Many of us, myself included, tend to see routines and rules as restrictive rather than beneficial. We often associate rules with discipline and punishment, rather than as tools that can help us achieve our goals. However, in the spirit of leading by example, I've been leveraging routines and rules in my own life to help improve my own health.

One health goal that I've personally struggled with is getting adequate sleep. Despite needing to wake up early most days, I would find myself struggling to fall asleep before midnight. I've read numerous books and written a few articles on sleep, but it wasn't until I learned more about Dr. Satchin Panda's research on the circadian rhythm did I finally find a solution that worked.

Dr. Panda's research shows that food and light are the inputs that help regulate our circadian rhythm. By understanding how to strike the balance around using our bodies in the best possible way, we can set rules and routines that will help us achieve our health goals.

Before I share the routines and rules that have helped me achieve better sleep, it's important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. What works for me may not work for you. Therefore, it's essential to experiment and find what routines and rules work best for you.

Here are the ones that have helped me:

Routine 1: Eat between 12pm-8pm

Some call this intermittent fasting, while others refer to it as time-restricted eating. Regardless of the label, I found the idea of limiting my daily food intake to a specific window of time helpful in regulating my circadian rhythm. Dr. Panda's research shows that our bodies are designed to consume food during daylight hours, and we should refrain from eating late at night. By setting this routine, I've noticed that I sleep better and wake up feeling more rested.

Routine 2: Follow natural light

Our bodies are designed to respond to natural light, and exposure to bright light in the morning can help regulate the circadian rhythm and improve sleep. Conversely, exposure to blue light from electronic devices in the evening can interfere with sleep. I found spending time outside in the morning and limiting my use of electronic devices in the evening has helped with my sleep. I've also replaced the light bulbs in my bedroom with a dimmer orange light and changed my screen brightness settings on both my laptop (Night Light Feature) and phone to mimic natural light.

Routine 3: Practice relaxation techniques

Stress can be a major contributor to sleep issues, and incorporating relaxation techniques into your routine can help manage stress and promote better sleep. This can include practices such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, or yoga. Personally, I've found that practicing deep breathing exercises before bed helps calm my mind and prepare my body for sleep. You can see a short video demo of a simple relaxation technique from Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School.

In addition to these specific routines, there are also some general rules that can promote overall health and wellness (you probably know these rules already, but the key question is whether you are putting them to practice on a daily basis):

Rule 1: Get ample, high-quality sleep

Getting enough sleep is essential for overall health and well-being, and most adults require 7-9 hours of sleep per night. To ensure a good night's sleep, it's important to create a sleep-conducive environment, such as keeping your bedroom cool, quiet, and dark. You may also want to avoid caffeine and alcohol late in the day.

Rule 2: Stay hydrated

Drinking enough water is important for many bodily functions, including regulating body temperature and aiding in digestion. Aim to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day, and more if you are physically active or in a hot environment. Some argue that you'll want to stop drinking water a few hours before you plan to sleep, so your urge to use the bathroom doesn't interrupt your sleep cycle.

Rule 3: Move your body

Regular physical activity is important for maintaining overall health and preventing chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Aim to get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week. Be creative about how you get your movement in every day. Some people like to use a step counter, while others park their car far away from the entrance so it forces them to walk. I personally enjoy walking meetings.

Rule 4: Eat real food that gives you sustained energy

There is so much advice on different diets that it can seem overwhelming in terms of figuring out what you should and shouldn't eat (especially when the advice is contradictory). What most experts can agree on is the importance to avoid processed and sugary foods and drinks. Balance and moderation are good ideas to keep in mind along with eating whole foods (foods that look like their natural form because they haven't been processed. For example, an apple is a whole food while apple pie is not a whole food since you can't find apple pies in nature.

By implementing these routines and rules into your daily life, you can help promote better health and wellness. Remember that consistency is key, and it's important to find routines and rules that work for you and your lifestyle. Whether it's limiting your food intake to a specific window of time, practicing relaxation techniques before bed, or staying hydrated throughout the day, small changes can add up to make a big difference in your overall health and well-being.

Photo by Some Tale

The post Health Hack: Unleashing the Transformative Power of Routines and Rules appeared first on Embrace Possibility.

Then, like clockwork, life gets in the way.

Work gets too busy, you get injured or kids come into your life and your routine goes out the window.

When this cycle keeps repeating itself, it's easy to give up on getting back in shape. Why bother going to the gym if you end up stopping in a few months? Why cut out carbs if you're just going to make exceptions for the holidays?

