20 in 10 – plus 9 more!
Here’s a new twist on the New Year’s Resolution: 20 activities in 10 minutes or less, that will add some quick bursts of good health and happiness to your life.
1 Meditate
Neuroscientists have found that people who meditate shift their brain activity to different areas of the cortex; brain waves in the stress-prone right frontal cortex move to the calmer left frontal cortex. This mental shift decreases the negative effects of stress, mild depression and anxiety.
2 Have a Chair Massage
Receiving just five or 10 minutes of a chair massage in your office or home has been found to be effective for relief of aches and pains and reduction of stress.
3 Eat an Apple
Why should we eat at least an apple a day? It’s refreshing and delicious, and laden with vitamins and nutrients that preserve our health and help our body. And don’t throw away the peel; it’s the most nutritious part.
4 Play a Tune
If you play an instrument pick it up and play. Music allows you to release creativity, relieves stress and helps you express yourself in ways language does not. If you have ever thought of playing, take this time to call and arrange for lessons. Just the act of learning will help you improve your patience.
5 Sit Quietly and Breathe
Chronic stress leads to quick, shallow breathing which then becomes a habit. Bringing conscious attention to our breath, lengthening and deepening the drawing in of oxygen, nourishes every cell of your body and promotes relaxation.
6 Journal
Writing in a journal can help you detangle your thoughts and feelings, increase focus, know yourself better, build self esteem, manage stress, solve problems more effectively and resolve disagreements or conflicts with others. There is nothing rigid about the journal writing process. You don’t have to worry about grammar, typos or penmanship, or even keep what you write.
7 Do Some Push-ups
If you're a beginner, start on your knees and lower yourself halfway to the floor. For a more advanced option, balance on your toes and lower yourself all the way to the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles; and don't forget to breathe.
8 Try a New Heart-Healthy Recipe
Adopting healthier eating habits can make a world of difference in the quality of your life, and it’s not that hard to do.
9 Turn up the Music and Dance
Dancing is a great way to get and stay in shape. Besides being fun, dancing has many positive health benefits, including increased flexibility, balance, strength, endurance and a sense of well-being.
10 Whistle
Believe it or not, there are health benefits to whistling. It is good exercise for the lungs. Plus, the belly breathing required for sustained whistling is an excellent device for de-stressing. Like any art, whistling is a wonderful method of self-expression, and who can't use some of that?
11 Read Something Inspirational
12 Schedule a Mammogram
Mammography is still the most effective means of detecting breast cancer at its earliest, most treatable stages, and it is even more effective with the advent of digital technology, available at both Silverton Hospital and Tukwila Diagnostic Imaging. Follow the American Cancer Society's recommendations for mammography and breast self exams, and speak with your provider about any questions you may have.
13 Volunteer
There are countless community organizations, including Silverton Health, that would benefit from your valuable time and talents. And anyone who has volunteered before can attest to how good it makes you feel to give to others.
14 Have a Laugh
Laughter makes it easier for us to cope with the challenges in life. Laughing causes a number of chemical changes within the body, helping release enzymes and hormones that are helpful for normal functioning of various organs.
15 Take a Power Nap
Many people experience a natural increase in drowsiness in the afternoon. And research shows that you can make yourself more alert, reduce stress and improve cognitive functioning with mid-day sleep, or a power nap.
16 Check Your Heart-Disease Risk
See if you are at risk of heart disease by visiting WellspringHeart.com and taking the quick online risk-assessment quiz. If the answer is Yes, ask your healthcare provider if the Wellspring Heart heart-disease prevention and reversal program may be right for you.
17 Check Your Smoke-Detector Batteries
18 Set a Short-Term Goal
Setting and striving to achieve goals provides many benefits, including adding clarity and focus to your life, increasing your efficiency and boosting your self-confidence.
