Lifestyle

5 Tips to Live Your Best Life

Life is meant to be enjoyed, but for some of us, the day to day can feel like a little more of a challenge than blast. It’s easy to get bogged down in the stresses of life, like traffic, taxes, and that never-ending “pressure to succeed”. Life can be hard!

If you’re trying to put a little more pep back in your step, we’re here to help! Here are our 5 favorite tips to help you live your best life.

Tip #1: Get some sleep!

And not just “some sleep”—some good sleep! We’re talking that 8-hours a night, every night, good sleep. As kids, we’re all born with the knowledge that we need sleep. But somewhere, between all-nighters in college and busy work schedules, some of us seem to decide that maybe we don’t need that much sleep, after all. Right? Wrong.

Sleep truly is vital to your happiness as a human being. Not only does lack of sleep hurt your cognitive abilities, such as attention spend, alertness, critical thinking, and more, but it can also hurt your happiness. Studies show that people who report higher amounts of regular sleep also report higher levels of happiness and wellbeing. Both of those are vital to living your best life!

In order to optimize your sleep, it’s important that you get 8 hours of sound sleep every night, and that you maintain a regular sleep schedule. That means that if you’re typically up at 7 AM for work, it’s a good idea to wake up around that time on your days off, too. Giant fluctuations in sleeping hours can really hurt your sleep patterns.

If you’re one of the many Americans who struggle with either falling asleep or staying asleep, there are plenty of natural options that can help with that, without the killer side effects of sleeping medication. Melatonin can be a huge help, as can Ashwagandha, and ancient ayurvedic herb.

Tip #2: Learn to relax.

Just like lack of sleep, high stress levels can really hurt your health. Extreme stress can lead to anxiety and depression and may even lead to things like heart disease and high blood pressure. So it’s not only good for your happiness, but also vital to your health to learn to relax!

We know what you’re thinking. Easier said than done, right? The good news is that we’ve got some handy tips to help you relax. The first trick to learning to lower your stress levels is to learn exactly what your boundaries are. How much can you manage in a day? How many commitments are too many? We’ve all got a limit, and it’s important to know what yours is.

Once you have a good understanding of your limit, reassess your regular commitments. Do you have your finger in too many pies? Does your schedule still leave you time to unwind at the end of the day? If not, it’s time to put some commitments on hold.

Now, about that unwind time. There are so many things you can do to chill out. Watching TV or scrolling social media can certainly give your brain a break, but they don’t work to lower your stress levels, and can sometimes even raise them more. Consider more relaxing ways to, well, relax! We love meditation to reach that inner Zen. You can also experiment with CBD capsules for anxiety, which can help you reach all new levels of chill.

Tip #3: Start doing what you love.

Another lofty goal, but, hey, what did you expect? Again, this one may feel a little easier said than done, but it’s definitely not impossible. Think about the things you truly enjoy doing. Do you have a crafty side? Is cooking your jam? Do you love connecting with other people? Getting your hands dirty in the garden? What would you do if money was no object?

The next step is as easy as, well, doing it! Think about ways you can start doing this regularly. Can you set up a corner of your house for crafting? Can you commit to cooking one dream meal a week? Is there a local group you could join or a regular networking event you could attend? Whatever you love doing, there’s surely a way you can start to do more of it. By prioritizing doing the things you love, you’ll begin living your best life!