If you're reading this article, you probably don't want to give up. You understand that if you don't take care of your body, bad things WILL happen. Our health is directly related to what we eat, how much we sleep and how active we are. These elements also help manage our mental health as well.

The best way to get back into shape is to immediately restart your routine. Don't overthink it, just do it. To re-ignite a workout that's motivating, follow these steps:

1. Choose a measurable exercise method and schedule that's so easy and convenient for you that you won't have an excuse to say no (example: 2 push-ups a day)
2. Schedule this exercise on your calendar or tie it to a specific trigger (example: I will do this workout right after I wake up in the morning)
3. Track your progress every time (you can use apps like Momentum)
4. Increase the intensity of the exercise every week (example: next week, I'll do 3 push ups)
5. Continue for 3 months and then choose another exercise regime that's appropriate for your enhanced level of fitness

The most important part is to get started again. What will keep you motivated is knowing that you're making progress so don't forget to measure your progress. In the beginning, the progress will be in the form of increased repetition or weights. As you keep going, positive changes in your physique and energy will help fuel the routine.

Once you stop seeing progress in your current routine, immediately find another routine that can push you further.

If life derails your routine, just restart at step one.

Below is a one-month workout that my good friend, Leighton Kuet at LK Fit, shared with me. I use this routine every time I need to get back into shape and it works very well (especially if I measure my progress after every workout).

Body-weight starter exercise - Recommended frequency - 3 days a week

Week 1:

Superset - 3 reps each exercise with 2-minute rest in between each exercise in the following order.

1. Max Pushup
2. Max Pull up
3. Max Sit up
4. Max Burpee

Week 2:

Superset - 3 reps each exercise with 90-second rest in between each exercise in the following order.

1. Max Burpee
2. Max Pull up
3. Max Pushup
4. Max Sit up

Week 3:

Superset - 3 reps each exercise with 60-second rest in between each exercise in the following order.

1. Max Pull Up
2. Max Pushup
3. Max Burpee
4. Max Sit up

Week 4:

Superset -3 reps each exercise with no rest in between each exercise in the following order.

1. Max Pushup
2. Max Pull up
3. Max Sit up
4. Max Burpee

Leighton has other more customized routines as well based on your goals. If you're interested, reach out to him here.

Photo by E'Lisa Campbell

The post How to get back into shape  appeared first on Embrace Possibility.

Smoking.

Procrastinating.

We all have bad habits that we want to change. What's frustrating is that we recognize that it's bad for us and clearly see the negative consequences and yet we're powerless to stop it. We see examples of this all around us and it's not wonder why so many people give up trying to break their bad habits.

This article will provide you an important insight for conquering your bad habits. Before I tell you what it is, I need to disclose some good news and bad news:

The good news is that you'll find out what you've been missing to help you break your bad habits.

The bad news is that when you apply this method to break your bad habits, you won't have any more excuses for living a mediocre life. You'll have to live your life to the fullest.

If you're okay with that, read on.

Before we start, what is the bad habit that you want to break?

Keep that habit in mind while you are reading the rest of the article. Don't move on until you've chose a bad habit. I will use procrastination as an example.

The usual approach for breaking a bad habit is to apply brute force. We use discipline and willpower as our tools to fight temptation. We tell ourselves that it will be different this time around. This method usually works the first few times but unfortunately it doesn't last. If it did, you wouldn't be reading this article.

So what is the missing piece?

When dealing with bad habits, you need to recognize that ...

Everything you do has a POSITIVE intention.

That's it. It's about having compassion for yourself. Instead of beating yourself up for being unable to break the "undesired" habit, you need to understad that the "undesired" habit actually helps you in some way.

So think about your bad habit. What is the positive intention of your bad habit?

For procrastination, one positive intention is to prevent failure because if you don't start, you can't fail.

Once you've recognized the positive intention, it's time to get creative and think about alternatives to achieve the same positive intention. In the procrastination example, an alternative strategy to prevent failure besides procrastinating is to break down the activity into smaller more easily achievable pieces.

Now you know the positive intention for your bad habit, take a few minutes to find at least 3 alternative behaviors that meet the positive intention of your bad habit.

Once you have your alternatives, choose one and make sure it is something that you can do without any negative side effects. As long as the alternative behavior satisfies the positive intention, then you won't need to use your previous bad habit to achieve the positive intention. This makes the habit easier to break. The key is to correctly assess the positive intention and finding a better habit to fulfill that intention.

If you haven't used this method, try it and let me know how it goes. Feel free to share your methods for getting over bad habits in the comments section below.

As a bonus, for those of you who are always late, check out how to always be on time.

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