Wellness Trends and Life Hacks That Work Wonders
By Martha Michael
If you’ve ever had trouble sleeping and found yourself flipping through TV channels in the middle of the night, you’ve probably come across ads for unbelievable products – from skincare that turns back time to elixirs that cure cancer in 30 days or your money back.
There are plenty of scams in the health and beauty market, but there are also life hacks to improve health that sound crazy but really work. It may actually be worth trying something new because many health hacks are simple, inexpensive, and have no side effects if they don’t work.
Physical Health
Everything you do has an impact on your overall health, from how much you work to the quality of your day-to-day exercise program. There’s no shortcut to cure heart disease, but an article by Get Healthy U has a list of health hacks to boost your physical function.
Lemon water for breakfast - It sounds simple, but beginning your day with a glass of water with fresh-squeezed lemon juice can improve your digestion. Lemon water is a natural way to alkalize your body and flush out toxins, and it’s been credited with a greater flow of energy and anti-inflammatory properties.
Baking soda to clean produce - Fruits and vegetables are a part of a healthy diet, but not if you’re consuming pesticides along the way. Dissolve a couple of teaspoons of baking soda in 1-2 cups of water and keep it on hand to scrub your produce.
Design a motivating water bottle - Carrying your own container to be sure you drink more water is nothing new, but you can raise your intake with a Sharpie. Use a clear bottle and divide it into 200 ml intervals. You can easily gauge how much liquid you consume to be sure you meet your goals.
Take breaks to stretch - Sitting at a computer all day is a health hazard, but there’s no reason you can’t make your breaks count with some physical movement. Stretching can increase circulation, reduce the occurrence of injury, and improve your range of motion. It may also help you gain focus and improve your work life.
Marshmallows for a sore throat - The marshmallow plant has been used for centuries as a sore throat soother. Modern marshmallows don’t have the original healing properties because they’re made with gelatin, corn syrup, and sugar. However, there are recipes so you can make your own using marshmallow root powder. You can also just add it to tea.
Dark chocolate for health reasons - It’s one of the sweetest hacks and the easiest to embrace. Dark chocolate is linked to lower blood pressure, reduced levels of cholesterol, and improved fertility and brain function.
Mental Health
Shortcuts to benefit your body are nice, but you may be even more impacted by life hacks that boost your mental state. An article by FitOn has some suggestions to maximize mental wellness.
Use your PTO time - If you’re the kind of person who ends the year with a lot of unused vacation time and sick days, that may be a strong indicator that there are issues to be addressed. For some people, however, it’s just not on their radar to use personal time off without a need to do so, but a “mental health day” can be a good idea.
Try holistic therapies - Nearly everyone’s had a massage, but there are alternative treatments that may be new to you. Float therapy involves lying in lukewarm salt water matching normal body temperature. The goal is total relaxation leading to a drop in anxiety and mental tension.
Boost your brain with omegas - Wading through recommended nutrients for various preventative purposes can be daunting. Experts agree that for brain health, omega-3s are some of the best choices. Omega-rich foods include:
- Flax
- Salmon
- Mackerel
- Chia seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
Weight Loss
If there’s one thing people want to make easier, it’s weight loss strategies. Some familiar tips are useful, such as eating meals served on smaller plates. Others sound crazy, but they’re actually effective. The website for Mind Body Spirit Bliss offers shortcuts to help you lose weight.
A late night glass of wine - Resveratrol is a polyphenol that acts as an antioxidant, a compound thought to lower the risk of cancer and heart disease. Grapes, and therefore wine, contain resveratrol, which studies show can convert unhealthy white fat into beige fat, which is easier to burn off so it aids you in weight loss.
Sleep in the cold - If you can stand the chill, make your bedroom colder at night. Keeping the temperature below 66 degrees fahrenheit for 10 hours has been known to turn white fat into brown fat.
Eat with chopsticks - Losing weight is about more than just eliminating unhealthy food from your diet. Slowing down your food consumption is a natural way to reduce your calorie intake. You don’t have to reserve chopsticks for Chinese food; unless you’re as adept with them as you are with a fork and spoon, you’re likely to eat less than usual.
Work out while you watch - Making exercise more entertaining is always a plus. The more motivated you are to jog in place, dance, or burn calories another way, the easier it is to curb weight gain.
Drink sweet potato water - In addition to the way they provide a less caloric alternative to white potatoes, research shows that sweet potato wastewater contributes to weight loss, says an article in Marie Claire. The leftover water from boiling sweet potatoes contains a potato peptide protein that lowers appetite and controls metabolism. Studies with mice show it lowers body weight, cholesterol levels, and liver mass.
What Are Trendy Wellness Hacks That Make a Difference?
Options in the health and wellness space can serve you on an individual level, making your own life better, but there are ways to also provide health benefits to people across the globe.
Workout Apparel
When you wear clothes that look and feel good, you’re more willing to go to the gym and you feel better while you’re there. You can make a difference in the world by wearing sustainable fashion. Turn to Poshmark or eBay for a change of clothes, or you can even buy workout wear made of plant-based materials.
Worldwide Wellness
Taking steps to promote overall wellness can literally make the world a better place. The UN World Happiness Report says that there’s a correlation between the wellness economy, or the amount of government spending on health factors, and positive health and happiness outcomes, according to the Global Wellness Institute website. When a country’s wellness economy is strong it leads to lower infant mortality and longer life expectancy.
When countries implement wellness strategies in certain sectors, they’re shown to increase happiness at the national level:
- Healthy eating
- Wellness tourism
- Public health and prevention
- Wellness real estate
- Mineral springs
- Physical activity
- Workplace wellness
Fair Trade
By purchasing health products from fair trade sources, people in other parts of the world are supported, which shares the love. Check the mission statements of companies that package your favorite tea and manufacture your hoodies and exercise equipment. You can filter for sustainability and put dollars into the hands of third-world entrepreneurs to lift families out of poverty.
Even if you lead a healthy lifestyle, it’s impossible to stay tuned 24 hours a day to learn every effective health hack out there. Whether you hear them at the watercooler by day or online by night, it can be hard to figure out which ones are legitimate and which are just hot air. You can’t believe everything you hear and shortcuts aren’t always the best call, but some are worth the effort.
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this page are for informational purposes only. The purpose of this post is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics, including but not limited to the benefits of chiropractic care, exercise and nutrition. It is not intended to provide or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your chiropractor, physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this page.