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Life can be busy and chaotic at times, causing you to prioritize things like work or children over your health. While it’s true that sometimes these things do take priority, there’s no reason you can’t still maintain a healthy lifestyle, even during a busy season of life.
Here are 10 simple, yet highly effective, healthy daily habits that you can incorporate into your routine to improve your life and overall well-being.
Healthy Daily Habits List:
1. Hydrate Before Caffeine
What’s your first beverage of the day? If you’re like most people, it’s probably coffee or some other caffeinated beverage. And I get it – caffeine keeps me going too! But if you can aim to drink one full glass of water before having any caffeine, you’ve already started your day off on the right foot.
I used to start my morning with a large iced coffee and realized that I would sip on it all morning. Sometimes it would be like 11 am before I finished it, meaning that I had consumed zero water for the 5 or so hours that I had been awake. Then I would spend the rest of the day trying to catch up and drink enough water which was nearly impossible. Now that I drink water before my morning coffee, I know that I’m ahead for the day, and it’s much easier to stay hydrated throughout the afternoon/evening.
2. Morning Meditation
Meditation is one of those things that a lot of people tend to think as being gimmicky or weird, but truly, it can change your life. Even spending just five minutes alone with your thoughts first thing in the morning can really help you start your day off right.
There are so many good (and free!) meditation apps out there that make it so easy to incorporate this into your morning routine. My personal favorite is Smiling Mind, which offers hundreds of free meditations. They’re organized into different focused programs (e.g., sleep, stress management) so you can tailor your meditation to what you need in that moment. I also love that they offer short (2-5 minute) meditations that you can easily sneak into your day when you just need a quick pause or reset.
3. Skincare Routine
I cannot understate the importance of starting a quality skincare routine, especially if you’re a 30-something like me. Your skin is the largest organ on your body, and thus deserves to be well taken care of! Gone are the days of scrubbing our faces with those Clearasil pads that burned our skin off (IYKYK) – now it’s time to hone in on a routine that actually nourishes our skin.
I’ve experimented with several skincare lines over the past few years and keep coming back to the same two. First, I love Tula products. They have clean ingredients and are easy on my skin which tends to be on the sensitive side. My favorite Tula products are the cult classic cleanser, rose glow cooling & brightening eye balm, and the protect + glow daily sunscreen.
The other line I use regularly is Dime Beauty Co. My favorite products from Dime are the hyper glow serum and the blue facial oil (it works wonders for pesky adult acne!). Just a word of caution – if you order from their site, shipping takes forever. Thankfully, they also stock some of their products on Amazon so consider looking there first if you need it quickly.
4. Get Some Vitamin D
Getting outside offers SO MANY physical and mental health benefits. Studies have shown that spending time outdoors can lower stress levels, improve anxiety, and enhance your overall mood. Additionally, sunlight exposure helps your body make vitamin D, which is super important for bone health and immune system function.
You don’t have to get outside for hours every single day (unless you want to and can!) to reap the benefits of sunshine. Spending just 20 minutes a day outside has been linked to improvements in mood, memory, and cognition. So, next time you’re feeling stressed out at work, try getting outside for a few minutes for some fresh air and sunshine.
5. Eat Balanced Meals
There’s not much that makes you feel more sluggish than the crash after eating a sugary afternoon snack. While it’s tempting to reach for an easy-to-open processed snack when you’re short on time, it can have serious effects on your health long-term. Instead, focus on eating balanced meals that won’t leave you hungry, and if you do get hungry between meals, grab healthier options like fruit, nuts, or yogurt.
I’m definitely not saying you can’t treat yourself every now and then, but you should aim for eating balanced and healthy about 80% of the time. One of the best ways to ensure you’re eating balanced meals is to count macros. Here’s an article breaking down how to get started with counting and tracking macros if that’s something you’re interested in.
6. Limit Screen Time
While it’s super convenient to be able to have a Google answer for everything right at your fingertips, it’s also made us much more reliant on technology. This reliance has drastically increased our exposure to screens, which poses many health risks including anxiety, depression, and poor sleep. Additionally, with increased access to social media, there has been an uptick in mental health illness, likely related to constant comparing of ourselves to various models and influencers.
You don’t have to immediately go throw your phone in the trashcan (though sometimes I do think about doing this), but consider taking an hour or two during the day as a digital detox. Put your phone on ‘do not disturb’ and go do something productive or fun! You may find that you like it so much that you keep your phone on DND all the time like I do. I changed my settings so that only texts and calls from certain people (e.g., my husband, the babysitter) can come through, but everything else can wait until I’m ready to check it.
7. Personal Development
So much of our day is consumed with taking care of others that we often forget about our own goals and ambitions. So think about it – what is it that you want to accomplish in life? Do you want to become a runner? Learn a new language? Really think about it and then map out small things you can do to make it happen.
For example, one of my goals for 2024 is to read three books about living a healthier lifestyle. Every day, I set aside a few minutes to read at least 5 pages of one of those books. By carving out that time every day, I know that I’m purposely moving forward with my goal, even if it’s slow. Remember, forward is a pace! You don’t have to do ALL the things RIGHT NOW. Instead, choose a goal and break it into small tasks or chunks that you can work on each day.
8. Social Connection
Humans are social creatures. Even if you’re more of an introvert, social connection is still important. We all want to feel loved and appreciated, and fostering meaningful relationships is the best way to do that. Engaging in regular social interactions (even if it’s just a phone call!) provides a sense of belonging, support, and companionship, which can have a significant positive impact on mental health.
Research has consistently shown that strong social ties can improve overall resilience to stress, boost immunity, and even lengthen lifespan. Whether it’s spending time with your family, catching up with friends, or participating in community activities, prioritizing social connection as part of your daily routine can have profound and lasting benefits for your health and happiness.
9. Journal Before Bed
I struggle with anxiety, and the majority of it hits me when I’m laying down for bed. I replay the day in my head and start to overthink and analyze things that I said or did. Most nights I also find that I stress about not getting enough things checked off my to-do list. To combat this, I have been doing a quick 5-minute journal exercise before bed. I write down three major things that I accomplished that day and three things I’m grateful for. I have found that seeing these two things written down on paper helps me put things into perspective and go to bed less stressed out.
You can journal about anything you want, but I do think that writing down things you’re grateful for can help you appreciate what you have. I have used this 5-minute gratitude journal before and I loved it. It really helped me take a step back and see that the small things I was stressing about really weren’t so important in the big picture of life. I encourage you to at least try consistently journaling every night for a week. By that point, it’ll be a habit, and I bet you’ll want to keep doing it!
10. Prioritize Sleep
Just like a good skincare routine, I think the importance of good sleep is understated. Regardless of your sleep preferences, aiming for 7-9 hours of quality sleep every night should be one of your priority health goals. Sleep is super important for tissue repair, muscle growth, and hormone regulation, all of which are vital to your physical health. In addition to physical benefits, adequate sleep is linked to improved cognitive function, concentration, and decision-making skills.
Prioritizing sleep hygiene by creating a comfortable sleep environment, sticking to a regular sleep schedule, and practicing relaxation techniques can significantly enhance the quality and duration of sleep, leading to a healthier lifestyle and increased energy.
This post was all about the top 10 healthy daily habits to incorporate into your routine to improve your life. Let me know in the comments if you have any other healthy daily habits you swear by!
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