How To Be Healthy Everyday [Health Tips & Challenge]

I am all about healthy living. I mean when I feel healthier, I feel happier and more able to do the things I love. Health is easy to take for granted when you have it but when you don’t, you realize what a wonderful thing health is to be grateful for and to do your best to preserve. I have partnered with Aetna to bring you a bunch of fabulous everyday health tips as well as generate awareness for the impressive Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge. Here are some simple tips for how to be healthy everyday!

Everyday Health Tips- Simple & Actionable

In January 2016, the Aetna Foundation surveyed more than 2,000 Americans on their perception of a variety of healthy living topics.  One very cool result that stood out to me?  “94 percent of Americans are willing to do something in order to have a healthier environment, including grow their own fruits and vegetables or walk, bike or take public transit more often.”  I am so glad to know that people are prioritizing their health!  So here are some healthy living everyday health tips that each of can turn into daily habits for better health.

How To Be Healthy Everyday:

• Incorporate 30 minutes of daily exercise.
• Gym-free exercise ideas:  Rope-less jump rope, sit-ups, push ups, jumping jacks, walking, jogging, and hiking.
• Drink at least eight glasses of water during the day.
• Fill your water glass each time you get up from your desk or the couch.
• Stop drinking sodas and replace them with fruit infused waters if you like a flavored beverage.
• Do a weekly meal plan so you can  ensure that you’re getting the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables each day.
• Chose healthy snacks when eating between meals.
• Healthy snack ideas: Nuts, easy fruits and vegetables.
• Take micro-breaks (a few deep breathes, standing and stretching, walking down the hall) can help calm the mind and reduce stress.
• Make an exercise pact with a friend to keep each other accountable.  Exercising together is more fun and more likely to happen.
• Start a garden. Time outside and healthy, homegrown fruits and veggies is a win-win.
• Create a relaxing bedtime routine including unplugging from electronics an hour or more before bed time.

Over 10 simple healthy living everyday health tips!  Which is your favorite?

Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge

According to a recent Aetna Foundation survey, almost half of Americans would rate their city a “C” or lower for health and the CDC says that a person’s zip code is a greater indicator of their overall health than other factors, including race and genetics.  That is why I am thrilled to be working with the Aetna Foundation to generate awareness for the Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge, a partnership between the Aetna Foundation, the American Public Health Association and the National Association of Counties.

The Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge is a $1.5 million prize competition that empowers small to mid-size U.S. cities and counties to create a positive health impact. The Challenge is all about sharing the best city and county health and wellness ideas to accelerate collaboration and community-wide involvement and achieve measureable impact that can be scaled nationally. The idea is to create healthier cities that promote health and wellness, equity and social interaction for everyone.

Visit HealthiestCities.org for more information about how you can encourage your city or county to get involved in the Challenge and start creating more healthy days. They are looing to have 50 cities in the final round, and all finalist cities will receive a $10,000 seed award to help them implement their project!

I hope you try to adopt some of these everyday health tips and let us know what works well for you. Join the conversation on Twitter #HealthiestCitiesChallenge and help spread the word and improve health in our communities!

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