NewAfricanWoman Issue 49 - Flipbook - Page 88
Endnote
1 Move your body
This year, make it a goal to get
your body moving. That doesn’t
mean you have to exercise every
day for hours at a time. According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, adults
need 150 minutes of moderateintensity activity each week.
That may sound like a lot, but
it breaks down to 30 minutes a
day, five days a week.
Take it slow if you’re new to
working out or it’s been a while
since you’ve exercised. You
can even break up 30 minutes
of daily activity into smaller
chunks. For example, you can
do 10 minutes of brisk walking
or aerobic exercises three times
a day or 15 minutes twice a day.
By breaking up your movement
goal into smaller chunks, you can
naturally find breaks throughout
your day to get moving.
4 Mindfulness
Failing
to stick to
those New
Year plans?
5
Here are
ACHIEVABLE
GOALS YOU
COULD TRY
Some goals aren’t attainable or
sustainable for your life. Instead
of making lofty promises that are
unachievable, start with modest
changes that you can accomplish
and build upon in years to come.
NOT SURE WHERE TO START?
You’ve probably heard about
mindfulness, but do you know
what it is and its benefits? Simply
put, mindfulness is being aware
and fully present in your body,
mind and environment. According to the National Institutes of
Health, practicing mindfulness
can have several positive impacts
on your health and well-being,
including reducing anxiety and
depression, lowering blood pressure and improving sleep.
A popular way to practice mindfulness is meditation, but it’s not
the only way. You can practice
breathing or grounding exercises, go on a walk or take stock
of how your body is feeling in
the present moment. Mindfulness practices can be short or
long, but to start, you can carve
out five minutes a day in the
morning or at night to get in
touch with your awareness.
Here we go...
2 Improve your finances
3 Invest in your health
According to the American
Psychological Association
(APA), 72% of adults report
feeling stressed about money
at least some of the time. While
there isn’t a one-size-fits-all plan
for improving your financial wellbeing, there are simple ways to
assess your finances and target
areas for improvement.
For one month, track all your
income and expenses. You can
do this by using an expense
sheet, or you can download an
app to make things easier. Once
you know where your money
is coming from and where it’s
going, you can identify areas
where you could be spending
less and saving more and set
financial goals.
Small changes can add up
quickly and turn into life-long
habits. Using these five tips, you
can invest in yourself now and
for years to come.
If you want to live a long healthy life,
you need to invest in your health.
Nicole Avena, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neuroscience, Mount Sinai School
of Medicine and Author of Why Diets
Fail, says, “In addition to a healthy and
balanced diet and getting an adequate
amount of exercise, it’s important to
cover all your bases like adding daily
vitamins to your health regimen. Each
person’s dietary needs will vary slightly.
While most people can get enough
from diet alone, others may need to
take a supplement, and nowadays, there
are many vitamin options for men and
women of all ages.”
86 l New African Woman l March 2023
To ensure that you receive essential nutrients, consider taking a daily
multivitamin like vitafusion MultiVites
(vitafusion.com) which is an excellent
source of 12 vitamins and minerals.
Offering a selection of multivitamin
gummies to support the consumer’s
unique needs, vitafusion is America’s
#1 adult gummy vitamin brand and the
only gummy vitamin brand with a fusion
of natural fruit flavours.
5 Learn or resume
a hobby
If you don’t have a hobby or
have let it go by the wayside,
dedicate some time to doing
something you enjoy. Hobbies
aren’t just activities we do for
fun. They can have huge mental
and physical health benefits.
According to VeryWell Mind,
enjoyable activities can help you
reduce stress, lower blood pressure and combat depression.
You don’t have to engage in your
hobbies every day to reap the
benefits. One study showed that
engaging in a physical leisure
activity for 20 minutes a week
helped people feel less fatigued.
Whether you get back into knitting or playing guitar or pick up
a new hobby like painting or
ballroom dancing, you’re carving out time for yourself that can
take your mind off the stresses
of everyday life.
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