Creating healthy lifestyle foundational habits can significantly improve overall health and wellness. Although, they are often underestimated, practices such as light and sleep hygiene, are cornerstones of a healthier lifestyle. We personally overlooked light hygiene for years before gradually integrating changes into daily life. This process involved habit stacking and swapping, where small adjustments created profound results. For example, swapping the habit of reaching for phones upon waking with getting morning sunlight, can make a massive impact for an overall healthier lifestyle. Enhancing nightly routines with things like epsom salt baths, stretching, and mindful breathing can foster a healthier living lifestyle.
Below are 8 foundations you should consider learning more about incorporating for overall individual wellness through a healthy lifestyle. I am always the first to say: do not just take my word for it, but instead, take what I say and dig in further to decide what is best for you + your family.
1. Light Hygiene Tips For Circadian Rhythm, Vitamin D, and Overall Wellness
Upon waking get at least 10 minutes of morning sunlight on your face (outdoors or through open house / car / office windows). This can be as little as 5 minutes with no clouds, or up to 30 minutes on a cloudy day. Aim for sunrise or as close to it as possible. Get afternoon light on skin without sunglasses on. Watch the sunset outdoors, or through an open window, when possible. Sunrise and sunset offer nature’s free near infrared light.
Avoid / limit blue light + limit all light, after sunset. Affordable option: add incandescent warm bulbs to a few lamps & set your screens to turn red past sunset & before sunrise. Other options: Replace bulbs needed with red light bulbs or no blue light amber bulbs. You can also use red lens blue light glasses. I linked to Bon Charge who we love for all things no and low blue light lamps, nightlights, bulbs, and glasses. My discount code for 15% off is LESSTOXIC15.
2. Sleep Hygiene
Aim for going to bed as close to sunset as possible. In an ideal world this would be right after sunset, but definitely not doable for most of us, at least during winter. Just work on the light hygiene portion past sunset (the best you can, baby steps). 7-9 hours of sleep is ideal for most adults. Many do well with 7, and some need up to 9 hours.
Create a sleep sanctuary in your bedroom. Turn off wifi, no items with lights, unplug electronics, sleep with phone on airplane mode or off + plugged in far away from the bed (if you need phone on, plug into another room on loud so you can be reached if needed), keep room organized and well dusted, swap for a less toxic mattress & pillow (Use CODE: LESSTOXIC15 for 15% off sitewide) once possible (even adding a less toxic mattress cover can help), get natural fiber bedding when you need new. Look for 100% cotton, linen, wool. A next better step above that is looking for AZO dye free or OEKO-TEX Standard 100 label. Another step up is looking for organically grown materials.
Without proper sleep, there is almost no way to have a truly healthy lifestyle. I often feel this is an excellent area for people to start with when it comes to working on healthier lifestyle habits.
3. Breathing Focused Tips That Aid In A Healthy Lifestyle
Start by paying attention to your breathing throughout the day. Do you ever mouth breathe? Do you catch yourself holding your breath? Are your breaths shallow? Does your nose feel clear or clogged most of the time? Focus on nose breathing, tongue suctioned to roof of mouth and lips closed. Practice different breath work techniques throughout the day: box breathing, deep breathing, etc. Proper breathing is such an important part of creating a healthier lifestyle.
Take steps to clear your nose (see a professional when necessary / structural): Xclear nasal spray a few times per day, nasal rinsing with saline and neti pot / neilmed bottle before bed. We also love beekeepers naturals for nasal clearing before bed.
4. Clean Water Tips
Drink filtered water. On a budget you can look into the Zero pitcher at Walmart or a step up the clearly filtered pitcher. For an under sink or whole house filter, greenfield water solutions (discount CODE is LESSTOXIC for 10% off, if you do a custom system and talk to them, you can still give the code) is an excellent company. Their systems keep the needed minerals in the water. If using RO filters, be intentional with getting minerals back into every glass of water. Spring water can be great as well.
