If one of your resolutions this year is to get yourself and your family healthier, you’re not alone. More and more people are realizing the need to focus more on diet, exercise, and sleep. This of course does not mean you have “to diet” and run five miles a day. What it does mean is that you want to pay more attention to the critical components that make up a healthy lifestyle. Here are five ways to do that as a family.
1. Cook Together
Again, your diet doesn’t mean you’re “on a diet.” Diet simply refers to the foods and beverages you consume on a daily basis. What are you eating? If you’ve noticed that you’re enjoying way more processed foods and driving through fast food lanes way too often lately, it’s time to make a change. Too much processed “junk” can lead to heart issues, obesity, high cholesterol, and even just bad moods and fatigue.
Getting the whole family involved in meal prep is an excellent step toward healthier eating. Get your kids in the kitchen and start preparing the meal together. Look over recipes, discuss the flavors and benefits of different ingredients, and munch on fresh fruits and veggies as you cook. Kids of all ages can help snap green beans, cut potatoes, and even start working at the stove. Having this shared time preparing meals is a great way to get everyone thinking about a healthy diet.
2. Eat Family Meals at Home Together
Even when you don’t cook together, you can eat together. Far too many families today eat in different rooms of the house, grab a snack on the way out the door, or eat in the car on the way somewhere. This practice can affect your digestion and encourage mindless eating, leading to overconsumption. Before you know it, you’ve got food addictions for everything from fast food to sugar. Bringing the family back together can bring your diet back under control.
And don’t worry. Not every meal has to be elaborate or time-consuming. You can throw together a quick dinner with rotisserie chicken, rice, bell peppers, and a few spices. Your family can sit together in the morning and have oatmeal or avocado toast. If you have dietary restrictions, you could even use a gluten-free pancake mix or just scramble up some eggs. There are quick and easy ways to ensure you’re eating healthy and eating together.
3. Get Outside Together
Another part of life critical to health is how much movement you’re getting each day. Regretfully, only 28% of Americans get adequate exercise. Of course, lack of movement can lead to serious health conditions like diabetes and heart disease, among other things. And as a busy family, you probably worry that taking time to exercise will just take you away from each other even more. The bright side is that you can incorporate family-friendly activities into your routine.
You can find family activities to do together that keep you both active and enjoying family bonding time. Local health clubs like the YMCA offer opportunities for families to work out together. You could also enjoy regular family hikes, after-dinner walks, or bike rides. According to health professionals, 150 minutes of exercise each week is the ideal target for maintaining wellness. To meet that requirement, just plan a 30-minute after-dinner walk after every meal you eat together.
4. Get Better Sleep by Setting a Family Bedtime
One of the areas where Americans still tend to suffer greatly in terms of health is sleep. There has long been a mentality among hardworking Americans that you can “sleep when you’re dead.” The unfortunate reality is that, if you don’t sleep, you’ll likely bring about your death much sooner than necessary. Lack of sleep also has all kinds of other negative consequences like fatigue, cognitive decline, and even obesity. When you’re tired, you tend to overeat and exercise less than normal.
One great way to turn this around in your household is to set a family bedtime and stick to it. It doesn’t really matter when that bedtime is as long as everyone in your household gets the right amount of sleep for their age. While children may need upwards of 10 hours of sleep, adults typically require a minimum of seven hours each night. Consider winding down by sharing a bedtime story, or reading quietly with a book light. You’ll be getting two healthy habits in one package!
5. Plan Family Game Nights
Social time is another health factor many people don’t take into account. One of the hardest parts of the global pandemic for so many was the inability to spend time with other people. A lack of socialization can lead to depression, anxiety, and other psychological issues that can end up being long-lasting. People need shared time together, shared experiences, and laughter to truly thrive in life.
You can create these situations by planning family game nights with everyone in your household. Sit down a few nights a week for a board game, to do a puzzle together, or to do karaoke or play charades. Getting your family members together on a schedule to do something fun can make each individual member of the family healthier. It can also make your family as a whole healthier.
In the end, there are tweaks and tricks you can implement throughout the year, large and small, that will make your family healthier. Whether alone or together, each member of your family can improve their health by eating better, eating together, moving their bodies, and laughing and playing together. By the end of next year, you may find you see a house full of happy, healthy people ready for the next healthy experience!
