3 Daily Healthy Habits To Incorporate In Your 2021 Daily Routine
By: Daisy Hemmen
With all of the 2020 chaos, many of us feel thrown off track when it comes to taking care of our health. Together, let’s decide to take the new, fresh start of 2021 as an opportunity to release any habits and patterns that do not serve us, and welcome in new tips and tricks we wish to take with us into the year ahead.
One of the easiest ways to get back on track is by incorporating small, healthy habits that can easily fit into your daily routine. Small, consistent efforts can create big results - so let’s work together to optimize our mental, physical, and emotional health in 2021! Read on for 3 daily habits you can start today, that will contribute to creating the healthiest version of you.
- Mornings: 5 Minutes of Me
Mornings can feel just so busy these days. Whether you’re heading into your workplace, preparing for a day of work at home, or getting all of your household’s ducks in a row, the thought of an elaborate morning routine can seem like an unattainable luxury. That’s where the “5 Minutes of Me” comes in. Everyone, and we mean everyone, can fit 5 minutes of me-time into their mornings. Whether that means waking up a bit earlier to carve it in your day, exercising self-discipline and cutting back on your phone time in the morning, etc. - we encourage you to try this out. Just 5 minutes to yourself in the morning can plant the seed for you to take on the day ahead to the best of your ability.
Take these 5 intentional minutes and fill it with an activity that makes you feel grounded. Push your technology aside for this small chunk of time, and immerse yourself in the activity you know will make you feel calm, collected, and competent. This could be a quick walk around the block, five minutes of closing your eyes and focusing on your breath, moving your body in an impromptu dance session to your favorite music, or grabbing a piece of paper or your journal and scribbling all of the thoughts that are swimming in your mind. If you’re hesitant to believe that this can make a positive impact in your day, we challenge you to do this every morning for one whole week, and take note of how you feel.
This healthy habit is particularly important if you spend the majority of your day working from your computer, like many of us do these days! Meetings, classes, trainings - all of these virtual commitments can result in a lot of time sitting in front of screens. This is where Exercise Snacks come in. Begin to carve small chunks of time away from your desk/computer into your day, and fill it with movement of your choice. Depending on how much time is available for your Exercise Snacks, this could be a walk around the neighborhood, 100 jumping jacks, or even a handful of air squats or a minute of plank. Incorporating these bursts of movement throughout your day will help your mental and physical health by encouraging you to feel more balanced while also increasing your physical activity.
This tip is useful whether you’re an employee, boss, or student - start to look for ways Exercise Snacks can fit into your schedule. Perhaps this is between meetings, during your allocated lunch break, or after class ends.
3. Practice Breathwork While You Fall Asleep
By this point, most of us know the endless benefits of meditation and breathwork, and yet - how many of us find time to actually incorporate it into our daily lives? If you do - that’s great! If you’re still looking to “find the time”, we got you covered. This tip can be exercised by everyone, whether you’re a regular meditator or a total novice.
The trick to actually fitting this into your day is to stack this habit with something you already do daily - in this case, going to sleep at night. No need to set time aside to fit this in, but rather choose to use the time you’re in bed falling asleep practicing this tip. There’s a variety of breathwork techniques that would be suitable here, but we’re big fans of the Box Breath for its simplicity and calming benefits. To practice this breathing technique, simply perform the following:
- Close your eyes (if they weren’t closed already!)
- Breathe in your nose, counting to four in your mind
- Hold your breath at the top, for a total of 4 counts
- Release your breath through your nose for 4 counts
- Hold your breath at the bottom, counting to four once again
- Repeat at least 10 times, or continue until your drift asleep
We love this practice for many reasons, one of them being how effective it is at redirecting the racing thoughts that so many of us experience at bedtime. Say sayonara to bedtime anxiety and overthinking, and hello to falling asleep faster, and enjoying a peaceful night’s rest!
At the start of the New Year, it’s easy to get caught up in the laundry list of “New Year, New Me” goals that many of us feel so conditioned to have. These goals can often be daunting and end up overwhelming us more than actually helping. With the start of 2021, we encourage you to relieve yourself of this pressure, and instead, set yourself up for success! Start off with simple, achievable habits that will help you improve your overall wellbeing. You can always add more in the future once you have some basics seamlessly incorporated into your day-to-day routine.
