Take Five for These Wellness Habits
It’s never too late to inculcate habits that contribute to your personal growth and wellness. Here’s a list of really simple and basic things that go a long way with consistency. In a fast-paced world, these 5-minute habits will be a space to build yourself without the pressure of being the best. Wondering why only 5 minutes? Starting something new is always daunting, more so something that eats in to your day. Hence, we believe start with 5 minutes. Be it setting the tone for your day, or ending your day with 5-minute wellness sessions go a long way. Doing something that takes only 5 minutes can be extremely powerful!
Eat a fruit
Be it hunger pangs, supplementing and balancing your meals, or for fulfilling the need to eat something sweet post-lunch, trust a healthier option like a piece of fruit that solves every purpose. It’s natural sugar so less harmful, it has the essential nutrients and vitamins that your body requires for smooth functioning, and it is effortless.
Tip: Eat your fruit with either cheese, nuts, yogurt or a fat source of your choice - this will reduce a spike in your blood sugar levels.
3-5 minute walks in between your work day.
We understand virtual calls and catchups can be exhausting. Unknowingly we end up being glued to our seat and desk for hours at a time without realizing it. We’d urge you to break this habit, take 3-5 minutes at a time to move around, get moving, and ensure circulation! Or better yet,, schedule as many audio calls as you can, this will allow you to walk around while speaking. Not only are you getting those steps in but you’d also be leaving the screen.
A study published in the International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity suggests that 5 minute walks every hour led to those working at a desk, feeling happier, less tired, and having considerably less cravings. Moreover, these breaks did not cause people to be less focused - hence one doesn’t need to worry about losing their productivity levels by stopping.
Journaling
Whether it’s making a list of things you need to do, our simply doodling, or writing gratitude statements, 5-minute journalling sessions truly make all the difference. Studies suggest that journaling can reduce anxiety, in turn regulating emotions and promoting awareness, boosts immune function, improves memory function and importantly, if expressed when writing it cultivates gratitude.
Sitting by yourself, quietly or in meditation.
We often tend to take some really impulsive decisions when we’re stressed. While we don’t specialise in stress management, we’d like to suggest one way that might help you think and approach the situation better. Sit, be it by yourself or in the form of a quick meditation session, for five minutes every day without distractions from anyone or anything around you, including your phone. The benefits of meditation are vast - and only five minutes a day can change your life!
Learn something new for 5 minutes
Be it a recipe, a form of art, playing an instrument or learning a new language; take 5 minutes a day and put it toward learning something new! Research suggests that learning something new comes with many benefits! Not only does it improve motivation levels, but it also comes with numerous benefits to the brain, and allows your speed of learning to increase - think about it, every 5 minutes spent you learn more and more every day because of how your speed of learning increases!