We found 68 results tagged with "good habits"
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2 Articles found
Rest Easy: Your Guide to Better Sleep
Are you getting enough rest? Find out why sleep is so important to your overall sense of wellbeing and learn what you can do to improve your sleep habits.
Tips for Greener Living
Going green is simpler than you might think. Just remember: Reduce, reuse, recycle.
66 Challenges
66 Challenges found
Challenge
Organize your summer vacation photos
Is proof of your fabulous summer getaway still languishing on your camera or computer? Photo albums are a thoughtful and much-appreciated holiday gift for family and friends. (Grandparents adore family photos, and friends you shared time with last summer will appreciate the gesture, too.) Today...
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Learn about the CDC's new nutrition campaign
Originally, the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) promoted “5 a day” as part of its campaign to get Americans eating more whole fruits and vegetables. Now, with the new Dietary Guideline recommendations increasing Americans need of fruits and vegetables to 5-9 fruits and...
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Write down something you like about yourself
The written word possesses the power to move mountains—and alter lives for the better. From recording to-do lists and penning goals to organizing your thoughts and writing down stressors, getting thoughts on paper is a way to isolate ideas and harness your power to effect change...
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Decorate your home with travel treasures
Picking up memorabilia while traveling is a universal pleasure, but knowing what to do with it when you get home is a different matter. The key is to impose broad themes on your collections: Do they tell a story? Do they represent a dying art? Do they hail from a particular geographical area? Do...
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Step up vacuuming
HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) vacuums are a boon to those who want to reduce indoor pollutants and allergens. However, most of us don’t take full advantage of their capabilities to clean our homes. HEPA filters trap smaller particles than conventional ones, so they don’t recycle...
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Learn about updates in food package labeling
The FDA is launching an initiative to proactively help consumers by enforcing accuracy in food labeling, and is also in the process of reviewing food label content. Following a fact-finding period, FDA will make recommendations on how to change labeling to better inform consumers. Today, challenge...
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Create colorful side dishes
How better to brighten up a holiday table than to introduce color—deep greens, oranges, maroons, yellows, and other rich shades abound in this season’s harvest. From crookneck, acorn, and butternut squash to eggplant, sweet potatoes, carrots, radishes, and dark leafy greens, late fall...
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Make a pancake mix
Next time you reach for that packaged pancake mix, think about whipping up and storing a homemade, whole–grain batch instead. Whole–grain pancake mix is a boon to brunch—delicious and nutritious! Plus, you can scale your ratio of whole–grain to white flour to whatever level...
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Set holiday fitness mini-goals
The holidays are wonderful in so many ways—but not for workout regimens. Legions of otherwise disciplined health–seekers have fallen in the face of daily indulgences, marathon meals, cold weather, confounding schedules, and long–term visitors. Some good news: Setting...
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Make your resolution early
Each year, hundreds of thousands of people make New Year’s resolutions—and nearly as many fail to keep them. What can you do to improve your chances? Try making that resolution before January 1st. There is no scientific evidence to show it works, but we all know that taking action...
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Start a support group
Want to exercise—or accomplish just about anything—in a supportive community, but don’t know where to start? Tried to find a support group that suits you but can’t? Start your own! Support groups are known to help people meet their goals, plain and simple. But they also have...
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De-stress each day
All of us suffer stress at various times in our lives. Thankfully, for most of us, life’s stressors come and go. Whatever’s going on in your life, there are small things you can do anytime, anyplace to relieve tension. Today, challenge yourself to start following these steps on a daily...
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Separate spring blooms
Dividing up spring-blooming perennials before the first ground freeze allows them to spend more energy putting down roots before next spring, promoting blooming. It’s not a complicated job, but it is wise to observe best practices when it comes to the transfer. Today, challenge yourself to...
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Winterize your garden
Preparing your garden for winter is essential in wintry climates, where extremely cold air can freeze and dry out even the toughest plants. Today, challenge yourself to prepare for the season and honor the hard work you’ve put into your garden. Here are some tips for keeping your garden safe...
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Learn about DVs, RDAs and DRIs
The Daily Value, or DV, tells us how much of each nutrient we should be getting in our diet as outlined on the nutrition facts panel of all packaged foods and beverages. These daily values are based on the RDAs, or Recommended Daily Allowances established in 1963 by the National Academy of Sciences...