From the Boody team to you, we wish everyone in our community a year of health, happiness, and enhanced wellbeing.
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In order to combat these common pests, conventional cotton is routinely sprayed with a veritable salad-dressing of pesticides, many of which can remain in the soil and water supply for years afterward. Cotton harvesting requires defoliation – In order to quickly and efficiently harvest cotton, many commercial growers use chemical defoliants to strip the leaves from the cotton plant prior to harvesting the bolls. Like pesticides, these chemicals remain in the environment and on the cotton itself. Is organic cotton better? All of those cotton factoids point pretty compellingly to buying and wearing organic cotton fabric. But first, it’s important to understand what sets this organic alternative apart. Why exactly is “organic” cotton anyway? You might associate the word organic with your healthy fruits and veggies, but it’s not always clear what this term means when it comes to cotton. 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Crop pests, weeds, and diseases will be controlled primarily through management practices, including physical, mechanical, and biological controls. When these practices are not sufficient, a biological, botanical, or synthetic substance approved for use on the National List may be used. Operations must use organic seeds and other planting stock when available. The use of genetic engineering, ionizing radiation, and sewage sludge is prohibited. What is organic cotton? In short, it’s cotton that is farmed according to these practices and certified organic by the USDA. Why should you choose organic cotton? With fewer pesticides, fewer synthetic chemicals, and more thoughtful cultivation practices, organic cotton can certainly offer a more environmentally friendly choice when compared to regular cotton. Is organic cotton sustainable? Here are a few other reasons why organic cotton can be a better alternative for you and the earth: It’s better for our water resources – According to an analysis by the Textile Exchange, producing an organic cotton T-shirt requires 1,982 fewer gallons of water compared to a regular cotton T-shirt. Because organic cotton uses less chemicals, its production also releases fewer toxins into our aquatic ecosystems. It’s good for the soil (and our carbon footprint) – According to the Soil Association, the more natural cultivation practices and fewer pesticides used by organic cotton farmers can support healthier soil. That soil, in turn, can absorb more carbon from our atmosphere and help keep the planet healthy. It encourages biodiversity – Multiple studies have shown that organic farming practices can encourage more diversity among the animal species of our planet. Sustainability is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. But when it comes to plant-derived textiles, the ones which help us create a healthier world are always a better alternative. Explore the benefits of bamboo with Boody Whether you choose to purchase conventional or organic cotton clothing, the fact that you are shopping mindfully for yourself is a win for the environment. At Boody, we believe in bringing you quality, comfy, sustainable clothing basics that keep you feeling good about yourself and your personal impact on Mother Earth. From our sleepwear to our loungewear, women’s bamboo shirts to our underwear, sustainable and ethical are our touchstones. Our clothing is made of bamboo viscose, requiring less water than cotton while putting precious oxygen back into the environment. That just feels good, doesn’t it? Explore the bamboo benefits today, with Boody. Sources: Britannica. Cotton. https://www.britannica.com/topic/cotton-fibre-and-plant Cotton. The Story of Cotton - Where Cotton Grows. https://www.cotton.org/pubs/cottoncounts/story/where.cfm World Wildlife Federation. Cotton. https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/cotton Textile Exchange. Quick Guide to Organic Cotton. https://textileexchange.org/quick-guide-to-organic-cotton Soil Association. What is organic cotton? https://www.soilassociation.org/take-action/organic-living/fashion-textiles/organic-cotton/ USDA. Conservation and Biological Diversity in Organic Production. https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2016/02/29/conservation-and-biological-diversity-organic-production About the Author: Heather Bien is a copywriter and writer based in Washington, DC. She works with retail, ecommerce, and creative brands on their website copy and digital presence, and her freelance writing has appeared on MyDomaine, Apartment Therapy, The Everygirl, and more. When she's not with laptop and coffee in hand, you'll find her planning her next weekend getaway, working on her budding green thumb, or scouting for her next great vintage find.
