Our modern life doesn’t make it easy to be healthy. So many habits that are common in this day and age aren’t good for us even though they’re socially acceptable and it seems like everyone does them. And some of these habits we’re told are healthy aren’t necessarily healthy for everyone.
Focusing on your health is important for sleep because not being able to sleep well is a sign that the body isn’t healthy. A healthy body needs sleep and knows how to do it. If you can’t sleep, the key is to find out what imbalances in your body are keeping you awake at night and correct them.
You can’t do what everyone else is doing and expect to be healthy. In fact, all of these habits have led to an increasingly unhealthy population. Chronic disease and insomnia are more rampant than ever before.
Here are 15 common and socially acceptable habits that are keeping you unhealthy and affecting your sleep:
1. Wake up to an alarm clock
Not letting your body finish your final sleep cycle is going to make you sleep deprived and groggy when you wake up.
2. Start day with coffee
If you aren't sleeping, your adrenals are likely stressed. The caffeine from coffee is only adding more stress.
3. Go, go, go
If you're on the go from the second you wake up in the morning to before you go to bed at night, your nervous system will get stuck in fight or flight. Over time, that constant stress and high cortisol will sabotage your health.
4. Work hard without breaks
You want to take breaks during the day to calm your nervous system. you'll actually be more productive and focused during your work time if you take a break every 90 minutes or so.
5. Sit at a desk all day
We as humans are not meant to sit all day. A recent study showed that people who exercise but otherwise sat all day had elevated cholesterol, body fat and blood sugar levels.
6. Bright lights inside, little time outside
Being inside with artificial lights and not seeing natural sunlight is not good for your health or sleep.
7. EMFs
Electromagnetic frequencies put extra stress on our bodies. Turning Wi-Fi off at night and putting your phone on airplane mode can help.
8. Diet
Our food system has changed so much in the last 100 years. Our bodies are meant to thrive on whole, organic foods not on processed, man-made “food.”
9. Eating out
Most restaurants use cheap inflammatory oils and cooking methods.
10. Eat quickly while working
When you eating quickly and on the go, your body isn't in a relaxed state to digest food properly.
11. Drink tap water
Tap water is full of chemicals and heavy metals that affect your health. Refrigerator, Pur and Brita filters don't filter out enough toxins either.
12. Toxins in water, food, personal care and cleaning products
It’s estimated that we're exposed to 700,000 toxins everyday! Using a high-quality water filter, eating organic and sustainably raised food and choosing natural personal care and cleaning products can reduce your toxic load.
13. Drink alcohol every night
It's socially acceptable to drink alcohol every night. Unfortunately, however, alcohol is a poison and puts an enormous burden on your liver that already has to deal with all the other talks exposed to.
14. Screens all day
It's common to be on screens from the minute you wake up throughout your work day and until you go to bed at night. Screens affect your sleep but also your cardiovascular health, blood sugar, and ability to handle stress.
15. Worry about money, work, relationships, economy, pandemic, politics
We have so many things to worry about in this day and age that add to our stress levels.
How to develop healthier habits
First, check off any of these habits that you don’t do. Then decide what you want to work on. You don’t need to change everything at once. Instead pick 1-3 to start with. You can choose the easiest ones first to make progress quickly.
“What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while.”
-Gretchen Rubin
Small simple changes add up and make a big difference over time.
The truth is, you have to make an effort to be healthy these days. And it’s hard to know what is healthy and what isn’t because there’s so much conflicting information out there. That’s why it’s necessary now more than ever to have a health coach who can show what you need to do to be healthy for your body and what’s going to work for you and your lifestyle in the long-term.
Optimal health isn’t a destination. You never arrive and then don’t have to have healthy habits anymore. You can’t make some changes, get better and then go back to an unhealthy lifestyle. You have to maintain those changes. It’s like training a dog. My mom had a sweet yellow lab named Maggie. She sent her away to get “trained.” But my mom didn't want to learn how to keep her trained so Maggie was not a well-trained dog! I know from having my dog Bongo that “training” never ends. I need to keep rewarding him if I want him to behave the way I want.
As health coaches, we teach you how to be healthy for life. And an awesome bonus is that you can pass this on to your family so you’re all healthier!
Book a consultation to find out more about how my team and I at the Complete Sleep Solution can help you restore your health so you can sleep normally.