Men especially don’t focus on their health as much as they need to. Life is busy and health issues often take the back burner unless something severe happens that awakens the individual to the importance of their overall health.
There are things you can do to improve your overall health that don’t take a lot of time and effort but that will make a big difference in your health.
Here are 40 ways a man can be healthier in just fifteen minutes or less:
1 – Put Out Your Cigarette
This is the first step toward making a difference in improving your cardiovascular health and your risk of lung disease. Putting out your cigarette and making a commitment toward better health through being a non-smoker can extend your life and reduce the risk of disease.
2 – Lift Some Hand Weights
Strengthening your muscles by fifteen minutes of lifting hand weights can strengthen your upper body strength and will allow you to have improved health through better muscle strength.
3 – Eat Pistachios
Rather than have a fast food item with your meal, instead eat 3 ounces of unsalted pistachios. This has been found to increase the HDL (good) cholesterol by about 6 percent. Make sure you use the unsalted kind because your blood pressure doesn’t need to have the added salt.
4 – Turn on Some Music and Dance with Your Wife
Men who have happy marriages live longer than men who are unmarried or wind up divorced. One study found unhappy marriages to increase risk of illness by 35% and shortening lifespan by 4 years. Plus, the extra exercise doesn’t hurt!
5 – Drink 1 Glass of Water Before Each Meal
It helps you get full faster, and hydrates the body.
6 – Consider Nutritional Value
Think for 3 minutes about the food’s nutritional value before ordering at a restaurant or buying food for a meal at the store.
7 – Eat 1 Cup of Vegetables
Takes 7 minutes or less and is especially useful in the morning as studies show it helps prevent overrating throughout the day.
8 – Do 10 Squats
Squats are some of the most effective exercises for fat burning; building muscle and functional fitness that supports various types of everyday movements you perform in your everyday life.
9 – Brush Your Teeth Without Toothpaste
Do this for about thirty seconds before adding toothpaste and brushing your teeth again. Dry brushing your teeth can lessen the tartar by 60 percent so you can decrease the risk of developing bleeding gums.
10 – Climb a Flight of Stairs
It is never too late to start an exercise program. It doesn’t have to be a formal program of exercise. Just get more activity by climbing stairs rather than taking the elevator.
11 – Listen to Music
Listening to music will help you perceive more details in your hearing as you age. You can listen to any type of music as long as the volume is not too high. Instrumental music is best; try to isolate out a single instrument and follow it for better hearing in your future.
12 – Walk Around the Block
Get your mind off your stressors while exercising your legs in a fifteen-minute walk that will clear your mind, help your heart, and help you regain flagging energy throughout the day.
13 – Get Energy Without Coffee
If you are finding yourself low on energy during the day, you don’t have to do it with caffeine. Instead, drink a club soda with lemon or lime. This type of carbonation and fresh aroma will keep you energized without having to use chemicals.
14 – Eat Lunch
Studies have shown that, if you eat lunch, you will be less likely to binge eat something that is not healthy for you later. Eat a lunch that contains some protein and complex carbohydrates that will provide you with the sustenance you need until you are ready to have supper several hours later. It can help you keep your weight down.
15 – Eat an Apple
Apple is high in nutrients and healthy fiber. For good bowel health, eat a single apple as a snack so the fiber can go to work to improve the speed of food through your gastrointestinal tract.
16 – Meditate for 15 Minutes
Fifteen minutes of meditation will de-stress your life and allow you to continue calmly with the rest of your day. Meditation doesn’t have to be for a long period in order to be effective in reducing your personal level of stress. Focus on your breath and on progressive muscle relaxation when you feel the tensest.
17 – Write Off Negative Thoughts
Whenever you experience a negative thought that causes you anxiety, you should write it down and let the anxiety it causes fade away. When you have time, look over the thoughts, and try to figure out where they happen to be coming from. Sort through your negative thoughts while you are calm and can think about them objectively.
18 – Practice Tai Chi
A few minutes of this ancient martial art form will lessen your experience of stress, reduce pain, and improve your coordination, flexibility, and balance. Try doing this for fifteen minutes twice per day for better health.
19 – Compliment a Loved One
Research has shown that if you are unhappy in your primary relationship, you are more likely to get sick and have a shorter lifespan. One way to get around this is to regularly say something nice or something you appreciate about this person. It can have a great impact on your own and your loved one’s chances of later being depressed. Other research reported that 74% of couples who were the most happy shared compliments with one another.
20 – Make a Salad
Fresh who food, like vegetables provide you with essential nutrients and disease fighting anti-oxidants. It’s faster to make a salad than go to a drive thru.
21 – Practice Qi Gong
This ancient Chinese form of marital arts improves balance and flexibility. You can do it lying down, sitting, or standing up. It confers health benefits, not the least of which is reducing the level of your stress. You don’t have to be a fitness wizard in order to be able to practice this art.
22 – Take Liquid Medicine with Ice
Suck on an ice cube just a few seconds before taking a liquid medicine that tastes bad. The ice will cause your taste buds to be numb so you can take the medicine without actually noticing the taste. This will make the taking of certain medicines more palatable.
