It’s mid January and by now, after the excesses of Christmas, your thoughts may be turning to a healthier lifestyle. If you were one of the unlucky people to be struck down with the flu and are still wiping your fevered brow and coughing and spluttering or are slowing regaining your energy, then good health may well be a priority for you for the new year.
So, why is it so important to make wellness a priority in 2026 and what are the first steps you should take on your journey to better health? A healthy lifestyle boosts your physical and mental health by reducing the risks of getting conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, improving your mood and energy levels, enhancing sleep, increasing longevity, and ultimately, leading to greater independence, particularly as you get older.
Key elements of achieving good health include eating nutritious food, taking regular exercise, getting quality sleep, and managing stress. Exercise, especially, is linked to a range of positive effects that lead to improved physical and mental health.
Here are some tips to help you become a healthier version of yourself this year:-
1. Get sufficient sleep. Research indicates that the average person struggles to sleep at least three times a week. Stress, nightmares, and partners’ snoring are among the top 10 reasons for a disturbed night’s sleep. Sunday is apparently the night we are all most likely not to sleep because of often going to bed late on Saturday night and having a lie-in on the Sunday morning. Women are more likely than men to have sleepless nights and those most affected are aged between 25 and 34. It takes some people an hour to fall asleep which may mean a lot of tossing and turning and counting sheep.
Lack of sleep can adversely affect us on a number of levels. It can impact our mood, causing us to cry for no reason, be grumpy, or bad tempered, according to studies, and can affect our concentration and productivity. Persistent lack of sleep can lead to irritability, tension, inefficiency, and even, accidents.
Sleep recharges our batteries and gives our bodies’ repair systems an opportunity to do their important work. So, it is important that you get sufficient shut-eye. Cutting down on your caffeine intake and avoiding it altogether in the evening may help as will reducing screen time. Try listening to music or practising relaxation techniques. While physical exercise in the morning or afternoon deepens our sleep quality and reduces the time it takes to fall asleep, vigorous exercise before bedtime has the reverse effect. Be sure to leave at least four hours between any form of exercise and bedtime to give your body time to wind down.
2. Eat healthily. Focusing on whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, and lean proteins while limiting processed foods that are high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, is a good start. Ideally, fruits/vegetables should make up half your plate (aim for five portions daily ) and wholegrains and protein should make up a quarter each. Choose whole wheat bread, brown rice, oats, and lean protein such as fish, poultry, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds. Limit both red and processed meats. Avocados, nuts, and oily fish are good food options as are low-fat milk or yogurt. Limit sugary drinks and juices. When grocery shopping, stock up on healthy snacks.
3. Embrace the outdoors. Aim to go for a short walk most days. A regular exercise routine, even a walk around town, is beneficial. If you are tempted to stretch out on the sofa a bit longer or eat cake and watch television, remind yourself that people who exercise regularly have raised levels of infection fighting cells in their blood. So, as well as staying trim, you will be helping your body’s defence system. Remember, fresh air will help clear your lungs, give you an appetite, and add a healthy hue to your complexion.
4. Try to relax. Are you burning the candle at both ends or working long hours without any down time? If so, it is time to build in some stress-busting measures into your life. Try to spend at least 10 minutes a day unwinding. Close your eyes and shut out all thoughts, concentrating solely on relaxing every part of you. Take a deep breath, when we are stressed we tend to take short breaths. Listen to your favourite music or have a detoxifying soak in the bath. Aromatherapy oils will help revive you after a long day. They can be used in a burner which will fill the room with fragrance. Treating yourself to a massage, facial, manicure, pedicure, or any other form of relaxing therapy will help you unwind, too.
5. Rule out any health concerns. If you are feeling unusually tired or fed up or generally feeling below par, book an appointment with your GP. You may be lacking in iron or other vitamins, have thyroid problems, or your mood may be low. Sometimes, there may not be any particular reason for feeling weary, it may be a combination of factors. You may be recovering from illness, have moved house, experienced a bereavement, be pregnant, or be drinking too much. These challenges may stretch your coping resources to the limit and leave you feeling worn out. A routine check-up with your family doctor will uncover any issues which may be contributing to your lack of energy.
6. Stay hydrated. Water is an essential nutrient and is best taken between meals or half an hour before or one hour after food. The body has no way of storing water and needs fresh supplies every day. Women should drink about two litres (eight cups ) of fluids a day and men about 2.6 litres (10 cups ).
7. Reduce your stress levels. Experts say seven out of 10 people are affected by stress at some stage in their lives. Dealing with challenging life events, juggling several roles, or being under pressure at home or work can all take a toll on our coping skills and resilience. You may feel stressed but not know why you are struggling to cope. Try to identify all the stressors in your life, even the small things that niggle at you and disturb your peace of mind, and draw up ways of tackling them. You may not be able to solve some problems but changing the way you view them may help. Sometimes, an outsider’s perspective can bring clarity to a situation and being able to unburden yourself to a trusted friend or professional may help you.
8. Slow down. It is easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and run out of fuel because of being over scheduled. Being a people pleaser can be a drain on your physical and emotional resources as can committing to doing too much, setting overly high standards for yourself, and putting your own needs at the end of your priority lists. Having balance in your life is important and will help you perform more efficiently and stay healthy.
If you feel overburdened, look at ways of reducing your load. Enlist the help of supportive friends or colleagues, if possible. Examine your priorities and when you have a snapshot of how you are spending your time, consider if you are making the best use of it or if you are wasting valuable hours and stressing yourself doing unimportant chores. Try to have realistic expectations too and be selective. The more you take on and try to pack into each day, the more your energy will be diluted and the less likely you will be to achieve your targets. Research indicates we spend up to 80 per cent of our time on non-essential tasks. Abandon these and you will have more time, freedom, and energy.
