10 Unconventional Ways to Improve Health You’ve Probably Never Considered
Is your New Year Resolution to be healthier this year? You’re not the only one.
It’s also the most popular New Year Resolutions each and every year. It’s closely followed by doing more exercise and losing weight.
But, you don’t have to achieve your goals with the same old announcements of giving up alcohol for a month and joining the gym.
Are you searching for unconventional ways to improve health? Here are our ideas on how to live a healthy lifestyle in the most unconventional way possible. Let’s get started!
1. Brush Your Skin
No, we’re not confusing you with a cat! Brushing your skin produces a surprising number of health benefits.
Remember, your skin is the largest organ in the human body. And therefore, it requires plenty of TLC.
So, grab a dry brush and massage your skin in a circular motion. This exfoliates the dead skin cells laying on the top layer of your skin.
Brushing your skin also unclogs your pores to leave your skin looking younger and fresher than ever. You should begin with the bottoms of your feet before working your way up to your face.
2. Scrape Your Tongue
Your dentist always reminds you to brush and floss our teeth, right? But, you probably haven’t been scraping your tongue.
In Indian culture, tongue scraping is common practice for followers of the ancient healing of Ayurveda.
Grab your toothbrush and scrape your tongue until clean. This can take up to several minutes.
You’ll probably gag or give up due to the unbearable smell the first few times. Eventually, you’ll never look back after you start to reap the health benefits of tongue scraping.
This is the most effective method of improving your bad breath. Also, other benefits of tongue scraping include reducing the risk of developing gum disease, dental cavities and common diseases, such as colds.
3. Take Every Opportunity to Laugh
The old wisdom that “laughter is the best medicine” turns out to be more than a silly saying.
We’re not pretending that laughter can cure cancer. Just that there are surprising health benefits to laughter.
Experts have discovered that while we’re laughing our stress-levels are low and muscle tension is reduced. We also know that laughter can improve your immune system and provide pain relief.
It’s surely not long before your doctor will prescribe you an evening of binge-watching the Simpsons.
4. Fill Your Home with Houseplants
Millennials can’t afford houses! It turns out that they’re buying houseplants instead.
Filling your apartment with houseplants is a greener and cheaper alternative to owning your own home. Nevertheless, surrounding your home with plants also comes with health benefits.
For example, people who surround themselves with many houseplants are up to 30 percent less prone to catching common colds. The same can be said for sore throats and fatigue.
We don’t know exactly why plants are so great for our health. However, researchers have claimed that be improving the humidity and removing dust from your home, plants contribute to a healthier environment for you.
What are you waiting for? Head down to your the nearest florist now!
5. Walk Don’t Run
Admittedly, running is good for our health. It helps us to lose weight, reduces disease and relieves stress.
And yet, there is a growing body of research which says that walking is better than running.
This is probably not what your Mother meant when she screamed — “walk, don’t run!”— when you were chasing your siblings through the kitchen. But, she was right all along!
The science basically tells us — we’re not cheetahs!
Researchers say we evolved not to run but to walk. As hunter-gatherers, human beings would walk and walk for miles without end.
That’s great news for the flaneurs, trekkers, and wanderers! So, stop running and get walking.
6. Barefoot Running
Now, joggers and runners who are not satisfied with the buzz of walking, there’s some good news for you too.
If you really have to go running, then remove your expensive sneakers and go barefoot.
According to researchers, running barefoot is actually better for the back, hips, knees, and shins. These parts of the body are particularly vulnerable to damage from running.
Since the birth of the running shoe, we’ve started running from heel to toe. However, without a shoe, you naturally land on the ball and lateral edge of the foot, which allows for the impact to be distributed around.
You can probably guess that there’s some serious money at stake here. So you can expect the health debate to continue while the science is inconclusive.
7. Squat (Don’t Sit) on the Toilet
What would you say if I told you that you’ve been pooping the wrong way?
When you sit on the toilet, you’re placing pressure on your butt. This is apparently because when you sit you squeeze your gut tissue unnaturally.
Over 1 billion people in the world squat and the rest sit on the toilet. And yet, the people who squat show “no incidence of diverticulosis and fewer problems with piles.”
So, what can you do better?
Climb on top of your toilet and perch while you poop. If you don’t fancy that, then you can also grab a stool to elevate yourself while pooping.
8. Be Financially Savvy
A healthy body and mind are related to a healthy bank balance. Don’t believe us?
Check out these statistics.
Over 30 percent of Americans say they’re stressed about money “constantly,” since the majority of Americans are in debt. While nearly 80 percent of Americans are concerned that they won’t have enough money for retirement.
Money worries like this are inevitably going to result in poorer health. How can you stay healthy if you’re constantly thinking about how you’re going to pay your bills?
But, it’s not just the mind that feels the pressures of money troubles. Researchers have found that there is a connection between the risk of developing heart problems and struggling financially.
It may sound strange, but spending your money wisely and saving for rainy days are important ways to improve heart health.
9. Stop What You’re Doing
We’re often told that we’re not moving enough. Nearly one-third of American adults are inactive.
We know that not doing any exercise or physical activity at all is extremely dangerous for our health.
At the same time, we need to stop what we’re doing, sit down and breath. In other words, we need to pick up mindful meditation.
The health benefits of regular meditation include the following:
- Improved mental health (e.g. reduced stress, depression, and anxiety)
- Reduced memory loss
- Fights addiction to drugs and other substances
- Decreases blood pressure
Many famous celebrities are already jumping on the mindfulness craze, such as Oprah Winfrey and Katy Perry. If you want to discover more about meditation, you can find more info about the philosophy behind it here.
And yet, meditation is not for everyone. You can also be in the moment by walking in the woods or doing yoga. Just stop what you’re doing for a few minutes a day.
10. Go to Bed like a Kindergartener
We’re so busy all the time that many people are not sleeping enough. According to studies, over 1 in 3 Americans don’t get enough sleep.
Lack of sleep is much more serious than many people realize — it’s not just that you’ll be a little tired at work.
Poor sleep quality is linked to a number of serious health conditions. These include the following:
- Heart problems (e.g. heart disease)
- High blood pressure
- Risk of strokes
- Risk of diabetes type 2
Sleep can also increase stress, reduce sex drive and cause memory loss. You need to make sure you’re getting enough shut-eye.
How much is enough sleep?
Experts disagree on the exact amount of sleep you should be getting. However, they largely agree that you should aim for between seven and nine hours.
Therefore, a growing number of people are going to bed earlier and enjoying the numerous health benefits. You may develop a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out) from all the nights out you miss.
That could be a price worth paying for getting your beauty sleep!
Unconventional Ways to Improve Health
Now you know that living a healthier lifestyle doesn’t need to be dull and ordinary. Throw away your gym membership. Say goodbye to calorie counting.
There are plenty of unconventional ways to improve health which backed up with science. Get started with barefoot running and laugh all you can. You can have fun and be healthy at the same time!
Do you want to discover more health hacks? Check out our blog on health eating hacks here.