Challenge
Green your garage
Often given short shrift for being out of sight and therefore out of mind, garages are often hotbeds of poorly stored chemical products and environmentally unfriendly materials. What can you do to improve yours? If you’re aiming for a total revamp, natural lighting, recycled insulation...
Challenge
Buy eco-friendly school supplies
From crayons and notebooks to lunch bags and uniforms, there’s a range of choices available when it comes to eco-friendly school supplies. Today, challenge yourself to stock up on non-toxic and sustainable supplies that rely on the reduce-reuse-recycle principle, including: • PVC and...
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Pay attention to oral health
Too often, our gums and teeth get short shrift while we focus on other mind and body systems. Yet recent science points to a potential link between oral bacteria on teeth and gums and risk of cardiovascular disease, especially when combined with other risk factors. That every part of our bodies is...
Challenge
Create a family menu chart
One tool for eating healthier is to be more aware of what’s going in your mouth every day. Maintaining a family menu chart in a visible spot in your kitchen is a great way to bring mindfulness to meal planning: it helps you see how you’re balancing food groups; how often you’re...
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Buy better sheets
It’s hard to rest easy when you read statistics like this one: Cotton, the number-one ingredient in most bedsheets, accounts for 25% of the world’s pesticide use. Furthermore, conventional petroleum-based dyeing to color linens causes chemical run-off that negatively impacts the...
Challenge
Discard outdated drugs responsibly
When was the last time you cleaned out your medicine cabinet? Out-of-date medications are a danger to people of all ages—they lose potency with time and represent an identified overdose hazard—yet many of us hang on to these vials. Furthermore, flushing them down the sink or toilet can...
Challenge
Go gentle at the gym
Perhaps you’ve heard of “gentle” yoga, “silver sneakers”-type gym classes, or other classes tailored for seniors or folks facing physical challenges? And perhaps you’ve always avoided them in favor of no-pain-no-gain-style workouts? Today, challenge yourself by...
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With kids, own up to overweight
Most of us have at least some awareness that obesity is skyrocketing in the U.S., including among children. But with 16% of America’s children clinically overweight, the time has come to step up awareness — and action — to the next level. Today, challenge yourself to learn all you...
Challenge
Brighten up
Looking on the bright side of things is often easier said than done. That said, there is wisdom in this old chestnut! Today, challenge yourself to consciously steer your thoughts toward the positive and away from negative — and often unlikely — scenarios.
Challenge
Take a temperature
When was the last time you used a thermometer? Years ago? Never? The problem with learning on the job, as it were, is that it’s more stressful than getting it down during non-emergencies. Since you never know when you’ll be called upon to take a loved one’s temp — or your own...
Challenge
Switch to refillable containers
How many of your food, personal care, and household products do you store in reusable, refillable
containers? Many of us go the extra mile to reuse shopping bags and invest in natural products, but
buying stuff in bulk requires a little more pre–planning. Today, challenge yourself to make...
Challenge
Throw a “greener” barbecue party
Grilling isn’t the only aspect of summer partying that impacts the environment. Water usage, insect
repellant, and energy output, among other factors, all contribute to make traditional ’cuing an
environmentally unfriendly activity sometimes. Now, the good news: There are ways you can...
Challenge
Wake up to Ayurveda
Ayurvedic medicine, a traditional approach to health practiced on the Indian subcontinent for centuries, has a unique approach to starting the day, focusing on rituals that, practitioners believe, balance and prepare the body for the challenges of the day. Today, challenge yourself to find out if...
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Better off Med
For years, everyone from food scientists to laypeople has rhapsodized about the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Talking specifically about the vegetables, fruits, fish, olive oil, lower meat consumption, and moderate wine and non-refined grain intake this diet represents, its proponents...
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ID yourself
Nobody thinks they’ll end up injured while working out away from home, but, unfortunately, accidents occasionally happen. Protect yourself and help ensure speedy care by always traveling with personal identification. Today, challenge yourself to do whatever it takes to make ID-holding more...
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Runners: Fatten up
New research out of the University of Buffalo has called into question a long-held belief among elite runners that a low-fat diet prevents injuries. In fact, scientists found that runners who sustained fewer injuries over the span of the study were much more likely to get more calories from fats...
Challenge
Water down
When was the last time you looked at your hydration habits? Age, lifestyle, weather, and workout habits all influence just how much water you need, both before and after exercising. Furthermore, recommendations shift periodically as experts learn more about how we replenish ourselves following...
