How To Have A Healthier 2019

While you’re probably focusing on last-minute preparations for Christmas at the moment, you’ll no doubt be thinking about your new year’s resolutions in the back of your mind. Will you be making any this year? If so, what kind of things are you focusing on?

Resolutions are great and can kickstart us into making changes for the better - such as quitting smoking. Do you have vape kits on your Christmas list to help you? But it helps to have a specific goal in mind rather than something vague.

So, if your current thoughts are around being healthier in the new year, take a look at our suggestions of how you can improve your health in 2019.

Quit smoking

We all know that smoking is bad for us. The negative health impacts are well documented and if you can kick the habit you’ll certainly feel better for it. Interestingly, Dentistry shared research from University College London earlier this month that found those who roll their own cigarettes are less likely to quit than those who smoke straights.

According to the news provider, the higher cost of factory-made cigarettes makes it more attractive for people to give up.

Whatever kind of cigarettes you smoke, your lungs will thank you if you stop. Using vapes is considered to be a good way to wean yourself off cigarettes and because you can control the concentration of nicotine in your vape juice and e-liquid, you can gradually wean yourself off that too.

Get some help from the NHS if you’re serious about giving up, as the health service can give you advice on how best to approach quitting, as well as put you in touch with support groups if you think this will help.

Reduce your sugar intake

Sugar has become a ubiquitous part of many of our diets, but it’s an area that most of us would benefit from cutting back on.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) even named it as one of its top five things to do for a healthier diet in the new year.

A good place to start is looking at what you drink. The WHO recommends limiting your intake of fizzy drinks, fruit juices, energy or sports drinks, flavoured water and powder or liquid concentrates as a starting point.

Make sure you’re also aware of the ‘hidden’ sugars in processed foods and, where possible, make your own snacks and meals rather than opting for processed meals.

Sleep more

Having a good night’s sleep has a host of health benefits, from helping to stave off depression to preventing obesity. Speaking to Global News recently, Dr Mitch Shulman explained that we should all be aiming for eight hours of shuteye every night.

“Sleep has been shown to be one of the most important things,” he stated.

And it seems many of us already know that we need to improve our sleep patterns, given that one of Pinterest’s top health and wellbeing trends for the coming year is sleep optimisation (and gadgets that help us do exactly that).

The website revealed that searches for this term are up by 116 per cent in the past year, so maybe it’s time to see what you could do to improve your nighttime routine.