Medically reviewed by Dr. Michael Darder OBGYN — Written by Kari Johnson
Published October 31, 2020
Make 2020 the year to start feeling your best!
Below are some self-care tips, and how to achieve reasonable new year's resolutions.
Self-Care Tips For The New Year
This year, the top priority should be you. Developing self-care habits can be tough, but this year, try new routines to make sure you're taking care of yourself. Below are five self-care tips that you can try today:
1. Avoid Light Before Bed and Practice the Habit of Turning Your phone On "Do Not Disturb."
It's 2020, and we are still addicted to our phones from the moment we awake to the moment we close our eyes for bed. Did you know that looking at your screen before sleep not only disrupts your sleep cycle, but it can leave you feeling restless the next day? Our phones contain blue light, which suppresses the secretion of melatonin and shifts our circadian rhythms. Practice the habit of putting your phone away at least 2 hours before you want to fall asleep to get a good night's rest and stay on schedule.
2. Treat Yourself
Self-care means loving yourself, right? So go ahead and treat yourself! You deserve it! Make yourself a spa appointment or pamper yourself by getting a fresh mani/Pedi. Hell, make it easy and have a masseuse come directly to you with a service like Zeel or Soothe. Showing self-compassion by treating yourself can help you stay healthy and make you feel great about your wins.
3. Relax Your Mind and Body
Take a deep breath. Hold for three seconds. Slowly breathe out. Practice this throughout the day to help you calm your mind and relax your body.
Relaxing your mind and body is essential to managing your stress levels. By relaxing your mind, it can help reduce the stress hormone known as cortisol. When your cortisol levels are high, it can cause high blood pressure, disrupt your sleep cycle, and cause you to store body fat. When you're relaxed, your cortisol starts to level out, causing you to improve your focus and gain more clarity throughout your day.
Here are some 3 great apps our team uses for meditation and breathing on the regular: Insight Timer, Calm, and 10% Happier.
4. Getting Some Sun
Getting some sunlight can be beneficial in many ways. The best-known benefit of sun exposure is vitamin D, which is an essential nutrient for our bodies. Vitamin D is beneficial for overall health as it helps protect against inflammation, lowers high blood pressure, and even elevate your mood. However, low levels of vitamin D can cause bone and back pain, depression, hair loss, and muscle pain. Make sure you take some time for yourself to get some sunshine!
5. Listen While You Work
Here at Comrad, listening to music is our favorite thing to do. Whether we are in the office or on a team outing, we always have music playing in the background. It helps us focus on our work and can also be very therapeutic during stressful days. We're big fans of Spotify and their collaborative playlists. We also love Brain.Fm, which provides binaural beats which have been shown in studies to improve concentration and mood. So put those headphones on and get into the zone.
Create a Habit and Achieve Your Resolution
With every year coming to an end, people love setting resolutions for the new year. Did you know that 80% of new year's resolutions fail and that most people fall off their resolutions by mid-February? 😳
This year, we want you to practice setting reasonable resolutions that you can achieve by forming them into habits. Studies have shown that it takes 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic (i.e. a habit). Below are some simple resolutions you can tackle today.
1. Put your phone away 1 hour before bed for 66 days straight
2. Meditate once a week for 8 weeks
3. Workout for 30 minutes, 1 day per week, for 8 weeks
If you decide to take on any of these resolutions and want to share your results, reach out to us, and share your accomplishments.