New Year’s Resolution: Feel Better, Work Better!

Do you need help setting new goals this year? Have you noticed that you always feel tired at work, it’s hard to concentrate, or you just don’t feel 100%? You may not be fully nourishing your body and mind enough to sustain a healthy lifestyle.  Here are a few small, achievable, but important resolutions you may want to consider to improve your work performance.

Sleep!

Sleep is so fundamentally important to your mood, weight, learning, memory, and physical health. Many people neglect the amount of hours of sleep they need every night. Going to bed a little earlier goes a long way as far as benefits are concerned. There’s a lot of back and forth debate about how much sleep is enough. The general rule by most research states 8hrs is optimal. However, having a minimum of 6hrs seems to be essential to function comfortably and effectively throughout the day.

Eat Right!

The famous “you are what you eat” term is so true. Eating a clean, balanced diet (non-processed food, heavy greens, etc) definitely helps you gain more clarity and improves your attention span. It doesn’t matter how often you eat—whether 3 meals and 2 snacks, or eating every 2 hours—do what’s right for you. I recommend eating something for breakfast, even if it’s small. For those wanting to lose weight, as soon as you wake up, drink a glass of water with some lemon juice. This is a great way to suppress your appetite and prepare your stomach to break down food for your first meal. Also, most of the time when people feel hungry, they aren’t really hungry. They are just dehydrated. If you notice your mouth is dry, you need some water, not food. Drink water throughout the day and keep a water bottle near your desk. If you see it, you’ll drink it. In addition, some of my favorite healthy snacks are raw almonds, tangerines, apples, baby carrots, and pretzel sticks. Sometimes I’ll add peanut butter and hummus as a delicious spread.

Stay Active!

Similar to food, exercise is a great way to rapidly change your mood and energy level. If you haven’t visited the gym lately, those first couple of sessions will be tough, and you’ll feel pretty fatigued after the workout. However, once you have a nice routine, you’ll notice how much better you feel. Your endorphins (hormones that make you happy) will be released, you’ll have taken in more oxygen (food for your brain), and you’ll drink more water too! Plus, if you can work out in the morning, even better! This is a great way to jump start your metabolism and start burning calories for the day.

You’ll feel better and be happier by focusing on the areas above. Take incremental steps, set goals for yourself, and just start… Now! Don’t delay, start the new year right by giving yourself some love and attention. There are a lot of cool fitness apps to help you track these three elements (exercise, food, and sleep), such as Jawbone, Garmin, Fitbit, etc. Good Luck!