How to improve your health habits!
Reading Chiropractor Beccy Norman treating a patient
A new year has come around again and suddenly we’re in 2023, writes Reading Chiropractor Beccy Norman. So often we end up focussing too much on cutting things out and depriving ourselves. Maybe life could be easier and more sustainable if we focussed on adding things in instead of cutting out? In the spirit of this I’ve compiled a few things I think would be of great benefit and the best way to start improving your health habits.
A couple of years ago I read a book by James Clear called ‘Atomic Habits’. If you haven’t already read it then you should – I can’t recommend it enough! James looks at the process of habits rather than just goal setting with no clear pathway of how to achieve them.
Health Benefits of Hydration
A major goal i recommend to my patients is to drink more water. For women we need about 2.7 litres a day and for men 3.7 litres. This then increases if we are exercising or consuming things like coffee or alcohol. Our bodies are 55-60% of water. Therefore, if we aren’t properly hydrated this affects every function in our body, from our brain , to our skin and our muscles. Proper hydration can help reduce pain and protect your joints and muscles by keeping the cartilage soft and pliable. Dehydration pulls fluid out of your tissues, which causes overall body 
aches and pains.
The second goal I also try and get my patients to add into their lives is Pilates. Pilates is a low impact exercise that improves core strength, flexibility and can also help to prevent injury. There are lots of different classes available and this is largely up to personal preference. However, I always say start with an in-person class with an instructor, and this will be a great kickstart to improving your health habits!
Atomic Habits
According to James Clear, the author of ‘Atomic Habits’, the four main pillars to create a good habit are as follows:
- Make it obvious
- Give this new habit a time and location. In the context of water this may be that you make sure it’s the first thing you do in the morning in your kitchen. Alternatively, place a pint of water next to your bed for when you wake up. Then also make sure you always have a water bottle next to you at work. In terms of the Pilates this would be picking a specific class at a specific time and booking it rather than ‘playing it by ear’.
- Stack your habit. This means choose a habit you already do and stack this new habit with it. Most of us will always have three meals a day and perhaps a couple of hot drinks and snacks. Making sure every time you eat you drink a decent amount of water. Not only will this help to keep you fuller for longer , it will help you keep your water levels topped up. When it comes to Pilates this may mean trying to add a class when you are already out and about. If it’s a class at home you could stack your Pilates class in to your morning or evening routine.
- Design your environment to make it obvious. In terms of water this could be having a large water bottle with markings on it to show how much you have already drunk. For Pilates this could be having your mat out in your living room ready, a reminder set on your phone for your class, or your kit ready in the car!
- Make it attractive – This is all about finding how you can entice yourself in to doing your new habit! Its also about surrounding yourself in an environment that also is following similar habits. We all know how hard it is to eat healthily when everyone around you isn’t. In terms of water this could be buying a new pretty water bottle. It may also be using sugar free squash or adding fresh lemon to your water. You could also try having herbal teas as well as a way of getting your intake in. When it comes to pilates this could be treating yourself to a new mat and yoga leggings or rewarding yourself with a nice coffee after your class. Its also about finding friends who are also interested in taking part.
- Make it easy – The main focus here is to reduce friction , prime your environment and perhaps start with
downscaling your habit to make it manageable. So often we make goals that are unachievable at first and then we give up when we don’t fulfil them. If you drink no water, then it might be best to just try and start with a pint of water in the morning at first. Instead of aiming to go to five Pilates classes a week just start with committing to one. In terms of reducing friction this is about choosing a class that is a local and at a time you can always commit to. In terms of water this is about making sure its always accessible or using an app to log your intake. - Make it satisfying – Do you remember having some kind of wall chart as a child and being so happy to see a sticker in the right box or a tick when you did something. Or even receiving a sticker as a reward. As adults we still need this. Most habits that are good for us don’t give us immediate satisfaction. You won’t feel immediately healthier after a glass of water and your back pain won’t disappear after one Pilates session. Therefore, we need to find something to keep us motivated and rewarded. Habit trackers are a great way of doing this. Once you see that streak building up you won’t want to break it. On top of this find a way to reward yourself for your progress whether it is having a coffee once you’ve done you’ve completed your intake or treating yourself to massage after a month of Pilates is completed!
The idea of these steps is that they can be applied to any habit and they can also be used in reverse to break a bad habit. It’s never easy to start a new habit but I promise it will be worth it when you look back on 2023 as a healthier, happier person. If you want to learn more then the “Atomic Habits” book goes in to much more depth and I recommend enough. I sincerely hope that these ideas can help you continue the process of improving your health habits.