23 – Do a Few Yoga Poses
When you are stressed out, a couple of yoga poses done with a focus on your breath can relieve stress and improve your flexibility. It can be done by both young and old and can reduce the risk of falls in the elderly. You also don’t have to be thin and lithe in order to be able to this practice with some modifications to make it easier for you.
24- Add Some Caffeine to Your Painkiller
If you also take in some caffeine in the form of coffee or tea along with your ibuprofen, you can get rid of your headache faster and more completely than if you just take the ibuprofen. This was borne out in a study of 400 people who suffered from headache. A total of 71% who took ibuprofen with a couple of cups of coffee or the equivalent had complete headache relief when compared to only 58% who only took caffeine or only took the ibuprofen.
25 – Eat Your Fruits Whole
If you eat a whole orange instead of juicing it, you will eat fewer calories and get more fiber. One study reported a reduction in the amount of calories taken in by 20 percent over those who drank the equivalent amount of fruit as a juice. The act of chewing keeps you thinner by enhancing the satiety hormones and allows your gut to digest the food over a longer period of time so you are less likely to go back for more food too soon.
26 – Eat a Serving of Salmon
Salmon and other fatty fish, when eaten grilled, will provide you with omega 3 fatty acids that are known to reduce inflammation and help your heart stay healthy. Omega 3 fatty acids are an essential part of a healthy diet.
27 – Splash on the Vinegar
In your submarine sandwich or hoagie, ask for a few extra splashes of vinegar. The acetic acid contained in vinegar will interfere with the stomach enzymes that allow for the breakdown of complex carbohydrates so the sugar in the carbs won’t flood your bloodstream as much. This won’t trigger insulin to be released from your pancreas as quickly.
28 – Eat a Couple of Squares of Dark Chocolate
This makes for a good afternoon snack and is high in anti-oxidants, which fight of oxygen free radicals in your system. This can reduce cellular damage and can prevent certain types of cancer caused by oxygen free radicals.
29 – Test Your Pillow
Try folding your pillow in half and then let go. If the pillow is able to spring back into its original shape, you can still use it. If it stays bent, it is an old pillow that is probably not supporting your neck well during your sleep.
30- Eat a Cup of Blueberries
This dark and rich fruit is high in anti-oxidants and other phytonutrients to help in your overall health. Anti-oxidants can rid your body of free radicals, which can damage your cellular DNA, resulting in cancer.
31 – Take a Catnap
Fifteen minutes of relaxed resting will energize you for the rest of the day. No one can survive on the constant going of activity that most people put themselves through during the day. Fifteen minutes with your head at your desk will clear your mind and improve your sensibilities so you can continue the day more rested.
32 – Tilt the Rear View Mirror Up
If you use the tilt feature on your rear view mirror, you won’t slouch and cause low back pain while driving. If you tilt the mirror up, you will sit up straighter so that you can still see the automobiles behind you without putting extra stress on your back.
33 – Drink a Glass of Red Wine
A glass of red wine after an evening meal contains resveratrol, which is known to improve heart health. Be sure to stick to less than two glasses of red wine per day for the heart health benefit without drinking too much alcohol.
34 – Put Fresh Flowers on the Table
Eating your meal with fresh flowers on the table can improve the level of your mood. Researchers say that people who don’t consider themselves morning people will feel more energized when flowers are placed at the breakfast table.
35 – Get a New Kitchen Sponge
Old sponges are filled with millions of bacteria that just contaminate the pots and pans you are trying to scrub out. Instead of using the same sponge to death, get fresh ones every week so the bacteria don’t end up making you sick. You can also microwave the sponge for about 15 seconds in the microwave to kill bacteria and allow your sponge to last longer.
36 – Wash Your Hands
All kinds of disease are spread when you come in contact with bacteria and viruses on surfaces or when shaking another person’s hand and transfer the pathogens to your nose or mouth. When you wash your hands regularly with soap and water, you clean them of pathogens you have collected up throughout the day and will be healthier.
37 – Show Some Gratitude
Research has shown that more than 90 percent of people who openly show their gratitude toward others were happier and 75 percent of these people revealed it also energized them, reduced depression and lessened stress. You show your gratitude by thanking people who help you throughout the day and taking the time to think about what you are thankful for.
38 – Wear Socks When You Sleep
Researchers show that people fall asleep faster when their feet are warm. Socks allow the blood vessels in your body to get bigger, throwing off more heat so that your core body temperature is lower faster. You’ll fall asleep quicker when your body temperature has had a chance to lower by a degree or two.
39 – Stretch
Stretching is an effective way to improve health and wellness, as well as your quality of life. Poor flexibility results in sore muscles, stiff arteries, and even high blood sugar. When you feel stiff and sore it’s difficult to work up the motivation to stay active and go out and exercise. Meditation and yoga often involve stretching.
40 – Visualize
You have the goal, but do you have the imagination? Take time out every day to picture your success, imagine positive results. It might sound a little cheesy, but it’s effective! You can roll this into your meditation, or make it a separate activity. Whatever you feel the most comfortable with.
