Simple Health-Boosting Habits for Everyday Life
In today’s tech era, health information from professionals and non-professionals is constantly in our faces. Information is often confusing or contradictory. It commonly informs us that we need to buy something specific or follow a rigid set of rules to be healthy.
The good news? You don’t need an cupboard full of supplements, an “ab blasting” machine, or the latest fitness watch to improve your health. The body contains deep wisdom and greater health can be reached when we tune in and find ways to harmonize with it.
Small, consistent, and low cost habits that align with human biology can work wonders. You already know them.
1. Prioritize Human Connection
Yes, spending time with beloved friends, family, and community is good for your health!
Humans are social creatures by nature because working together helps us survive. In fact, human connection is one of the most powerful predictors of long-term health.
Why It Matters:
From a nervous system perspective, connection = safety. When we’re in the presence of a trusted person, especially someone who is calm and attuned, our vagus nerve (part of the parasympathetic system) sends signals to the brain that it’s safe to relax. This downregulates the stress response and activates our body’s healing and recovery systems.
Not only that, our social network helps us out! Think about times when you’ve had car trouble or an illness and how helpful it is to have friend or family support. We provide and receive physical, mental, and emotional support within our social networks that help relieve stress and build a sense of safety.
Social isolation, on the other hand, activates the brain’s threat response. Prolonged loneliness is linked to inflammation, immune suppression, poor sleep, depression, and even heart disease.
What disconnects us?
The modern world has increasingly shifted toward more isolated lifestyles. Factors ranging from the layout of our communities, how we work, and the use of technology. While technology facilitates connection between people in may ways, it also is leading to greater isolation.
Excess screen time is strongly associated with increased isolation, anxiety, and dysregulation. Setting boundaries around scrolling, streaming, or gaming helps reclaim energy for real-life connection.
Simple Habits to Build Connection:
Be aware of your screen time: Try to keep non-work screen time to less than 3 hours a day. Time limiting features in your phone and apps like Opal can help you stay on target.
Share in things you’re already doing: Get together to prepare and eat a meal, get out in nature together, or engage in crafts.
Join something: A group, class, book club, a choir or improv group, or volunteering opportunity—get involved in the arts.
2. Prioritize Sleep
Harsh and morbid as it sounds, a person who lives by the old adage “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” will likely come to that reality sooner than later.
Sleep isn’t just rest—it’s repair. During sleep, your body cleans up cellular waste, consolidates memories, balances hormones, and restores your nervous system. It’s like hitting “save and reboot” on your operating system.
Why It Matters:
Chronic sleep deprivation elevates cortisol, impairs decision-making, reduces immune function, and dysregulates appetite. Poor sleep also disrupts the vagus nerve's communication, making it harder for your body to shift into a parasympathetic (restful) state.
Good sleep isn’t just about quantity, but consistency and quality.
Simple Habits for Better Sleep:
Drain your battery: Physical activity during the day that physically tires you out helps your body be more prepared for rest. See below for activity recommendations.
Be consistent: Going to bed and waking up around the same time every day helps set your internal clock.
Create a bedtime ritual: Start preparing for sleep 30–60 minutes before bed. Dim the lights, stretch, journal, enjoy a cup of herbal tea, or read something soothing.
Limit screen time at night: Blue light suppresses melatonin. Try cutting screens at least an hour before bed.
Create a sleep-friendly environment: Cool, dark, quiet rooms support deeper sleep.
See this blog post on sleep for more on the habits and benefits of sleep.
3. Prioritize movement
Movement is a biological need, not just a fitness goal. When we move, pump blood to the far reaches of the boy and tell it “I’m alive!” Regular movement releases tension, boosts mood, and supports everything from cardiovascular health to cognitive function.
Why It Matters:
From a nervous system perspective, movement discharges stress and signals vitality. It increases circulation, flushes stress hormones, and enhances neuroplasticity (your brain’s ability to change and adapt). Movement also stimulates proprioception—your body’s sense of itself in space—which helps the brain feel grounded and calm.
the minimum dose:
The minimum dose to reap all the benefits of movement:
150 minutes per week of moderate intensity
or 75 minutes per week of high intensity
Or a mix of both!