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Take time to heel
If your Achilles tendon feels tight or you’re prone to foot injury generally, podiatrists recommend varying the heel height of your shoes on a daily basis. Apparently, even a half-inch of difference between heel heights can produce a different Achilles angle, thereby stretching the tendon...
Challenge
Tap into water
It’s a fact: Tap water in the U.S. is safe and regularly tested. In an era when both adults and kids are often too busy to consume recommended amounts of water, calorie- and sugar-laden juice and soda is everywhere, and plastic bottles are filling our landfills, the humble tap represents a...
Challenge
Thaw laws
Buying meat in bulk form can save you money, allowing more budget for sustainably and organically raised varieties. (One option is to join a natural meat cooperative and share the cost with other families.) However, all meat must be handled, frozen, and thawed safely and hygienically to avoid...
Challenge
Beware of bristles
It sounds like a good idea: the abrasive action of a firm-bristle toothbrush scrubbing away at tartar and plaque. Think again. Dentists generally prefer softer-bristle toothbrushes for most people, citing gum recession and wearing down of tooth enamel as dangers of overbrushing or using a too-firm...
Challenge
A plug for plugs
When it comes to saving water, sometimes going back to the future is the best way to do the green thing. Using your sink drain plug and filling the basin with water for washing or shaving may seem old-fashioned, but it uses a lot less H2O than letting the faucet run. Same with using a cup of water...
Challenge
See the dentist
Whatever the reason — fear, scheduling, a move — many of us allow the ideal six months between dental check-ups to stretch to longer intervals. (Some people even require more frequent cleanings.) Dental care is a cornerstone of good overall healthcare. Today, challenge yourself to make a...
Challenge
Penny or quarter for your tread?
Think you might be ready for new car tires, but you’re not sure? Used to be, you could check the depth of your tread by sticking a penny into a tire groove with Lincoln’s head pointing in. Now, experts are saying we should switch from Lincoln to Washington, and use a quarter instead (the...
Challenge
Add a minute (or two)
Whatever you do for exercise today, add a minute (or two, or three…) to your plan. Walking to work? Put in an extra spin around the block. Running stairs? Go the extra flight. Today, challenge yourself to live the principle of pushing yourself to do “just one more.“
* Consult your...
Challenge
When roses go bananas
Raising roses? Save on fertilizer costs by reusing something you have around the house anyway: banana peels. Roses benefit from bananas’ potassium, which helps them thrive and stave off disease. Today, challenge yourself by chopping up the peels and adding them to your compost, or just tucking...
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Shake on it
What’s an easy way to make a great first impression? A strong handshake, extended with eye contact and a friendly smile. It sends an instant message that you’re a confident, genuine person who is open to what life has to offer. Who doesn’t want to meet someone like that? Today...
Challenge
Need a new toothbrush?
The American Dental Association recommends that adults replace their toothbrushes every 3-4 months for maximum effectiveness against decay. Children's toothbrushes need replacing even more frequently – every two months on average—because kids often press harder during brushing than do adults and...
Challenge
Swear off speed
When it comes to resistance training, rushing through reps isn’t the best way—especially if you’re using momentum instead of muscle power to build strength. Besides potentially not burning as many calories or upping muscle mass, you’re also creating the potential for injury. Why not play it safe...
Challenge
Ask yourself if you need this food
Before you buy, look yourself in the eye: Do you really need this food? There are many reasons we buy things we don’t need: it looks good, your friend buys it, you’re shopping hungry, or you wish it was something you liked. The next time you go shopping, bypass all that denial and challenge...
Challenge
Have a mid-morning snack
Who hasn’t let hunger creep up so far she attacks that lunch plate like a sled dog come midday? Mid-morning snacks are very important for keeping hunger at bay and making smart, healthful choices at lunchtime. Today, challenge yourself by adding a reasonable snack to your diet around 10:30 or 11:00...
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Tighten your belt…for real
In lean economic times we tend to fall back on comfortable – and sometimes unhealthy – habits to soothe ourselves. Too much reliance on high-fat, low-nutrient comfort foods, for instance, can offer a fleeting sense of reward. Today, challenge yourself to evaluate any less-than=healthy habits you...
Challenge
Cook from a book
When was the last time you cracked a cookbook and made a recipe using only whole, all-natural foods? Using recipes doesn’t just provide you with a single exotic meal – it’s a great opportunity to expand both your repertoire and your diet’s nutrition quotient. This month, challenge yourself to...
