drink water Archives

It’s that time of year. The season of stuffy noses, sore throats, head colds, and the flu has arrived and it’s ready to hit us all full force.

It’s also that time of year when we are typically the busiest. Let’s be real – We have busy lives and have no time to be sick.

There are many little tricks to help keep us healthy and tackle gross colds and flus head on – but, let’s not overwhelm ourselves and go in total health-freak mode…

Here is a handful of the easiest and most effective tricks for you to put into practice starting right now.

Good Hygiene

This one should be a no-brainer, but it really is one of the most important. Washing your hands often throughout the day is critical. When you’re at work, when you get back from the grocery store, after pumping gas, handling cash, and basically after being anywhere out in public.

Keep a hand sanitizer in your vehicle to kill the germs and potential viruses when you’re out and about.

Drink More Water

Maybe you already think you drink enough water – challenge yourself and drink more. Not only does water help to flush out toxins and cleanse our body system, but it also carries essential nutrients to our body cells.

Check out my post Hydration IS Happiness for more info on why staying hydrated can literally change your life and make you happier and healthier than you’ve ever been. Plus, cheats on how to follow through and make drinking more water the simplest habit.

Vitamin D

If you’re luckier than I am, you live in a place where the sun still often shines in the winter. I however am from Wisconsin, where during the winter months, gray and white snowy skies are all I get on a daily basis.

If you can, get out and enjoy sunshine whenever you can. Vitamin D is essential for our immune system. Aside from being a physical savior for our bodies, Vitamin D can help keep our mental in check during what is usually the most stressful and depressing time of the year. Vitamin D is actually required to regulate our mood.

Not able to see the sunshine as often as you’d like? There are Vitamin D nutritional supplements that can be taken daily to make sure you are getting enough Vitamin D that your body and mind need to help keep you healthy and happy.

Sleep

This is my favorite because I love any excuse for me to take a little power nap during the day or hit the hay early. Sleep is a non-negotiable for staying healthy; studies prove that those who do not get enough rest catch more illnesses and viruses. Bonus: Not only does sleep keep your immune system healthy, sleeping also burns calories and eliminates stress hormones.

Exercise

I’ve shared with you my most favorite trick, I might as well share my least favorite.

I’ll be honest, I definitely don’t love exercise. I wish I was a gym rat lol. But there are simpler ways to stay active that I actually do enjoy… exercises such as yoga on my living room floor, jumping jacks and squats while I binge my favorite TV show, and a walk around the block are all things that help to boost my immune system from winter sicknesses.

There you have it – a handful of simple tricks to help keep seasonal colds and flus away during these next few months.

If you haven’t already, I really recommend checking out Hydration IS Happiness to quite literally change your life with the easiest and healthiest habit you can form for yourself.

That’s all for now. Stay warm and healthy my friends!

Hey lovely! Welcome back.

If you’re reading this and looking for a great, simple morning routine, you’re most likely just about to crawl into bed for the night or just woke up and are having a hard time crawling out of bed for the day.

Either way, I don’t want to take up too much of your time, so I’ll cut to the chase for this one!

Practicing a quality morning routine works wonders for your mind, body and spirit.

Turn these practices into habits, and soon enough you will be happy to wake up at 6:00 AM and start your day off on the right side of the bed.

Step 1

You’re probably not gonna like me for this one… Stop hitting snooze.

It’s so tempting but don’t do it.

Getting those extra few minutes of sleep won’t make a difference.

And did you know that hitting the snooze button actually does more harm than good??

Your body is very smart. You have a biological clock that knows your sleep cycle. The sleep cycle starts preparing you to wake up 1 hour before you actually do by releasing dopamine and cortisol.

If you hit snooze and fall back asleep, you fall back into a deeper sleep than before. Once your alarm goes off for the second time, it interrupts your sleep cycle, making you even more tired.

That’s when the vicious cycle of hitting snooze begins again.

One tip to combat that tempting snooze button is to set your original alarm a little bit later.

For example: You don’t have to wake up until 6:30, but you set an alarm at 6:00, hitting snooze every 10 minutes until finally getting out of bed at 6:30.

Can you see how this interrupts your sleep cycle and interferes with your body releasing hormones to wake you naturally?

Getting that extra 30 minutes of interrupted sleep between 6:00 and 6:30 allows you to get quality rest. Breaking that 30 minutes up into 10-minute intervals, messes with your sleep cycle, causing you to feel more tired and groggy throughout the day.

Step 2

Wash your face (with an invigorating cleanser).

As skincare obsessed as I am, I hope you already wash your face every morning.

But even if you’re not getting into the shower right away, or usually eat breakfast first, the first thing you should do after waking up is walk to the bathroom and washing your face with cool water.

Not only does it feel incredibly refreshing and help to wake you up a bit, but the cool water helps to close your pores, relieve puffiness and even prevents acne (hot water strips your skin of its natural oils that it needs to prevent breakouts and stay hydrated).

Since we’re on the topic of face washing… I have to share with you my all-time favorite facial cleanser: New Groove Hemp Wash.

It’s a gel that turns to a foam as you wash your face, minty and invigorating to help wake you up, and infused with full-spectrum hemp oil to limit breakouts, unnecessary oils, redness and even wrinkles.

Alsoooo, I’m an animal lover and every purchase you make on this website goes towards rescuing abused and neglected animals (I’m not crying, you are).

Check out the New Groove Hemp Wash here.

Step 3

Drink a large glass of water.

When you wake up in the morning, your body is naturally dehydrated.

Aside from that, drinking water when you first wake up has many benefits like…

promoting weight loss
keep skin radiant and clear
stops headaches
increases mental activity (I need all I can get in AM)
relieves sinus symptoms
helps with cell renewal

Step 4

Stretch your body.

Working out in the morning is amazing. Props to everyone that does that, but it is not for me. If you don’t exercise in the morning, just make sure you at least get some good stretches in.

Stretching your body has obvious benefits such as improving your posture and flexibility.

But stretching also jumpstarts your brain, relieves stress, and improves your mood… all things that make for a better morning.

Take 5 minutes, even 2 if that’s all you have time for, and stretch your arms, legs, back, neck… even your fingers and your toes.

Step 5

Stay off your phone first thing in the morning.

If you’re tired when you wake up, you’ll probably want to scroll social media on your phone because you’re sleepy and want to distract yourself from everything else you should be doing in the morning.

Scrolling on your phone in the morning is not only a distraction that can cause you to be late for work or whatever other activities that are on your calendar, but it also depletes your energy.

Checking your phone first thing can also cause information overload; something you don’t want to deal with in the morning. This can make it harder for your mind to stay on track and prioritize your tasks for the day.

Step 6

Make your bed.

It sounds so simple; how can this really help?

If you already make your bed every morning, good for you! If not, it’s time you start. Here’s why:

develops consistency and self-discipline
gives you momentum to start your day
gives you a sense of self accomplishment
can be a great mindful exercise – perfect time to gather your thoughts
it looks good!

Step 7

Set 3 goals for the day.

It’s always good to set goals for yourself. Setting goals every day can help to create healthy habits for yourself.

No matter how small or large the goal might be, setting goals helps you to focus and prioritize what you need to do to get to where you want to be.

Goals can be as simple as drinking 200 ounces of water today or putting the laundry away.

You can even set bigger goals such as gaining a new customer at work, making a big sale, or putting your phone away for 3 hours.

Whatever it is, setting 3 goals for yourself every morning is a great way to keep yourself motivated all day long.

Any must-have steps in your morning routine that you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments!