If you find yourself struggling to maintain a healthy lifestyle, know that you’re not alone. It’s difficult enough during normal times, but 2020 has made keeping a wellness plan an especially strenuous task.
All that time working from home, never leaving the house, struggling to resist the urge to veg out bingeing Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix, and taking up baking as the latest vogue hobby, have added extra pounds, zapped us of our motivation, and distracted us from fulfilling those New Year’s resolutions we so proudly declared back in January.
Maybe you wanted to get in shape, start an exercise routine, or finally kick your smoking habit. But then March came and blew all of your plans out the window.
Don’t get too down on yourself over it. The rest of the world has been on the collective struggle bus, too. The important thing is that you forgive yourself, get up, and keep trying. To support you in your journey to a healthier lifestyle, here are some tips and tricks that will help you push through the urge to stay on the couch.
1. CBD Gummies Can Help You Stay Motivated
When you aren’t feeling your best, it can be really hard to change anything about your habits. Many of the less-healthy things we do are reinforced by the fact that they make us feel better—even if just temporarily. Smoking increases dopamine, as does eating sweets and salty snacks. It’s hard to turn the TV off when the show you’re watching or the video game you’re playing supplies one of the only dependable rush of feel-good chemicals for your brain in the day.
The best CBD gummies are going to bring balance to your body and help you feel better overall. They work to restore homeostasis so that you don’t have so many highs and lows, but rather more of a general sense of relaxation and calm.
Evn CBD also offers some great products to help you start feeling better and create the space to move forward with the lifestyle you want to have. You are probably going to need to experiment a bit and stick to it for a while before you notice a real difference, but CBD can lighten your anxiety, help you sleep better, and reduce inflammation and pain.
2. Getting the Right Amount of Sleep Goes a Long Way
Not getting enough sleep can be detrimental to your efforts at self-control. Studies have shown that people who have poor sleeping habits are more prone to insult others and are less productive at work. This is obviously going to spill over into your ability to develop new habits.
Sleep deprivation is already miserable enough without having to make decisions that are not automatic. Make sure you are getting the rest you need every night so you have the energy and the brain power to make healthy decisions that support your desired life.
If you are someone who struggles to sleep, then give yourself an hour or two at the end of the night with no social media or news. Turn off your computer and your TV, put your phone down, put on some relaxing music and soft lighting. Do whatever it takes to get yourself a good eight hours of sleep every night, and you will start noticing a difference in your mood and motivation.
3. Join or Start a Group
It may be impossible to do face-to-face activities right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from social support during this time. If you live in a warmer climate, there may be outdoor activities available year-round. Properly distanced support groups for quitting unwanted habits, exercise classes, and more are happening in gazebos and park pavilions all over the sunbelt.
Those who live in a colder climate may have a harder time finding a group that satisfies the need for social support, but it’s not impossible. Online exercise classes are becoming popular everywhere, and online smoking cessation communities are helping people give up tobacco even in this challenging time.
4. Give Yourself a Break
Okay, let’s be honest. Just reading this article may be exhausting. You’re a rockstar if you made it this far. The last year has been one of the most difficult in American history, and just getting out of bed may be the best you can do some days. If this is where you are, don’t be so hard on yourself.
If you are already doing the things you want to be doing, and you are wondering how to keep it up, the above advice applies to you, too. Just make sure you are celebrating every last step you take toward living a healthy lifestyle. Reward and reinforce yourself when you work out, when you resist that cigarette, and even when you log off of your Facebook account a little early to get a head start on sleep. Keep at it, pat yourself on the back, and cheer yourself on. You deserve it!