Recommended that 2 days include muscle strengthening
Simple Habits to Add Movement Daily:
Start small:
Try the 10-minute rule: commit to just 10 minutes of movement. Often, you’ll keep going.
Movement snacks: Short bursts of activity (e.g., 2 minutes of jumping jacks, walking lunges, or dancing) throughout the day boost alertness and energy.
Progress your intensity: Even if you move for a short time- if you work hard enough to stimulate an increase in your heart/breathing rate or break a sweat, or feel muscle fatigue, know that you just stimulated your body enough to make a positive change.
Gentle is still powerful: Walks, yoga, tai chi, and dance can be more restorative than high-intensity workouts for a stressed nervous system.
Make it social: Join a sporting league, gym or dance class or walk with a friend
4. prioritize eating the rainbow
Pigments that give fruits, vegetables, and spices their colors aren’t just about visual appeal- they also correlate to taste and nutritional value. Think of an enticing home grown tomato or wild blueberry, deep in color AND flavor.
Every bite you take sends signals to your cells and nervous system. A diverse, colorful diet provides the nutrients your body needs to build neurotransmitters, balance hormones, and reduce inflammation.
Why It Matters:
Your gut and brain are intimately connected through the gut-brain axis, which is home to more than 100 million neurons and a vast microbiome. A healthy, balanced gut = better mood, energy, and immunity.
Eating a variety of phytonutrient-rich plant foods (fruits, veggies, herbs, spices) feeds your good bacteria and provides antioxidants that protect your brain and cells from damage.
Simple Habits to Eat the Rainbow:
Color challenge: Aim to eat at least 20 different fruits and vegetables every week of varying colors (red, orange, yellow, green, purple/blue).
Spice it up: Turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, and garlic are nutrient-dense and nervous-system supportive.
Go seasonal: Seasonal produce tends to be fresher, tastier, and more nutrient-rich.
Eating healthy can be challenging depending on many factors. Don’t put the pressure of perfection on yourself that only adds stress and anxiety. Start where you are and notice where you can add in whole foods. Notice how you feel after eating them to begin to shift your mindset and your awareness.
WHere to Begin?
If you're wondering where to start, the key is to start small and stay consistent. Most behavior change fails not because we lack willpower, but because we try to change too much, too fast. (More on that in the Human OS post).
Here are two strategies that make change more sustainable:
1. UNcover your motivation
Talk yourself through the new habit you want to engage in. Ask and answer questions like:
Why do I want to do this?
How will I feel when I consistently engage in this habit?
What will the challenges be in completing it?
How much time do I have for this?
When will I do it?
Who can support me in this?
Use this questionnaire as a guide.
2. Habit Stacking
Anchor a habit to something you already do daily or weekly. This requires less physical or mental effort to complete.
Formula: Before/After I [current habit], I will [new habit].
Examples:
After I brush my teeth, I will do 2 minutes of mindful breathing.
While my coffee is brewing, I will do a 10 minute morning movement routine.
On my lunch break, I will go outside and walk around the block.
Stacking habits makes them easier to remember, more automatic, and more tied to your real daily life.
3. Noticing
Changing a habit requires your brain to do a little rewiring, so help your brain out by paying attention.
Notice how your mind and body feel after sleep, connection, movement, or colorful food. If you begin to make associations between positive sensations, you’ll start to seek them out. You might also notice where challenges arise and can shift your habit if needed.
Final Thoughts: You Are Wired for Health
Your body is wise and designed to adapt and thrive, especially when given the right environment. Prioritize consistency with simple basics so you can focus on living the life you want to live!
If you’d like support in improving your journey of wellbeing, please reach out for a free consultation.
Aubrey Jabour, PT, DPT, CEAS
Northbound Physical Therapy and Wellness