Health Education Ministry

With the new year upon us, it brings a time for reflection now that another year is in the rearview window. Take a deep breath — you made it through the many ups and downs of 2022, from COVID-19, RSV, and to the pressures of everyday life.

There is something that we can control and that is how we take care of our bodies and maintain our health. As you begin to create intentions for the upcoming year, see what health resolutions you can make to better care for your well-being. By eliminating stressors, practicing self-care, and improving your mental and physical health, you can be a proactive participant in your health and wellness to make 2023 your healthiest year yet.

Here are a variety of health resolutions for bettering your mind, body, and spirit that you can use, make your own, or use as inspiration for what your health resolutions might look like for 2023 and beyond.

1. Move Your Body for 30 Minutes, 3 Days a Week
With more and more people making the switch to remote work and spending more time overall at home due to COVID-19, it can be easy to skip movement for the day. Staying active can boost your energy levels, improve your mood, control your weight, and promote better sleep.

 

Aim for 30 minutes of aerobic activity at least three days per week. If you’re strapped for time, you can break it up throughout the day. If you’re strapped for time, you can break it up throughout the day. For example, get your heart rate up for 10 minutes before work, 10 minutes during your lunch break, and 10 minutes after work. This can look like any activity that you enjoy and gets your heart pumping — like a lunchtime walk, stretches during a cameras-off meeting, or yoga before bed.

2. Take Action on the Symptoms Keeping You from Feeling Your Best
From symptoms like bloating to headaches to fatigue, our at-home lab tests can help you address common, uncomfortable symptoms faster and easier with clear insights and actionable results.
Make a New Year's promise to start addressing disruptive health concerns or symptoms now for resolutions you can feel all year long.

3. Create a Nightly Routine That Helps You Sleep
We all know the effects that a poor night’s sleep can have on your day. Many people experience chronic sleep problems — so if you’re not getting the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep each night, consider finding ways to improve your quality and quantity of sleep.

 

Stress is one of the main culprits that can inhibit our ability to unwind at the end of each day and ease into a restful sleep. Finding ways to make a nightly routine that reduces your stress at night can improve your sleep quality. Find what nighttime stress-relievers you can incorporate into your nightly routine, such as prayer, yoga, deep breathing exercises, a warm bath, aromatherapy, or unplugging from electronics.

4. Organize Your Home
A common resolution is to clean and organize, and it’s no wonder why it’s so popular — living in a clean, organized, and inspiring space can help you live and feel better throughout the year. Clearing out unused items within your space is a great place to start, or by making it a goal to declutter and reorganize one space in your home each week.
Decluttering can help ease anxious feelings and cultivate a happy and healthy environment. This can also help prevent certain allergens like dust and dander from building up in your home and causing unwanted symptoms, like watery eyes or sneezing.

5. Incorporate Gut-Friendly Foods into Meals
Your gut houses trillions of bacteria, which carry out vital roles for keeping your body functioning properly. To fuel the healthy bacteria in your gut, a diet full of dietary fibers is important.

6. Drink Water with Every Meal
If your resolution is as simple as “drink more water,” you’re making a bigger health resolution than you may realize. Dehydration can lower energy levels and even affect brain function, so it’s important to ensure you’re drinking enough water each day.

 

A few easy ways to up your daily water intake include:
1. Getting a water bottle with a straw that you keep near you while you work, work out, and eat
2. Drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning
3. Replacing soda and juice in your fridge with flavored sparkling water
4. Infusing water with fresh herbs or fruit for natural sweetness and flavor
5. Setting a goal to drink two glasses of water with every meal
7. Cut Back on Processed and Added Sugars

Many people make their resolution something broad like “eat better,” but narrowing it down to something more specific, like watching your sugar intake, can help you make strides in your health journey. Limiting added sugars from both food and beverages in your diet is important for your overall health, as added sugars can contribute to an elevated risk for certain chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

8. Find Your Version of Self-Care
Consider dedicating time each day for self-care, no matter what this looks like to you — time to journal before work, meditating before bed, or at night by yourself with no plans. If you struggle coming up with ways to practice self-care, you could even participate in a self-care challenge to help you prioritize yourself each day.

The important aspect of self-care is to make it an activity that you enjoy, and one that will benefit your mental, physical, and/or emotional health (bonus if it hits on all three).

9. Spend Time Outside Each Day
Some New Year’s resolutions focus on big-picture goals or life changes, and others can be as simple as getting outside more often. Spending time outdoors, like going for walks, hiking, or just being around nature, can lead to significant health benefits like boosted mood and improved energy levels; plus, exposure to the sun helps your body produce vitamin D.

10. Pre-Schedule Health Check-Ins and Appointments
In our current climate, maintaining your health and wellness is critical. Though it may not be the most glamorous resolution, making a commitment to schedule all your important health appointments is a relatively easy way to prioritize your wellness going into the new year.

Remember, these are meant to improve your health and wellness, so the last thing you want to do is stress yourself out. Taking gradual steps for your health and focusing on progress over perfection is how you’ll create healthy habits — not just for this year, but for many years to come.