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8 Tips to Spring Clean Your Health
Sep
Spring is a great time to rethink your diet, physical activity, sleep routine, and much more.
Warmer weather is a great reminder to hit the farmers market or your local grocery store to stock up on in-season fruits and vegetables.
With milder temperatures, more sun, and life sprouting everywhere, the arrival of spring in and of itself can put an extra kick in your step. It’s a time of possibility, a time to take stock of the habits that might be holding you back from being who you want to be — and to form new habits that help you become a better version of yourself.
Spring can a really good time to reevaluate, and that includes giving your health and wellness routines a once over. You may even find that resolutions made in springtime are easier to follow than the ones you try to implement in the cold, bitter winter months.
If you want to pay your health and well-being a little extra attention this spring, but don’t know where to start, here are nine tips to get you started.
1. Fill Your Plate With Fresh, In-Season Fruits and Vegetables
Spring and summer are a great time to incorporate more fresh, in-season fruits and vegetables into the diet. Warmer weather produce, like mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, and berries, are all packed with micronutrients the body needs and thrives on.
We recommend visiting farmer’s markets and shopping for organic produce when possible, especially for fruits and vegetables that you eat whole from the outside, like apples or cherries. It is also important to focus on getting healthy fats from produce and whole foods — like avocados, nuts, and seeds — rather than from refined oils and fried foods.
2. Be Mindful of Opportunities to Overindulge
Warmer weather often brings outdoor gathering like parties, festivals and braai’s, which can come with unhealthy foods like grilled and processed meats and fatty snacks.
“A lot of foods that we braai may be very fatty, however you don’t have to forgo these foods all together, but perhaps looking for leaner meat and poultry options and avoiding fried snacks and fatty dips when you can to help reduce your intake of artery-clogging unhealthy fats.
Another important precaution is to watch your alcohol intake at springtime gatherings. Again, you don’t have to avoid it completely; moderation is important
3. Stay Hydrated
When it’s warmer outside, your body can lose more moisture through sweating, even if you don’t feel yourself getting sweaty. Dehydration can pose serious health risks if severe — and even if you’re just mildly dehydrated, it can cause fatigue, low energy, and headaches. To help prevent dehydration, it’s important to take proactive steps to drink enough water throughout the day, such as by keeping a water bottle handy at all times.
Another potential benefit of drinking enough water is that it may help you avoid overeating. Drinking a glass of water prior to eating sometimes helps quell some of those hunger cues.
4. Get Outside and Get Moving
Getting enough physical activity every day is really important. It can be as simple as taking a walk around the block or spending some time gardening. Any activity that gets your bones and muscles moving can help.
Do we reap extra benefits though from activity done outside?
We’re genetically programmed to enjoy the outdoors as it engages all of your senses, and it has a big effect on your mood and self-esteem. Getting outside can boost vitamin D levels, thanks to the sun. And if you’re walking or running on uneven terrain, it can engage more muscles and improve your balance compared with moving on a flat surface.
5. Soak Up the Sun
There are many benefits to getting some sunlight (provided you’re being diligent about using sunscreen). Bright light exposure helps release serotonin in the body, which can boost your mood.
Exposure to sunlight also helps the skin produce vitamin D, which is good for bone health and other functions in the body.
And remember, even if you’re walking or hiking in the shade or on a cloudy day, there’s still going to be plenty of light to stimulate your mood.
7. Reset Your Sleep Schedule
If dark, cold winter days have thrown your sleep schedule off track, use spring as a reset.
One bad habit to break is spending lots of time in front of a computer or phone or laptop just before bed. These devices turn on your brain and make you think it’s time to wake up.
Other ways to clean up your pre-sleep routine include: not exercising or eating large meals within two hours before bedtime, avoiding alcohol for at least four hours before bed, and avoiding caffeine in the afternoon. And definitely do get up at the same time each day — ideally with exposure to light right away. Consistently waking up at the same time day after day gets your body and that routine — and it becomes easier to stick to.
If you’re having trouble falling or staying asleep: Keeping the place where you sleep really dark and cool can be helpful.
8. Watch for Allergens (Both Indoors and Out)
Springtime brings a spike in outdoor allergens like pollen, but it’s also a good time to minimize your exposure to allergens indoors, where most of us spend a lot of our time. For allergies, what definitely helps is a big spring clean in your house — vacuuming rugs and carpets, and a deep cleaning of dust.
9. Spring Clean your medicine cabinet & wellness routine.
Get rid of any toxic habits, thoughts and anything you might ingest that could be toxic for your health! Stocking your medicine cabinet with all natural wellness supplements and products can drastically improve your health & every facet of your life. Categories like libido, sleep, gut health, beauty, skin, aging, concentration, stress and more are all factors we directly address with each one of our products.
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