Here’s How You Can Take Care Of Your Health

If your aims and goals for the rest of the year are to be happier and healthier then you have come to the right place. With summer fast approaching, you may be on the lookout for ways to be healthier and get summer ready. There is so much advice, guidance, and tips out there when it comes to health that you can get lost in all the information. Sometimes it is best to take it all back to basics, check out the article below to find out more. 

Keep Track Of Water Intake

One thing that is vital when it comes to your health is water intake. As an adult you need to be aiming for around six to eight glasses per day, this equates to around two litres. While this may seem like a lot, when you split it into a 24 hour period, it doesn’t seem that drastic. If you don’t like the taste of water or you find it boring then the good news is you can get your hands on flavoured water pods. These not only change the flavour of your water to whatever you choose, but they also add key vitamins and nutrients that your body and diet might be missing. 

Monitor Your Sleep

Now, something else that you need to be aware of is how much sleep you are getting each night. You should try and get a solid five to eight hours of sleep each night, this means undisturbed sleep. If you are waking up several times then you won’t be doing wonders for your mind or body. However, there may be a valid reason you are waking up such as feeding kids or settling them back down after they have woken up. These reasons can’t be avoided, however, if you are tossing and turning due to various aches and pains then this needs to be addressed. Consider how old your mattress is, if it is over ten then it is time to invest in a new one. 

Move About More 

How much exercise are you doing each day? If the answer is around 45 minutes then you are on the right track, so good job. Remember, you don’t need to do those 45 minutes all in one go, you can break it up however you like. It might be that you do 30 minutes in the morning and then the remaining 15 after work, or you could do it all during your lunch break. The key to exercise working is finding something you enjoy. This can be anything as long as it gets your heart rate up, you could try something you have never tried before like yoga or reformer pilates. If you don’t like exercising in front of people then you could always follow along to workout videos in the comfort of your own home. 

So there you have it, four ways you can take better care of your health and come out on top. Remember, making small changes now will make huge differences further down the line. 

A Few More Simple Things Worth Adding

The three basics above, water, sleep, and movement, are genuinely the foundation of most things health-related. If those three are in reasonable shape, a lot of other things tend to follow. But if you want to build on them without overcomplicating things, here are a few more low-effort, high-impact habits worth considering.

• Eat more slowly. It sounds almost too simple to be worth mentioning, but eating more slowly genuinely helps with digestion, hydration, appetite regulation, and how satisfied you feel after a meal. Your brain takes around 20 minutes to register fullness, so rushing through meals means you often eat more than your body actually needed. Putting your fork down between bites, or just being more deliberate about chewing, makes a noticeable difference over time.
• Get outside once a day. Even a 15-minute walk in natural daylight supports your mood, energy levels, and your body’s ability to wind down for sleep at night, since morning light exposure helps set your circadian rhythm. If you can combine this with the movement goal from the original guide, brilliant. But even on its own, a daily dose of fresh air and daylight is one of the easier habits to build and one of the most consistent contributors to overall wellbeing.
• Reduce ultra-processed food gradually, not all at once. Ultra-processed foods (the ones with long ingredient lists and unrecognisable additives) aren’t doing much for your energy, gut health, or mood, but going cold turkey on everything at once rarely sticks. Identifying the one or two things you eat most frequently in this category and finding a swap you actually enjoy is more effective and sustainable than a complete overhaul.
• Put your phone away an hour before bed. If sleep quality is a problem, this is one of the most reliably effective things you can do. The NHS South Tees Trust sleep hygiene guidance specifically recommends avoiding screens in the hour before bed. Blue light from screens suppresses melatonin production, making it harder to feel sleepy, and the mental stimulation of scrolling keeps the brain alert when it should be winding down. A book, a podcast, or just lying there is all genuinely better for sleep quality than a phone.
• Track something, even briefly. Not obsessively, but loosely. Noting your water intake, step count, or sleep hours for even a week tends to make you more aware of what’s actually happening versus what you assume is happening. Most people who do this discover they’re drinking considerably less water than they thought, or moving considerably less on the days they don’t exercise. Awareness is a more gentle motivator than pressure.

Healthy Habits at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take for healthy habits to become automatic?

Research from University College London found that on average it takes 66 days for a new behaviour to become automatic, though the range in their study was anywhere from 18 to 254 days depending on the person and the habit. The important takeaway is that it takes longer than the commonly quoted 21 days, and missing a day or two doesn’t reset the process. The most reliable approach is to start small with one or two habits, build them until they feel easy rather than effortful, and then add something new rather than trying to change everything at once.

Does the time of day I drink water matter?

Not dramatically, but there are a few useful patterns. Starting the day with a glass of water after waking is one of the simplest ways to begin reducing the mild dehydration most people accumulate overnight. Drinking a glass before each meal helps with both hydration and appetite regulation, as thirst is sometimes mistaken for hunger. Drinking plenty in the first half of the day is generally better than leaving it all until the evening, as it reduces the chance of needing to get up in the night. Beyond that, the most important thing is simply hitting the daily total.

What’s the difference between moderate and vigorous exercise?

Moderate intensity exercise is anything that raises your heart rate and makes you breathe more heavily but still allows you to hold a conversation: brisk walking, cycling on flat ground, swimming at a comfortable pace, dancing, or a gentle jog. Vigorous intensity is anything that makes conversation difficult: running, fast cycling, aerobics classes, or sports like football or tennis played at pace. The NHS recommends 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week, or a combination of both. Both count; what matters most is that you’re moving regularly in a way you can sustain.

What if I can only manage a few changes at a time?

That is genuinely the best approach. Trying to overhaul everything at once is one of the most reliable ways to end up doing none of it. Research consistently shows that stacking too many new behaviours at once leads to decision fatigue and reversion to defaults. Picking one habit, ideally the one that feels most manageable or that would make the biggest difference to your daily energy or mood, and doing it consistently until it no longer requires much effort is far more effective than ambitious plans that don’t stick. Once that habit is solid, add another one. Small and consistent beats big and short-lived every time.

Do flavoured water pods actually count towards daily water intake?

Yes, the water in them counts. As long as the pod doesn’t contain significant caffeine (which is a mild diuretic), the hydration value is the same as plain water. Most flavoured water pods and drops use stevia, fruit extracts, or small amounts of sugar for flavouring with minimal or no caffeine, making them a perfectly valid way to make your daily water intake more enjoyable. If you’re checking the label and the product contains a meaningful amount of sodium, that can affect hydration differently, but for most standard flavoured water products the hydration impact is the same as drinking plain water.

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Becky

Meet the award-nominated UK lifestyle blogger behind Spirited Puddle Jumper – a mum of three living in South East London! Becky shares the real ups and downs of family life, parenting tips, and lifestyle inspiration, proving that being a mum doesn’t mean you stop being fun or having other interests! Follow along for honest insights into UK family life and opinions on a whole range of topics, from travel and food, to beauty reviews, home and DIY, business and health and wellness.