With the aftereffects of 2020 and 2021 (COVID and lockdown), 2022 was the year of the new normal, self-discovery, and resilience. The year started off with absolutely no expectations unlike previous years this year the new year’s resolutions were relatively none because let’s be honest it gets forgotten within a week. I read a book called the Compound Effect by Darren Hardy.
But what intrigued me the most was that the author pinpointed my personality just by being measured by my answers from a questionnaire. I highly recommend it if you want to know your neural activity and the science behind your behavior and daily habits, you should definitely give it a read. I will do an in-depth summary and lessons from the book sometime soon.
Here are the few habits I started in 2022 that changed my life which you should try too.
1. Getting sunlight in your eyes first thing in the morning
This first tip comes from the how to sleep better guide by the author Dr. Michael Breus in the Book “The Power of When”. In this book, the writer goes into detail to explain the different chronotypes of sleep and people are different in their specific needs to sleep time. If you want to find out about your sleep chronotype then you should definitely check it out. The first thing the author suggests correcting our sleep schedule is to get some sunlight first thing in the morning.
And there’s research evidence to back it up, when we wake up in a dark room which is the case for most of us what ends up happening is our body confuses the Circadian Rhythm (which is the normal biological clock in our body deciding our sleep and waking up schedule).
But when we expose our eyes to direct sunlight, it increases cortisol levels (which in simpler terms is our wake-up hormone). And either directly or indirectly affects our mood, there is research done previously that shows that people having regular sunlight exposure were found to be happier or more satisfied in life as compared to people who didn’t. Besides, it’s free so why not make full use of it? You never know when the government will ask us to pay for that too, no pun intended.
2. Making your bed
The life lessons from former military and navy seals have always been fascinating to me. And Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World book by William H. McRaven changed my whole perspective on life.
I’ll be honest, despite being a rather neat person my bed was never made whether at home or in the dorm room.
The justification for myself by me was always that ‘I’m going to destroy it anyway so what’s the point’? In our dorm room, the only bed that was always neat and nicely made was my friend “M”. However, the strange thing was she loved staying in bed too, which was quite the contrary. But every time she would get out of bed, she would immediately make her bed tidy everything, and a few minutes later back in bed and all things gone. What I never understood until now she might have done it just for the satisfaction of it. Again, just my assumption I might have to ask her.
The author in the book shared a similar rather meh reason too, while being utterly blunt and honest about his experiences of war and battlefield, he talks about ritual and why the military personnel are trained to make their bed. As the author quotes
“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed”
The real reason, although is pretty straightforward, the moment we wake up our brain starts racing with endless tasks and to-do lists so much so that we feel overwhelmed by the feeling of getting out of bed.
But just like military personnel if you just get out of bed and instantly make your bed it will give you a sense of accomplishment and reduces the urge to go back to bed.
3. Taking a cold shower in the morning
Cold showers and ice baths were a hot topic this year, with people doing the tik to challenges and scientists exploring the scientific data behind it. Although the research is still emerging, we have very few good-quality studies to back up any claims as of now.
It is however clear that cold water in general has a ton of positive effects on the body, especially in physically active individuals.
The other health benefit includes the release of a hormone called epinephrine which is a stress hormone, but what is does is start the body’s natural process of healing. It reduces fatigue, increases alertness, and promotes blood circulation to your entire body. I started taking cold showers for many many years now, mine out of fear of hot boiling water.
But what I didn’t realize at that time was that this one odd habit will eventually transform into a healthy way to combat post-exercise soreness and increase alertness later in life.
4. Eating protein in the breakfast
This one is a no-brainer yet still so many of us rely on carbs as our primary source of first thing in the morning. A ton of research has been done on this topic; one common theme was that eating more protein in breakfast keeps you more full for longer.
it doesn’t cause the sudden rise and fall of blood glucose; it provides you with steady energy levels that last much longer than a carb breakfast. There’s hardly any effort required either, two scrambled eggs, and you are good to go.
And for those of you who do intermittent fasting and skip breakfast altogether, I suggest shifting to an early dinner and giving it a try. There is research evidence supporting the consensus that people eating protein breakfast lose more weight as compared to people who skipped breakfast.
5. Eat more greens
During ancient times green leafy vegetables were a huge part of the everyday diet and were believed to have several health benefits. Later, apart from their outstanding nutritional value and their use for medicinal benefits were highlighted a lot.
Greens are rich in minerals like calcium, iron, and zinc. Research suggests that green vegetables also have medicinal qualities due to their rich bioactive and nutritional potential. However, with the introduction of fast food and diet culture, green vegies were the most ignored and not accepted by either of the group.
