Pam Molnar
Challenge Yourself Practical ways to be healthier in 2024
Author and motivational speaker
Jim Rohn said, “Your life does not get better by chance. It gets better by change.” Yet, it’s not uncommon for people to think they can continue making unhealthy choices without consequences. Challenge yourself this month: Make 2024 the year you prioritize health. Here are very doable (and maybe even fun) health “challenges” and apps to help track progress. Choose two or three or do them all. Get the whole family involved!
Improve Sleep According to the Sleep Foundation, adults should have at least seven hours of sleep each night. For kids, it’s around 10 hours, depending on age (check here: www.sleepfoundation.org/childrenand-sleep/how-much-sleep-do-kidsneed). A good night’s rest helps boost immune system, improves cognitive and mental health and lowers risk for serious health problems in adults such as heart disease. If you’re not getting seven hours, challenge yourself to add 15 minutes more each night until you reach the goal. If you have trouble falling (or staying) asleep, avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime, disconnect electronic devices and adjust the temperature to make the room cooler.
Apps that promote better sleep: • Stella Sleep • Headspace • Calm
16 • SanDiegofamily.com • January 2024
10,000 Steps
Eat 30 Plants a Week
Walking 10,000 steps is the equivalent of approximately five miles. That sounds like a huge undertaking, but the Mayo Clinic reports that most adults take 3,000–4,000 steps just doing things around the house and at work. While everyone’s pace is different, a 30-minute walk is roughly 2,000–3,000 steps. If you’re not already making time for walks, start with a 20-minute walk with the dog or a friend and expand on it until you get to 10,000 steps.
Thirty different plants a week probably sounds impossible. Yes, it is a challenge, but it’s doable. It equates to fewer than five a day. Eating a variety of plants creates a more diverse gut biome, which helps fight disease and infection and properly digest food. The good news is that plants also include beans, grains and nuts. But to create diversity in your diet and reap the benefits of this challenge, you can only count each plant once (if you eat carrots three times a week, that counts as one).
Apps with unique features that also track progress: • Charity Miles • Map My Walk
Apps that offer recipes and tracking: • Food Monster • Eat Five
Get Outside Drink (and eat) More Water We all know water is good for us, but how much is enough? According to the Mayo Clinic, eight cups of water a day is a reasonable goal. But the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine suggests that more daily fluid intake is needed for healthy adults. In addition to the daily eight glasses, eat vegetables (celery, cucumber, spinach, zucchini) and fruits (strawberries, watermelon, oranges) with high water content. Fruit and vegetable juices, milk and herbal teas are also sources of hydration.
Apps that keep you on track: • Waterllama • Daily Water
There is a challenge called 1000 Hours Outside, suggesting people spend 1,000 hours outdoors in a year’s time. It was created to counteract screen time because some children spend 1,200 hours a year in front of screens! One thousand hours a year equates to under three hours a day or 19 hours a week. If that seems like too much, why not challenge your family to an equal amount of screen hours to outdoor hours?
Apps to help track time spent outdoors: • 1000 Hours Outside • NatureDose
