25 Healthy Habits and Hobbies to Boost Your Mood this Year

A healthy habit is something you do all the time, to improve your quality of life. It is your usual behavior. Below are listed 25 healthy habits and hobbies to boost your mood this year.

Consistently eating healthy food, exercising, and getting adequate amounts of sleep are all healthy habits. They are a total benefit to your health. Fun hobbies also help you create a lifestyle for the good times ahead this year.

25 Healthy Habits and Hobbies to Boost Your Mood This Year

#1 Eight Glasses of Water

Your body requires water in every cell. It is necessary for the function of your heart, lungs, brain, and digestion.

It is often recommended that you drink 8 glasses of water each day. Some recommend more. It depends on your activity level, whether you are out in the heat of the day, if you are pregnant, nursing, or ill.

Rather than waking up to a cup of coffee, why not drink one or two glasses of water first. Since you have not had any water to drink all night, you are a bit dehydrated when you wake up in the morning.

A small study found that a glass of water before mealtime, may prevent overeating. A study also suggested that drinking more water may decrease migraines. It can decrease the severity, frequency, and duration.

#2 Eight Hours of Sleep

To establish healthy sleep habits why not follow these tips:

1. Keep a regular bedtime everyday, even on weekends and vacations.
2. Establish a relaxing bedtime routine.
3. Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
4. Don’t eat a large meal close to bedtime.  Allow your body to digest food before bedtime so it can use bedtime to repair and replenish the body.
5. Avoid consuming caffeine 6 hours before bedtime.
6. Avoid consuming alcohol before bedtime.
7. Exercise at least 5 days a week, but not late in the evening. Exercise makes it much easier for your body to know when to shut down for the night. It also reduces anxiety which can prevent you from falling asleep.
8. Write in a gratitude journal at the end of each day.

#3 Add Some Physical Exercise

What physical exercises improve your health? You can exercise to improve your endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility. An overall improvement to your health.

Endurance activities improve the health of your heart, lungs, and circulatory system, and decrease the risk of some cancers. Brisk walking, swimming, biking, and yard work are some daily tasks that improve endurance.

The BCAN mini trampoline can give you a full body workout in as little as 10 to 20 minutes a day.

Strength exercises include weight-lifting, even your own body weight exercises.

Balance includes something as simple as standing on one foot. Or walking heel to toe.

Flexibility exercises include stretching exercises.

Establishing an exercise routine, results in other lifestyle improvements. Introducing exercise habits builds confidence. Take a brisk walk, dance, climb (stairs or hills), and play sports like tennis, hockey, or basketball are all great ways to include exercise in your lifestyle.

Try Yoga – Tai Chi

Tai Chi is a great way to improve your blood pressure and achieve a sharper mind. There are many benefits from the this low-impact form of exercise that puts minimal stress on joints and muscles. Tai Chi targets balance, muscle control, and breathing, and increases mobility in your entire body.

Yoga can also help with weight loss, develop muscle tone, and increase flexibility. Even the gentlest forms of yoga will increase flexibility and balance. Some yoga helps you build muscle strength and endurance. These are only two of many healthy habits and hobbies to boost your mood.

Try a Standing Desk

If you are bound to an office during the day, you may find a standing desk is what you need to increase your exercise. It is easier on the body to change position and not remain seated for hours on end.

#4 Get Some Fresh Air Each Day

Going for a walk outside every day are proven to help keep the brain healthy, even if it is just a 10-minute walk.

Fresh air improves blood pressure and heart rate. It strengthens your immune system and reduces the rate of obesity.

Getting outside reduces stress if you work inside a building all day. Taking a walk outside helps the brain produce endorphins, responsible for regulating mood. Walking can help create positive changes in a person.

Going outside for a breath of fresh air even just to walk the dog, is necessary for your mental well-being. Studies show that those spending time in the sun recover faster from an illness or injury and experience less pain than those exposed to artificial light.

Create Healthy Habits and Hobbies to Boost Your Mood this Year

#5 Start Your Day with a Healthy Smoothie

A healthy smoothie will supply your body with nutrients that will help you nix food cravings. Your body will not be searching for something to eat in all the wrong places.

