10 Great Habits for New Year

Starting the year right will be much easier if we start each day right; and there is a general consensus that this means eating breakfast. Some people don’t feel much like food in those first minutes of the day but most medical advice holds that breakfast is important because the body uses energy stores for growth and repair through the night and we need some energy to start the day. A healthy breakfast also means we are less likely to be tempted by a less-healthy mid-morning snack, so check out some ideas as to how to start the day on good form, like these gluten-free breakfast recipes from Schär.

If you haven’t already, give up smoking. There are many methods to help you stop smoking and deal with the initial cravings, but sticking to abstinence is often hard. Think in advance what your triggers are and how to avoid them. What do you associate smoking with? Few single actions can have as great a positive impact on your health than eliminating tobacco.

Walking is great exercise for the body, but it is also beneficial for the mind. Research shows that where we walk makes a difference to both our physical and mental health. Green spaces with less noise pollution and cleaner air are better for our bodies and give our minds more space to health. A study on the impact of whether people could exercise in green or grey spaces during the Covid-19 pandemic showed that green space accessibility helped to buffer declined mental health, while another study suggested the risk of non-communicable disease may be reduced by exposure to urban green spaces.

If your New Year’s resolution is to give up sweets, you might be throwing the baby out with the bathwater if you stop eating dark chocolate! Dark chocolate is healthier than milk chocolate, essentially because it contains more cocoa. Cocoa beans contain minerals such as iron and magnesium, as well as flavanols, which can lower blood pressure.

Digital screens emit blue light, which suppresses the body’s release of melatonin, a hormone that makes us feel drowsy. So turning off our devices a little while before bedtime will help us get a good night’s sleep. Perhaps even more importantly, putting our phones away gives us an opportunity to reconnect with those around us or just with ourselves after a busy day.

Many people like to think they can get by on five or six hours of sleep, but most adults need at seven hours of good-quality sleep, ideally on a regular schedule each night. Sleep is very important to keep our minds and bodies healthy. But unlike machines, humans do not come with an ‘off’ button. Making time to unwind before bedtime can help us fall asleep at the designated moment and physical exercise during the day also helps us to feel naturally tired.     

Eating at restaurants or getting take-out food means you are not in control of what’s in your meal or how it’s prepared. Making your own meals means you are in charge of what goes onto your plate so that it suits your needs, whether this be cooking gluten-free or observing other dietary criteria. Cooking can also be a good way to relax!

With so little time or because we are short of inspiration, it’s easy to get into a rut of cooking the same things over and over. This is to forget that cooking should be fun! Discovering new ideas and recipes and starting from scratch with basic ingredients such as raw vegetables and whole grains is a challenge. And it’s no big deal if things don’t turn out perfect first time; that’s how we learn! Schär has hundreds of gluten-free recipes for you to try.

Nuts and dried fruit are little nutrient powerhouses – keep them around for inspiration at mealtimes and to help you to avoid some of the less healthy temptations between meals! Nuts and dried fruit can liven up your breakfast bowl and salads, as well as add to cooked dishes: try nuts in a stir fry, or dried fruit in a stew or casserole.

Many of us have a bicycle lying around somewhere, gathering dust… Cycling is one of those good health habits that we can easily incorporate into our routines. Think of your commute or trip to the shops – could you be doing it on two wheels?