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Replenish and recharge yourself
Are you committed to whole living, but occasionally find your devotion flagging? Not to worry: Living up to your ideals takes practice – and, sometimes, even more than that. If your daily habits are sliding away from your goals, today challenge yourself to living yours best life by trying one of...
Challenge
Eat fruit every day
Eating a piece of fruit at snack time increases the nutrition in your diet and prevents you from eating less healthy options. This week, challenge yourself to eat one whole fruit every day. Pay attention to how this affects your eating habits for the rest of the day.
_(When logging progress for...
Challenge
Polish your pearly whites
Some studies link oral health to the body’s overall health. That’s because bacteria in our mouths can get into the bloodstream where they can potentially compromise our health. One way to fend off bacteria is to ensure that teeth are as healthy as possible by visiting your dentist twice a year...
Challenge
Become aware of stress
Did you know that stress can cause headaches, irritability, poor concentration, confusion, and food overconsumption? The first step in reducing yours is to become aware of your stress triggers. Today, take some time to make a list of things that stress you out.
Challenge
Be proactive about your health
Regular medical screenings are great tools for keeping on top of your physical health - and are recommended for everyone at various stages in their lives. Sometime in the next six months, find out what medical screenings are recommended for your age and health history, and make some appointments...
Challenge
Be on time
Some people are always on time, while others are chronically late. Few people fall somewhere in between.
If you’re usually late, challenge yourself to be on time wherever you go today. Make the effort by estimating in advance how long it’ll take you to get ready and travel to your destination...
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Correct your posture
One of the first things that we notice about people is their posture. We tend to interpret people who stand up straight as self-confident, while we imagine those who slouch as less comfortable with themselves. But posture is more than just appearance. It’s also important for your health. When you...
Challenge
Eat 5 today
Most of us know that it’s a healthy habit to eat 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies every day, but many of us fall short of this goal. Why? Well, for starters, what’s a ‘serving’ anyway?
First of all, ‘5’ a day is a misnomer. It’s actually equal to 2 cups of fruit and 2½ cups of veggies...
Challenge
Get hydrated
While there is no consensus in the scientific community about exactly how much water the average person needs, it’s still a good idea to drink it regularly. Lots of us, though, don’t drink much and have little idea about our daily intake.
Today, challenge yourself to make water a priority by...
Challenge
Wash your hands
Hand washing is such a simple way of staying healthy and avoiding illness, especially during cold and flu season. And it doesn’t take much time or any special equipment. Yet many of us forget to practice this basic form of hygiene.
Today, make a resolution to change your health habits for the...
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Challenge your brain
Research suggests that as you age your brain benefits from intellectual tasks, just like your body benefits from physical exercise. Today, get your mind going by doing something stimulating. Try a crossword puzzle, play some cards, read a book, attend a lecture – anything that gets your mind active...
Challenge
Floss
Sure, we all tell our dentists we floss everyday. But do we really? Although you might not think it’s important, some studies link oral health to your body’s overall health. You see, flossing keeps your gums healthy. And this means that bacteria in your mouth are less likely to get into your...
Challenge
Drink more water
Juices and sodas are sweet refreshments that add extra calories. Today, make a conscious effort to cut them out of your day by reaching for water instead.
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Get moving
Jump-start your body and feel great by adding 20 minutes of physical activity to your day in the next 24 hours.
_Always consult a physician before starting any exercise routine._
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Be well rested
Tonight, go to bed early with the intention of getting at least eight hours of sleep. When you're well rested, you're likely to be more energetic, relaxed, and happy too.
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Stretch
Stretching not only feels good, it also strengthens your joints and prevents injury. Today, spend at least 10 minutes gently stretching your entire body to remind yourself how good it feels. Hopefully, this will be the first step to a regular practice.
_Always consult a physician before starting...
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Keep yourself informed
Sometime during the next 24 hours, make an effort to learn about the newest advances in medicine or the latest nutrition research. Search the Internet, join a listserv, read a newspaper, buy a health magazine, or even download a podcast. There are plenty of ways to integrate health education into...
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Eat more fruits and veggies
Most people know there are numerous health benefits in a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Naturally providing vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber, fruits and veggies offer a lot. But when you're busy, it's daunting to keep track of exactly how many servings you're eating every day...