vibrant seeds of this fruit are full of antioxidants, which help scavenge free radicals that otherwise damage blood vessels and lead to high blood pressure. In fact, research suggests that only coffee drinks and red wine pack more of an antioxidant punch than pomegranate juice per serving. If a spoonful of pomegranate seeds or a glass of fruit juice doesn’t sound like your style, try the former Top Chef hosts Padma Lakshmi’s favorite holiday salad with kale, apples and pomegranate.