As part of my health journey, I’m completing monthly challenges that correspond with each of my big three: fitness, stress relief, and self-care. These challenges are tools to help me create lasting lifestyle changes for better health. Additionally, by committing to a month, I’ll find what I like and what works best for me. Hopefully, these challenges will also help me become more consistent, as I’ve struggled with that in the past.
The Magic Number
Since I’m just starting out, I’m easing into fitness with this month’s challenge. Currently, I’m not very active and only exercise sometimes. I average around 7,500 steps a day. That’s not too bad considering the average American reaches around 4,000 daily steps. However, I still have plenty of room for improvement. To build on my current fitness level, my challenge this month is to reach 10,000 steps a day.
While this number was originated by a Japanese pedometer company in the 1960s, studies have shown there are many benefits to reaching this daily goal. Roughly equivalent to walking four to five miles, 10,000 steps a day lowers the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Studies have also shown a significant decrease in dementia and premature death associated with this number. For me, I know it will help me develop better fitness. These other benefits are just a bonus!
Meditate the Stress Away
I am a giant ball of stress and I often struggle with being present. For this reason, a daily meditation practice is the focus of this month’s stress relief challenge. My goal is to meditate for a minimum of five minutes a day. No matter how busy my life becomes, meditating for just five minutes a day is an attainable goal.
A consistent meditation practice offers a number of benefits. Meditation improves sleep, attention span, and memory. Additionally, meditation decreases blood pressure, helps control pain, and brings more self-awareness.
Good Sleep is Self-care
Finally, for self-care, I’m tackling my bedtime. Sleep has always been a struggle for me, whether it’s not enough sleep, too much sleep, or simply not good sleep. Admittedly, my sleep has improved tremendously since I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and got a CPAP machine, but it could still be better. I usually average around six hours of sleep a night on a good week. I would like to increase that to seven hours for now. Luckily, creating a consistent bedtime will go a long way to reaching that goal.
It is recommended that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep each night for optimal health. Good sleep lowers the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, and improves the body’s ability to heal itself and fight off diseases. Other benefits include better focus, more energy, and lower stress levels.
These challenges will put me on the path to lasting change. While these are baby steps, they are that way on purpose. No matter how hard I wish it would, change doesn’t happen overnight, and I easily try to do too much, too fast. By taking these small steps, I’m more likely to effectively develop healthy habits. And, that is the ultimate goal.
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