5 Health Tips to Jump Start the New Year

5 Health Tips to Jump Start the New Year

 1. Stop drinking soda and juice products. These are riddled with sugar and chemicals. In my opinion this is the best place to start when considering a diet change because of the simplicity and positive outcomes. Like any change, start slow, replacing 1-2 of these types of beverages daily with water. If you’re having trouble, try squeezing a lemon in with your water. Within a month you can be completely independent of these drinks.

2. Do your workout in the morning. By exercising in the morning, you set the tone for your day, giving yourself a mental boost and also revving your metabolism.

3. Develop better sleeping patterns. Sleeping on your back is the best position, followed by on your side which should only be done with a pillow between your knees. Stomach sleepers beware, this is the worst position to sleep in and you are compromising your spine, change it immediately. Try to keep consistent sleep times and use sleep cycle techniques for proper waking. Sleep cycles are based upon our normal rhythm and one of the reasons we feel groggy when waking is because we were awoken from deep sleep. Apps like Sleep Cycle in the Apple App Store track your phases of sleep using the accelerometer in your phone and will wake you at your lightest sleep, leaving you refreshed!

4. Be concious of improper breathing. If you find yourself constantly in  stress, it’s likely that when you breathe you are using your upper back and shoulder muscles to inspire rather than your diaphragm. This faulty pattern can result in a variety of health issues, furthering along toxic stress. A simple test is to put one hand on your belly and one hand on your upper chest, below the neck. Take a deep breath in. If you find that the hand on your upper chest moves first, this would be considered an improper pattern.

5. Optimize your vitamin D levels. Vitamin D is one of the major players in a proper functioning immune system. This is actually one of the main reasons why many people get sick during the wintertime. The ideal way to get vitamin D is by obtaining appropriate levels of sun exposure. You don’t have to worry about toxicity this way because the body has the ability to self regulate in this pathway and only take what it needs. During the winter, we are less likely to be outside when it’s cold and we become deficient in vitamin D. Supplementation is recommended throughout this time.

Make this your best year yet!

Yours in health,

Dr. Ezell