All previous research suggests that increasing the intake of green veggies could provide adequate nutrition required necessary for proper growth as well as protection against malnutrition and other diseases.
6. 5 minutes of yoga before bed
For all my fellow yoga enthusiasts, you all know how deep diaphragmatic breathing can infuse a sense of relaxation throughout your body, consider pairing it with a mild stretching sequence involving movement in all directions your body can possibly move.
Pro-tip is to hold each stretch for at least 10 slow deep breathing, and you will be ready for sleep. Another hack is doing yoga outside in the dark at night or on the rooftop to get some oxygen in your lungs.
But you find it too much for you then just stretching and breathing while sitting on your bed which works too. Do whatever makes it easy for you to do it every day.
7. Weekly closet cleanup
A clutter-free closet leads to a clutter-free mind. But we love STUFF. All of us at some point in life we’re taught that having lots of STUFF is what makes you rich, successful, and happy, but if that was truly the case then why aren’t we happy?
This urge to collect things whether we need it or not leads to a sense of materialistic obsession. Let me admit, me being the shopaholic that I am, I started this practice last year when I saw a girl on YouTube introducing the concept of minimalism.
It then converted to essentialism, which eventually means having items that are essential to us whether those are clothing pieces or some sentimental items we want to cherish for the rest of our lives. And with this practice, all you have to do is check your closet and categorize things in a particular. It doesn't matter which categories you choose, what really matters is you take everything out and see all the things you have.
Then select all the things you absolutely love and can’t live without. Then separate all the things you absolutely hate and collect of the pile of these things and lastly separate all the things that you maybe use sometime in the future. Now you’ll have three piles, love, hate, and maybe.
The next step is to arrange all the stuff you love and use in the front or closer to reach place in your closet so that you don’t have to search for these every day. Then add all the things you added in the hate pile into a bag or a box and donate that stuff immediately. Don’t wait for tomorrow or Sunday for that.
And lastly, take your maybe pile and sit with it for a minute, then carefully pick each object and ask yourself ‘do you see yourself wearing that? If Yes. Ask yourself does your answer involve an IF, if yes donate that stuff too. Because if you think that one day that dress will fit when you lose a certain amount of weight or one day you’ll go on a trip and you’ll wear it chances are that just never going to happen and even if it does happen you can always buy new stuff.
The key is to keep your closet clutter free because that will impact your mental health exponentially and reduce your time in the morning to decide what to wear. Repeat that little practice of love, hate, maybe, and soon after your closet will be filled with things you love. It has an additional benefit the stuff you get rid of will go to the non-affording and that in itself is a rewarding experience.
8. Get a pet plant
Plants and nature have a unique way to keep you grounded, keeping you company when lonely, and comforting you when you need it. I read a lot about the importance of greenery and nature around oneself and how it influenced sleep, mood, life satisfaction, and productivity.
And me being me went out to give it try, I got this small palm-sized indoor plant and started raising it. It was a struggle in the beginning. Sometimes I watered it way too much, and other times completely forgot to water it.
But to my surprise, the plant strived, and I kept watering it regularly a little bit every other day no exception was that little munchkin turned into a 5-foot-long plant and had pink flowers all over its crown by the end of this year.
It didn’t even know it was a flower-bearing plant, Fascinating, isn’t it? One thing I learned from this is that it was one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. And everybody should try it at least once in their life.
9. Boxing when stressed
In modern society stress itself is a lifestyle. With that being said, everybody is searching for a coping mechanism to deal with stress and often relies on smoking, vaping, sweets, and other substances. And with the list of side effects of using all these as a coping mechanism, the long-term effect in later generations including gene mutation.
This means that you are not destroying your own health with these substances but also causing certain biological reactions that will eventually show up in the form of the disease in your grandchildren.
Boxing is like the secret medicine to stress, research has found boxing provides a release of stress and anger with additional benefits of improving mood, and increasing personal self-esteem, and confidence. Now some of you will argue that you don’t have the equipment well then let me tell you that you don’t need any equipment to get the health benefits of it. All you can do is find a quiet corner in your house and do some shadow boxing. If you need guidance there are a ton of videos on YouTube, one of my favorites is Nate.
10. Having social interactions
In a survey, when asked about the source of happiness and life satisfaction, social interaction stands very high on the list and, for a good reason. With the advancement in technology, the distance between people has been reduced through social media.
It has severely affected the quality of connection and the genuine joy of it. But with the fast moving world sometimes you lose true connections between friends and family, making you feel lonely and often sad. That shouldn’t discourage you at all since that does not necessarily mean that you can’t build new connections or even have a catch up with an old friend.
The power of social connection is so much so that having small talk with people you meet in your workplace or on the way can have a profound effect on your mood and mental wellbeing.
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