Welcome to our second week of the wellness challenge!
If you find this week challenging, give yourself some grace and remind yourself that it’s all about progress, not perfection.
Here are the challenges for this week.
January 9: Tell someone why you’re grateful for them.
Expressing your gratitude to someone can make their day because you’re telling them that they are loved and appreciated. It can also improve your social bond with them. But it doesn’t end there! Sharing gratitude can help you too by:
- Lighten your mood
- Making you more positive/optimistic
- Improve social bonds
January 10: Plant a plant (or buy a plant).
Plants are used to spruce up the house or outdoor space, but they can also provide health benefits!
- Green leaves and colored flowers remind us of the outdoors, which can help ease fatigue and channel feelings of calmness.
- Plants keep the air clean. Studies show that houseplants can remove up to 87% of air toxins in as little as 24 hours.
- Tending to a plant and watching it grow healthfully provides a feeling of accomplishment.
January 11: Stop and take 10 deep breaths three times today.
A deep breath trades incoming oxygen for outgoing carbon dioxide, encouraging full oxygen exchange. This slows the heartbeat and lowers or stabilizes blood pressure, and helps to:
- Induce muscle relaxation
- Reduce tension and anxiety
- Increase a sense of focus
January 12: Declutter one area in your house.
Clutter can impact productivity, cause stress, and make household tasks more difficult. Decluttering a space in your home can:
- Reduce a feeling of overwhelm in your brain, which will reduce overall stress
- Improve focus because there is no longer a mess of things around you competing for your attention
- Help you rediscover items that you may have thought were lost – which may boost your mood or reduce your spending (if you were planning to repurchase them)
January 13: Turn off all electronics two hours before bedtime.
Screens – TV, computer, tablet – can interfere with your sleep by suppressing the production of melatonin (a natural hormone released in the evening to help you get ready for sleep).
- Set aside your electronics and opt for other ways to relax, such as reading a book, playing a game with your family, meditating, journaling, or taking a relaxing bath.
January 14: Reach out to a friend you haven’t seen in a while.
Chances are if you’re thinking of someone you haven’t seen or heard from recently, they’re thinking of you too.
- Reach out to them to reconnect!
January 15: Take a screen break from your phone, computer, and TV.
Those of you who don’t work on Sundays, try taking a break from all forms of technology today. Benefits include:
- Reforging personal relationships
- Getting more things done around the home
- Rediscovering an old hobby or finding a new one
- Enjoying a book
- Reducing eye strain and stress
- Improving the quality of your sleep tonight
You’re doing great!