Written by Lolitaire Moyo-Healey. M.Ost DO, UKIHCA-RHC for BonVie Medical Aid scheme
Your health is your greatest asset, and you can make choices everyday to invest in it and protect it. Good health is rarely built on big, dramatic moments. It is built quietly, in the small choices you make every single day. The choices that don’t really feel significant at the time, but build up over months and years into good health. Taking action toward health prevention is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, so here are five daily habits that support your wellbeing well into the future.
1. Create Your Green Zones
Think of a Green Zone as any moment where your body may be active, but your mind gets to switch off. Activities like playing with your children, cooking a meal, tending a garden, or walking a familiar route. The thing all these activities have in common is they anchor you fully to one thing at a time. That is exactly the point.
Frequent multitasking actually causes difficulty concentrating, getting distracted more easily, and struggling to hold and remember information in your mind. This all then leads to increased mental fatigue and stress.¹ The health consequences can run deeper than just productivity as well. Chronic multitasking temporarily raises blood pressure and heart rate, and is associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety. Over time, this ongoing stress can raise your risk of brain-related illnesses and memory problems.²
The human brain is not meant to task-switch at the speed modern life demands.³ Your Green Zones are not idle time. They are intentional recovery for one of your most important organs- your brain.
2. Protect Your Sleep Consistency
Your body runs on biological rhythms, and your sleep-wake cycle is one of the most powerful of them. Going to bed and waking at irregular times disrupts these rhythms for yourself, and, if you have children, for their developing brains too. This is mainly focusing on ‘when’ and ‘how consistently’ you sleep.
For adults, what happens during deep sleep carries long-term significance. Your brain essentially cleans itself during non-REM sleep (the phases of sleep where you are not dreaming). The brain’s waste-removal system, called the glymphatic system, clears out harmful proteins, which have been shown to build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.⁴ So much so, that sleep is now seriously being considered to be a risk factor for dementia, with evidence suggesting that how you sleep in your 30s, 40s and 50s may influence your brain health decades later.
Sleeping fewer than 7 hours per night on a regular basis is associated with weight gain, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, depression, and increased risk of death.⁶ Going to bed at the same time each night is one of the most protective habits you can build.
3. Eat Mindfully
This habit is less about what you eat and more about how you eat. Mindful eating means sitting down, removing distractions, and paying full attention to your meal: the flavour, the texture, and your body’s hunger and fullness signals.
Mindful eating leads to greater psychological wellbeing, increased satisfaction when eating, and better body image. A combination of mindful eating and knowing what healthy food to eat supports you making food choices that reduce the risk of chronic diseases.⁷ Mindful eating may also lower cholesterol and may help regulate blood sugar, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.⁸
On the other hand, distracted eating like eating in front of a screen, at your desk, or while driving is associated with anxiety, overeating, and weight gain.⁷ Your meals and your body deserve your full attention.
4. Stay Hydrated Throughout the Day
Water is the most essential nutrient your body has, and one of the most consistently overlooked daily habits. It plays a key role in bringing nutrients to your cells, protecting your joints and organs, and maintaining your body temperature.⁹
Even mild dehydration can affect your mood, memory, and concentration, and increase headaches.¹⁰ Whereas adequate water intake can support weight loss and help prevent kidney stones, migraines, urinary tract infections, and low blood pressure.¹¹
The recommendation is approximately 13 cups of fluid daily for men and 9 cups for women, with higher amounts needed in warm climates or with physical activity.¹² Keep a water bottle nearby and sip throughout the day. By the time you feel thirsty, mild dehydration has often already set in. Herbal teas contribute to your water intake. Sugary drinks, black tea, coffee and energy drinks do not contribute to your recommended intake.
5. Find Joy Every Day
This is not a meaningless suggestion, because the evidence for daily joy and gratitude as health practices is robust. Grateful thoughts trigger the release of endorphins which are hormones associated with pain relief and positive emotion. Consistently grateful people show lower blood pressure and stronger immune systems on biological measures.¹³ Gratitude is also associated with better sleep, lower depression risk, favourable cardiovascular markers, and may even extend your life.¹⁴
Keep it simple. Hobbies such as cooking, gardening, or any creative activity create a state that enhances mental health.¹⁵ Writing down just three things you are grateful for each day has been associated with lower anxiety and depression, improved sleep, and stronger social connections.¹⁶ Over time, it rewires how your brain processes the world around you and contributes to health longevity
Conclusion
None of these habits cost money and are available to you today. Daily habits and actions protect and have a profound effect on short-term health, long-term health and quality of life.
References
- PMC / NIH (2024). Digital Multitasking and Hyperactivity: Unveiling the Hidden Costs to Brain Health. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11543232/
- Brown University Health. Multitasking and How It Affects Your Brain Health. Available at: https://www.brownhealth.org/be-well/multitasking-and-how-it-affects-your-brain-health
- Madore, K.P. & Wagner, A.D. (2019). Multicosts of Multitasking. Cerebrum. PMC. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7075496/
- ScienceDaily / University of Rochester Medical Center (2019). Not All Sleep Is Equal When It Comes to Cleaning the Brain. Available at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190227173111.htm
- University of Washington Memory and Brain Wellness Center. The Cleansing Power of a Deep Night’s Sleep. Available at: https://depts.washington.edu/mbwc/news/article/the-cleansing-power-of-a-deep-nights-sleep (Note: The precise mechanisms of the brain’s glymphatic system remain an area of active scientific debate. See: Nature, April 2025 — https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00962-y)
- Watson, N.F. et al. (2015). Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult. American Academy of Sleep Medicine & Sleep Research Society. PMC. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4434546/
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Mindful Eating. The Nutrition Source. Available at: https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/mindful-eating/
- US News Health. The Health Benefits of Mindful Eating. Available at: https://www.usnews.com/wellness/food/articles/benefits-of-mindful-eating
- UC Davis Health (2022). Why It’s Important for You to Drink Water and Stay Hydrated. Available at: https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/good-food/why-its-important-for-you-to-drink-water-and-stay-hydrated/2022/07
- Healthline (2026). 7 Science-Based Health Benefits of Drinking Enough Water. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-health-benefits-of-water
- UC San Francisco (2024). Drinking Plenty of Water May Actually Be Good for You. JAMA Network Open. Available at: https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2024/11/428961/drinking-plenty-water-benefits
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Water: How Much Do You Need? The Nutrition Source. Available at: https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/water/
- EBSCO Research Starters. Gratitude: Health and Medicine. Available at: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/health-and-medicine/gratitude
- Harvard Health Publishing (2024). Gratitude Enhances Health, Brings Happiness — and May Even Lengthen Lives. Available at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gratitude-enhances-health-brings-happiness-and-may-even-lengthen-lives-202409113071
- South Tabor Family Physicians. The Science of Joy. Available at: https://www.southtabor.com/the-science-of-joy/
- Psychowellness Center. Science Behind Gratitude Journals and Brain Rewiring. Available at: https://www.psychowellnesscenter.com/Blog/science-behind-gratitude-journals-and-brain-rewiring/
Author
Lolitaire Moyo-Healey
M.Ost DO, UKIHCA-RHC, Founder, Registered Osteopath, Mindfulness Practitioner, Accredited Health + Life Coach
