Everyone knows they need to eat nutritious food, move their behinds, and get enough water and sleep. If you’ve been reading our articles, you’ve definitely seen it from us! But are there other, maybe less well-known ways to get and stay healthy?

Yes! Some of these might seem counterintuitive but they do work.

Feeling tired? Skip the energy drink and get moving.

These drinks are loaded full of caffeine, so the energy boost you get is temporary. Plus, if you buy the ones full of sugar, you get the sugar crash later. 

We get it. When you’re tired the last thing you want to do is move or exercise! Yet it’ll boost your energy level immediately, without all the side effects of the energy drinks.

Skip the diet drinks.

When your body expects fuel (from tasting the sweetness) and doesn’t get it, it can overcompensate with more calories later. Particularly for those who are already overweight.

Flavor your water if you need to, or carbonate it if you like the fizz in diet colas.

In fact, skip the processed diet food.

Low-cal snack packs can leave you feeling hungrier than if you’d had something more substantial. Pick a high-protein snack such as string cheese or an apple and peanut butter which will help suppress your appetite, not encourage it. 

Oh and by the way, make sure you eat that apple peel – it contains quercetin which among other things helps prevent brain damage.

Handwrite notes to get your brain in gear.

We’re all so used to typing things, but when you actually handwrite you engage more of your brain and your learning processes kick in immediately. Great for holiday card updates.

Need a nap? Drink some coffee.

It takes about 20 minutes for the caffeine in coffee to wake you up, which is about the right time for a midday nap. Don’t take too long drinking it before you lie down for a quick snooze.

Use regular soap, not the antibacterial stuff.

Antibacterial soaps use triclosan, which can be harmful to humans. It can actually decrease your body’s natural bacteria-resistant barriers, damage developing embryos and change the beneficial bacteria in your gut.

As long as you wash your hands for the recommended amount of time (20 seconds), you’ll be just fine.

Wait an hour after eating to brush your teeth.

Food makes tooth enamel more sensitive, especially citrus fruits and other acidic foods like tomatoes. Brushing immediately afterward allows the acids to eat deeply into your teeth. 

Instead of brushing right away, rinse with plain water.

Wake naturally instead of using an alarm clock.

Being shocked out of a deep sleep by intrusive noises stresses your body out. If you’re completely dependent on your clock to get you up, you’re not getting enough sleep. Most people need seven to eight hours. 

Make sure you go to bed early enough that you have time to fall asleep and then snooze for your 7 to 8 hours.

Know you need to stand instead of sit more for better health? Got a folding table you need to lift up to work at comfortably? Find folding table risers to match your style table in our store.