A sugary bite of food may stop your cravings for awhile, but it is full of empty calories and has little or no nutrients at all.

In contrast, a twelve-ounce smoothie made of one or two super foods, can add many antioxidants along with vitamins and minerals. Balance fruit in your smoothie with a good source of protein. Berries combined with peanut butter, flax seed, or a healthy fat like avocado would be a good choice.

My Morning Smoothie:

I make my morning smoothie a variety of ways. I often use 1 cup blueberries, a tablespoon of plant-based protein powder, and 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed as a starting point.

Depending on what is in the house, I will add a banana, or an apple (which contains a great amount of pectin) Sometimes I add Greek yogurt.

You could use almond or cashew milk for the liquid. I will often use Green Tea as the liquid in my smoothie.

I don’t need sweetener, when I use a banana in the smoothie.  If I do need a sweetener, which is very rare, it is usually 1 pack of stevia, which is a healthier version artificial sweetener.

#6 A Gratitude Journal as a Healthy Habit and Hobby to Boost Your Mood

The benefits of a gratitude journal are many: lower stress levels, calm outlook, clarity of what you actually have, and focus on what really matters.

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You learn more about yourself, become more self-aware and thankful. You stop feeling sorry for yourself. When you show appreciation, it can help you win new friends. You can acknowledge someone’s contribution in your life.

Grateful people experience less aches and pains and feel a general sense of well-being. In turn, you will take personal responsibility and care for your own health. Gratitude removes toxic emotions of envy, resentment, frustration, and regret. It reduces depression as it increases happiness.

This improves your self-esteem, so that even in the worst of times, gratitude fosters resilience.

#7 Keep a Routine

It is good to have a routine. Wake up and drink a large glass of water. Add some exercise to your morning routine.

Ten to 20 minutes of exercise is a genuine benefit to your body. Some like to use the treadmill or exercise bike for 30 minutes each day. Start your day with a morning walk or jog. Spend some time outside in the fresh air.

Even 15 to 30 minutes is beneficial to both body and mind. Read. Most successful people read many books during their lifetime.

Put away the computer screen for awhile each day. Meditation is a great stress reliever and a good way to unwind. Tidy the house before bedtime so you can wake up to a fresh start.

#8 Plan Home Cooked Meals into Your Daily Routine

Planning time in the kitchen each day, is a great routine to have. If time is at a premium, there are 30-minute meals
that can be prepared.

When you prepare your own food, you know what ingredients are included. You are in control of the amount of sugar, fat, and salt, which can often sabotage a well-planned meal.

Do not totally eliminate your favorite foods from your diet. Healthy snacks should be available for those times when you have the urge for a treat.

Stay active so you find those urges come infrequently. However, do plan for them because they will occasionally crop up. What you eat everyday, is what is most important.

#9 Keep the House Tidy – Make your Bed. Clean the Corners.

All it takes is ten to fifteen minutes each day to put things away and wipe down finger-prints. It will go a long way in keeping the house tidy. You don’t have to spend hours at a time to clean the house.

It is an effortless task to make the bed as soon as you get up in the morning. That one routine will have an unbelievable impact on your day.

If you have some time on your hands, clean out the junk drawer. One small task at a time: a drawer, a shelf, a dresser. That one sneaky trick will keep your house tidy most of the time.

Ten minutes at a time to clean the house, creates a comfortable environment for you and the family.

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#10 Wear Sunscreen Everyday

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun causes damage to your skin that is not reversible. You must protect yourself all the year long from these invisible rays.

Sunscreen lotion, labeled as broad-spectrum sunscreen means that the product will shield against UVA and UVB rays.

Water resistant sunscreen indicates that the product will protect even if you are in the water or sweat for a duration of time.

SPF (sun protection factor) is a numerical factor to provide information on the level of protection the sunscreen provides. SPF 15 or 30 is often recommended for everyday wear. It is important to reapply sunscreen every 90 to 120 minutes as indicated on the product label.

#11 Step Back and Take A Broader Look at the Horizon

Today I was looking for the Green Tea in my cupboard and could not find it anywhere. After looking a bit, I stepped back and took a broader look at the cupboard. Sure, enough there it was. It took a broader look at the situation to see the details.