19 Call a Friend
20 Take a Stretch Break
The benefits of regular stretching include increased flexibility and joint range of motion, improved circulation, better posture, stress relief and enhanced coordination.
21 Take A Walk
All sorts of good benefits come from getting up on your feet and moving around. Taking a 10-minute walk in the middle of the day is a great mental-health break, allowing you to relieve stress, clear your head, sharpen your focus and be more productive the rest of the day. But, of course, walking also promotes better cardiovascular health, stretches your muscles to improve flexibility, adds muscle strength, aids sleep, helps reduce pain and, when you walk with a friend, even enhances your social life.
22 Drink a Glass of Water
The health benefits of water are plentiful, but the fact is most of us are not drinking enough of it to replace the amount we lose through normal activities, like breathing, sweating and eliminating waste. Drinking an adequate amount of water prevents dehydration, removes toxins and waste products from the body, regulates vitamin and mineral metabolism, carries nutrients to the cells of the body, helps the body metabolize stored fat and more. So have glass. Then have another in 10 minutes. It’s cheap.
23 Write a Letter
For all it has done to enhance the way we communicate, e-mail has made the act of writing letters virtually obsolete. That makes letter writing, a very personal act to begin with, even more so in this day and age. People who find it difficult to express themselves well in real life can feel very empowered writing letters. They can share feelings they might not be able to express in any other way. So slow down for 10 minutes, turn away from the compute monitor, pull out a pen and paper and share your feelings with someone you care about. Chances are you’ll make a connection far more meaningful than your keyboard and Send button ever can provide.
24 Brush Your Teeth
Since childhood you’ve been hearing about the benefits of brushing your teeth. But now there is evidence brushing your teeth provides more benefits than just helping you maintain strong, healthy teeth and ward off bad breath. Brushing regularly (dentists recommend three times a day if possible) also helps stave off gum disease, and recent research has shown that healthy gums help the blood flow through arteries. That improves the health of blood vessels and, ultimately, can help you enjoy better cardiovascular health. So brush away.
25 Make a Happy List Write down all the things that made you happy in the last three months. Then spend the next three months recreating the events, or reliving the experiences on your list. Just writing the list will be good for your soul.
26 Enjoy a Cup of Tea
The health benefits of tea have been known for 5,000 years. It was first used as a treatment for infectious diseases and colds and also as an aid to digestive and nervous systems. Modern research has offered even more insight into tea, making a connection between regular tea consumption and lower incidences of heart problems, cancer, liver infections and many other diseases.
27 Play a Game
Strategy board games like chess, checkers and rummy are great for building good critical-thinking skills and, in our older years, can even help make us less likely to develop mental disorders such as Alzheimer’s. Studies show that when elderly people engage in gaming their brains continue to function at a normal rate instead of deteriorating. Playing games also stimulates brain development in younger children, so grab a child or grandchild and have some fun.
28 Draw or Doodle
Both are great stress relievers. Even if you don’t consider yourself artistic, drawing can help you improve your creative skills. And, contrary to what many people think about the relationship between doodlers and short attention spans, one recent study showed that people who doodle during meetings actually retain more information than those who do not.
29 Light a Candle
Besides helping create a soothing, relaxing mood, candles, especially aromatherapy candles, lit regularly over time, can relieve stress, enhance concentration and increase energy.
30 Make a List of Things to Try
Make a list of new things to try: a new food to sample, a new experience, a new author, a new genre of music. Broaden your horizons and enjoy the ride!
31 Create a Keepsake Box
Like a child’s treasure box, create a box to fill with your cherished memories and items. Place in it cards and letters that touched your heart, photos that make you laugh, a favorite shell or rock from a vacation gone by. Take a moment every now and then to peruse the items and reflect upon and be grateful for, the people, places and experiences they represent.
32 Consider Taking a Class
Whether it’s an art class, exercise or language class – consider taking course. What are you interested in? Peruse the catalogue of your local community college or fitness center and sign-up to learn something new.
