Tips for Being Healthy for those Who Don’t Have A Lot of Time

I get that we are a society that is always on the run.  We don't have time to breathe much less be healthy.  Here are a few tips that can help you be healthy in a time crunch world.

#1.)  Get Five Servings of Fruits and Vegetables a Day Instead of Nine. According to a Harvard University study, five is enough to keep your weight in check and reduce your risk of stroke by 31%.

#2.)  Don't Worry About Chugging Eight Glasses of Water a Day. That's how much you need if you don't get it in any other way.  But things like coffee are mostly water, and your body gets about 20% of the water it needs from the food you eat.   So if you don't like sipping water all day, just drink it with meals and have a glass whenever you're thirsty.

#3.)  If You Can't Get Eight Hours of Sleep, Get Seven. It might affect your energy level the next day, but it won't affect your health. Seven hours is the cutoff though, and if you consistently get less than SIX hours of sleep a night, it can increase your risk of developing diabetes and depression.

#4.)  Do 17 Minutes of Cardio Every Day. Even though 30 minutes, five days a week is the gold standard, multiple studies have shown that breaking up exercise into smaller segments is just as good for you.  And a recent study showed that women who get two hours of cardio per week reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke by 27%.  Two hours a week breaks down to about 17 minutes a day.

#5.)  Lift Weights Once a Week. In a perfect world, you should be strength-training two to three days a week.  But in a recent study, people who lifted weights once a week were able to gain almost as much muscle mass as people who lifted weights three times a week.  It just took a few more weeks to get there.

#6.)  Wash Your Hands for 10 Seconds Instead of 20. According to a study at the University of North Carolina, 10 seconds is enough to kill 90% of the bacteria on your hands.  And they say that how OFTEN you wash your hands is much more important than how THOROUGHLY you wash them.

(Prevention)