Many people need more minerals in their diet. You can add additional minerals with a pinch of an unrefined salt into your glass of water. Crucial Four and Quinton minerals are great as well.
5. More Single Ingredient Whole Foods
Focus on the majority of meals being meats, vegetables, nuts / seeds, herbs, and fruits. Add in good fats while cooking like butter, ghee, tallow + some unrefined salts. Next better steps: source regenerative, organic when possible. Source local when doable. Another next step can be trying to eat more seasonal to your location. “Does what I’m eating grow here in this temperature”, can be a great question to ask… as you can. There is no one right way to eat for a healthy lifestyle, but no matter what method is best for you as an individual, including more real whole single ingredient foods is always a healthier route to go.
6. Walking Tips
Walk after meals. Start with trying after one meal per day, add more as doable. Even a walking desk treadmill or pacing in the office. Walking after meals for 10-30 minutes has been shown to help aid digestion, regulate blood sugar, and promote weight management, enhances heart health, can improve mood, and can foster better sleep. Walking has benefits no matter when you can squeeze it in. After meals is great, but any time of the day, any duration, still comes with health benefits. Do what you can, as you can (as physically able).
7. Weight Lifting Tips For
Lifting weights (safely as able) has been shown to have many health benefits including: lower risk of heart disease and diabetes, increased bone density, increased muscle mass, improvement in posture, aid in injury prevention, boost mood, increase metabolism, aid in a healthier heart, and more. Start with proper technique and lower weight. Increase as you can. Using videos or a trainer can help with technique and movements to perform.
8. Swap Products Tips For A Healthy Lifestyle
Swap for less toxic household and self care products as you run out. This is one way to aid in an overall healthier home and healthy lifestyle. When a product or two is almost empty, start to look for your next better swap. This doesn’t have to be perfect, but something with better ingredients, in your price range. You can use my instagram feed, other less toxic account feeds, and the switch natural app (one time $20 purchase … WELL worth it) to help with this.
You can head to my Swaps Posts section from the blog to see other helpful swaps as well. And our whole home free PDF guides series page as well.
Other Helpful Tidbits For A Healthier Lifestyle
- Be in community.
- Rest, relax, and do things you love.
- Prayer and quiet time.
- Focus on nervous system support.
- Get into therapy if needed (EMDR and NET may be helpful for those with stored trauma).
- Bare feet on the ground.
- Open windows in the house and car daily (as weather / humidity levels allow).
- For deeper chronic health healing, after or alongside implementing foundations, you could look into one on one functional blood work or bioressonance. EmilyMurrow’s website to find trained functional blood work practitioners. On instagram look into @rootedinwellness and @the.quantum.collective for bioressonance testing. Or look into your own root cause or functional provider near you.
We did not personally change, or add, all of these overnight. Instead, it was a gradual addition into our lifestyles. We worked on habit stacking and habit swapping.
Healthy Lifestyle Habit Stacking & Swapping
When wanting the best way to incorporate these healthy lifestyle foundations, try habit stacking and habit swapping. Examples:
Habit Stacking: Adding new habits onto existing ones. I took a bath or shower almost every evening. I added to that habit: red light therapy with my lumebox, epsom salt in the bath, stretching in bath or shower, breathing exercises and focuses in bath or shower.
Habit Swapping: Swap an old habit for a new one. Old habit was to look at our phones first thing upon waking. New habit was to get outside, or open a window, and look at the sunrise or sun first thing upon waking.
Check Out – FREE FOUNDATIONAL HABITS & EQUAL COST SWAPS
Here are some research articles to dig deeper on information provided in this blog post (you can simply copy paste the different letter / number segments separated by comas into google to see the full articles.
Sleep: PMCID: PMC6281147, DOI: 10.1177/1745691615598509,
*Nothing in this post is personal medical advice. Meant to be educational. Do your own research & talk with your provider.
