HEALTHY HABITS: 10 daily habits that changed my life (science-backed)

Good daily habits can make such a big difference to your overall health and your life. In this video I'm going to share 10 daily habits that have changed my life to talk about 10 daily habits that have made a really big difference to my life in different areas such as physical health, emotional health and brain health. Before we dive in I wanted to say a few things so you know the context.

The first thing is these daily habits have been the result of gradual habit forming over the last five years- it's not something that happened overnight. It is difficult to form habits and it does take time. The second thing - although these habits are daily habits I don't put pressure on myself to do them every day especially when things get too busy or things are too overwhelming.

Sometimes things slide a little and that's okay. When you're making lifestyle changes it's not about perfection it's about doing what you can and generally I do try to do these habits at least three to five times a week IN the times that I'm really stressed out because I feel that they do help me stay on track and they do help reduce stress. Anyway enough with the introduction let's get into the habits.

The first daily habit is that I drink a glass of water as soon as I get up. Well not as soon as I get up -I brush my teeth, I go to the bathroom and then I have a glass of water. I find that this has made a big difference to energy levels in the morning.

When we're sleeping we're not taking it any water and when we wake up we can be mildly dehydrated and when we're dehydrated our fatigue levels go up. There is some science behind this - I'll put it in the description box. So a good thing to do is start your morning by getting enough hydration.

I drink a glass of filtered water. If I feel like it, I'll add some lemon to it I don't always do that and it's usually at room temperature but if you like warm water that can work too. It really is about personal preference but drinking some water in the morning is a great thing to do for your energy levels.

Number two I meditate for 10 minutes every day. I used to be very skeptical about meditation when I first started. I didn't really believe in it I didn't think that there was science behind it but there is actually quite a bit of science.

It can do things like reduce anxiety, it can help you improve your immune function, it can help reduce pain. There's a lot that it can do I have a few links in the description box but for me the biggest change is mental clarity and I feel much more calm. I am not naturally a calm person I may appear calm on YouTube but I am not naturally a calm person.

Meditation - years of meditation has gotten me to this point and I really do think that there are a lot of benefits to trying it out. Now if you're a beginner, meditation can seem very daunting and I have two tips to provide. So the first one is try to just be very open about meditation in the beginning.

The first 10 to 15 sessions for me were very difficult. I didn't know what I was doing and I felt overwhelmed and I felt like I was doing it the wrong way. It wasn't until the 15th or 16th session that I really got into it and I started to see the benefit.

So give it time. The second thing is if you are starting out try guided meditation versus meditation where you're just doing it on your own. Guided meditation can really help you stay on track and can really guide you through the process.

I use an app called Calm - I highly recommend it. I love it. There is also another app called Headspace which you could try out.

Number three I go for a brisk walk outdoors every day. Now I have to say that I live in Canada so a brisk walk outdoors every day does not happen year-round! It doesn't happen in the winter but for the rest of the year I do try to get outside because I find it's such a mood booster to get some fresh air.

. to get some sunlight and to be out in the greenery and there are studies that show that exposure to greenery is good for your health. As usual, everything's in the description box.

Now for me the brisk walk is not just a mood booster - it's also the way I get exercise.