Prioritize Yourself and Develop Healthy Habits this year

We live in a busy world with shifting priorities, our energies being pulled in a million different directions, and constant stimuli. For a lot of us, we tend to push it to our breaking points and burn out. But at the same time, there isn’t room for burnout with all of those responsibilities!

While it can be easy to push off our own needs, resetting our boundaries and setting ourselves up for success can be as easy as implementing some self-care practices into our daily and weekly routines. Even if we’re not quite as busy as we used to be, it’s still important to take some time out of our day to reset our minds, focus on our breathing, and reevaluate what it means to live a healthy and balanced life.

Here at Juniper Glen Memory Care and Transitional Assisted Living, we encourage our residents, our staff, and their families to make time for self-care. We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite techniques for you, in the hopes you can find a new way to show yourself a little love. Check out our suggestions below!

Just Breathe

A lot of the time we are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or even sad, we do something that can create even more stress: hold our breath. A quick check-in with yourself to ensure you’re not holding your breath can alleviate stress immediately.

To reset your system, we suggest some simple breath exercises including the 4-7-8 method. To do this, inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, and exhale slowly and steadily for 8 full seconds. Repeat several times for maximum effect. Or you can also try alternate nostril breathing, which is a yoga technique and very effective for concentrating on your breath. You can learn more about this technique and try it for yourself.

Hydrate

The simplest solutions are sometimes the very best. Proper hydration can be tough to attain with many of us not getting enough of our daily water intake. While many of us have heard the recommended water intake is 8 cups a day, it’s a little more complicated than that. It depends on your age, body composition, exercise level, and even gender.

These days, 11.5 cups are recommended for adult women, and 15.5 cups for adult men. You can learn a little more from this article from the Mayo Clinic. Our favorite way to ensure we’re getting enough fluids throughout the day? A fun way to keep track of our water intake is to use a water bottle marked with either ounce measurements or motivational phrases–give it a try!

Move Your Body

We talk about exercise all the time because, well, there’s no better way to take care of the health of both your mind and body. Exercise releases endorphins which are one of the three happy hormones. A quick walk around the block or a small 5-minute dance party can have an immediate effect on your happiness and well-being.

But what about finding the time for exercise? This is where the practice of self-care comes in. Blocking off 10-30 minutes a day for some light exercise is one of the best self-care practices you can do. A lot of the time, we decide we don’t have the time or the energy to prioritize movement, but as little as a few minutes a day can make all the difference. So this is a challenge to schedule a little exercise into your day and to make sure you don’t miss it!

We love simple but effective lifestyle changes that have a huge effect on your well-being. These little self-care tips can make a world of difference.

Should you be interested in learning more about our East Amherst, New York memory care and transitional assisted living center, please give us a call! We’ll be happy to give you a virtual or in-person tour.

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