That is the way it is with life. Sometimes when we are honing in on the specifics in life, we neglect to see the broader picture.

If we take a wide-lens view of the situation, often things will fall into perspective, and we can enjoy the landscape in front of us.

Healthy Habits and Hobbies to Boost Your Mood this Year

#1 Artistic Activities

Try your hand at some artistic activities such as painting, graphic design, or sculpting. You would be amazed at what dormant talent you have lying within you. Just the expression of drawing or painting is a stress reliever for some. There are many celebrities who have taken up art as a side hobby.

#2 Computer Games

There are many games on your phone or computer that are supposed to train your brain to be sharper as you age. Find a few that you enjoy and spend a little time each day increasing your skill with them.

#3 Create a Vision Board

We all have a vision or goal that we would like in life. Sometimes you just need to put it in front of your eyes. Create a short-term and long-term vision board to remind you of those immediate and far off plans you would like to achieve. With a board right there in front of you, it seems more easily attainable.

#4 Learn a New Language

Duolingo is just one free app that gives you extensive training to learn the language of your choice. They have a large library of languages to choose from. There are lesson plans and daily reminders to keep you coming back. They track the progress that you make. Give it 10 minutes a day and see the progress you make!

#5 Learn How to Play a New Instrument

You are never to old to try a new instrument. You can even pick up a harmonica and pick out a tune. Try guitar lessons. There are piano lessons online to help you fulfill your lifelong dream of being able to make music.

#6 Puzzles and Board Games

Puzzles and board games are great for the whole family. If you have extra time in the evening, it can be a family project to work on a puzzle or play a board game. It teaches good social skills, as well as training your brain in something new.

#7 Read a New Book Regularly – Weekly or Monthly

There are books on many subjects. Make friends with the local library. There are scores of books you can take out on loan and return them when you are finished. Many successful people are known for reading books on a regular basis.

#8 Study Your Genealogy – Ancestry dot com

Some people wonder about where they came from. Don’t we all! Who were your great-grandparents? Where did the family tree come from? Ancestry.com is one of several places available to explore your roots.

#9 Take an Online Class

Many colleges and universities are offering their courses online. You can work on completing courses in the evening or in your spare time. Some courses are offered to seniors at little or no charge.

#10 Try Scrap-booking

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Scrap-booking has been available for many years. People collect mementos even before they had proper scrapbooks to put them in to. You can make scrapbooks for shut-ins, for family members, or as a collection of sports events or inspiring poetry and stories that are meaningful to you.

#11 Video Games

Like computer games, video games are a sport in its own right. There are special gaming chairs and gaming computers, gaming monitors, gaming headsets and gaming keyboards. That does not even include the video games themselves. People get addicted to video games.

#12 Watch Cooking and Baking Shows

We all need to eat, and what better past-time than to cook in your own kitchen. There are cooking shows where chefs explain their techniques and tricks to prepare proper, healthy, baking and meals.

#13 Watch Documentaries

Documentaries can take you to many places all over the world. You can learn about different cultures and governments. A documentary is defined as “A work, such as a film or television program, presenting political, social, or historical subject matter in a factual and informative manner and often consisting of actual news films or interviews accompanied by narration.”

#14 Learn to Budget

Build an emergency fund – 6 months income. Now with companies downsizing, and layoffs, it is in a person’s best interest to have 6 months worth money for living expenses put aside for such times. Studies show that people with at least $100 dollars in savings are less likely to borrow.

Make a Small Healthy Change one at a time to create a more interesting, fulfilling lifestyle.

In Conclusion

Healthy food and healthy activities with an attitude of gratitude can make the coming year go well. A routine, with plenty of healthy hobbies to challenge your mind should provide you with 25 healthy habits and hobbies to boost your mood this year!

Please Leave a Comment

I would love to hear from you. What healthy habits and hobbies boost your mood? What do you enjoy?

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Disclaimer: If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. No content on this site should be substituted for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare practitioners. The information contained here is for informational purposes only. It is from my research and personal experience.