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Nine takeaways:

Being healthier can often feel like an exhausting, endless burden– but we often forget the extraordinary power of small life changes to have gargantuan benefits. Here are nine accessible wellness tips that will help 2024 be your healthiest year yet:

1. Get healthier without even going to the gym: Scientists now say you can get a lot of health benefits associated with the gym simply by being more active in your daily life. For instance, choose to walk places when you can, or do stationary exercises while seated for work.
2. Flip hunger into satisfaction with this cheap superfood: Eat more foods with fiber, which is found in inexpensive foods like oats, rye, whole wheat, and legumes. Fiber helps control blood sugar levels while lowering cholesterol and inflammation.
3. Little acts of joy can have a big payoff: Small moments add up, and small acts of happiness have a demonstrably positive effect on our wellness. Take a moment to notice the beauty of nature, or to make normal human interaction more meaningful with more thoughtful questions.
4. Outsmart dopamine and screens: We are so often glued to our screens because they cause dopamine releases. There are many ways to overcome a dependency on phones/devices for dopamine release, as per this article.
5. Learn from the Japanese way of life: Not only do the Japanese walk more than we do, but they also prioritize fresh rather than packaged foods which are far more healthy.
6. Combat loneliness through creativity: Research shows that making art or even viewing it reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol and increases levels of the feel-good hormones, like endorphins and oxytocin. Any creative act will do, from painting or writing to gardening or cooking..
7. Find a therapist you can afford: As awareness of therapy’s benefits have become more destigmatized, its price has gone up. There are many new resources for finding accessibly-priced therapists, as per this article.
8. Cut back on the ultraprocessed foods in your diet: Ultraprocessed foods make up nearly 60% of what the typical U.S. adult eats and nearly 70% of what kids eat, and they’re linked to heart disease and diabetes, and so much more. Cut back and go fresh when shopping for groceries.
9. Manage back and neck pain: Short spurts of movement throughout the day can help relieve stress/pain by increasing blood flow. this article contains five exercises to prevent pain, developed by fitness specialists at NASA, an agency where people work in high-stress seated positions.

By Carmel Wroth and Andrea Muraskin for NPR:
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Eight takeaways:

Our brains are wired to create habit loops– to make repeated tasks or decisions automatic– because they make our lives easier. But as we mature, the brain begins to take longer to make new habit loops. Here are 8 tactics for making a new habit last:

1. Consider your priorities: Identify what matters most to you. Whether it’s people, activities, or values, your priorities will help you decide which habits are most important.
2. Define your why: Reflect on why your habits are important to you, rather than the labor of the habit itself. Focusing on the habit’s impact on your mental, emotional, or physical health over time.
3. Think identity: Focus less on the habit itself and more on the kind of person who embodies that habit. By aligning your identity with the habit, it becomes easier to follow.
4. Prioritize process over outcome: Enjoy the journey. Find joy in the habits you’re building, rather than solely focusing on efficiency or end results.
5. Let go: Use the habit as an occasion to evaluate your life and let go of behaviors, items, or people that don’t align with the priorities/goals driving your adoption of this new habit.
6. Identify cues and pinch points: Recognize and attack triggers or hindrances in your routines that might derail your habit-building efforts.
7. Create accountability: Establish a system of accountability, either with a friend or through commitment strategies. You can use apps or keep personal notes to recognize benchmarks.
8. Don’t get discouraged: Understand that setbacks are normal, and it’s okay to restart. Be compassionate to yourself- demonizing yourself for skipping a few days of a new habit will only hinder your efforts. Every day is an opportunity to start again!

By Lily Silverton for British Vogue:
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Three takeaways:

• The author shares the story of a friend, a major CEO: despite past successes, his recent career struggles have led him to consider removing the trophies of past successes from his office. He feels they mock him, highlighting the downside of holding onto past accolades for too long.
• Trophy-keeping can be an example of what Brooks calls invidious intertemporal autocomparison–an unhappy comparison with a former self. Research shows that the more people champion/covet their past existence, the lower their well-being will be in the present.
• The effort to immortalize our accomplishments is often futile. Triumphs decay with time. However, we can use past achievements to a) celebrate and remember what truly matters in life and to b) guide our paths into the future.
• While you don’t need to erase totems to your past completely, there are three quick ways you keep only the trophies that bring you joy—and that never mock you.
  1. Get the time frame right: Remember that you are not the person you were when you received your trophy, and that we are always evolving. Golfers who always compare that day’s score to their best score ever forget that each game is part of the overall progression of their skill, and that their progress is what should be celebrated.
  2. Commemorate what matters: Hold on to trophies from the moments of personal satisfaction, not external validation. Trophies that remind you of the important moments and concepts in life: love, family, overcoming extreme hardship, will remind you that victories in life are not about momentary validation but propelling you in the right direction.
  3. If the trophies mock you, toss them: The second a physical object brings you anything but joy/pride, toss it. This will bring you into the present, feeling lighter and more in command of your direction.

From Arthur C. Brooks at The Atlantic:
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Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.

Three takeaways:

• While the placebo effect in medicine has been proven to be a falsity, the strategic use of placebos in life might be an indispensable tool for your own wellbeing. You can apply “placebo” to happiness as well.
• You can use the power of suggestion to implement a placebo effect on your own mental attitudes when confronted with a negative situation. Here are three simple tips to doing so.
  1. Invent your own unhappiness remedy – you can break a negative cycle of thought or feeling with a trusted source of comfort. A familiar poem, song, walking route, or a favorite piece of gum can remind us that we are not controlled by destructive emotions.
  2. Avoid human “nocebos” – a “nocebo” would be someone or something that reinforces negative mental results. Don’t expose yourself to overly harsh or critical people – many of whom can be found on social media or cable television. If you notice that certain things make you feel worse, avoid them.
  3. Dispense the placebo to others – give that placebo effect to everyone around you, through encouragement, laughter, and other forms of kindness. Doing so will in turn make you happier.
• Negative events are always going to take place, and negative emotions are an appropriate response. However, excessive negativity makes situations worse. Self-managing emotions aids in navigating life’s challenges effectively. A homespun placebo now and again can help.

From Arthur C. Brooks at The Atlantic:
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Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.