Three ways you can improve your quality of life

It’s all too easy to find ourselves taking life for granted and not really living it to the full. Here are three ways you can improve your quality of life

When was the last time you stepped outside your daily routine and considered whether you really, really enjoyed your life?

Whether you felt fulfilled and happy? Went to sleep every night contented? Felt that you were living the best possible life you could?

Too often we can find ourselves sleepwalking through life. And while correcting a path that may have taken us away from where we’d really love to be can be more involved that we can help fix in just one article, there are some simple things you can do virtually immediately to improve the quality of your life.

And who knows, making just the tiny changes we explore here could trigger the butterfly effect and be the first step on re-evaluating your life in general and reconnecting you to your passions and dreams.

1) Improve your air quality

Air keeps us alive. But unfortunately, much of the air that we breathe is polluted with harmful chemical agents and bacteria.

So what’s the answer? Many people choose to use air purifiers and filters. But it’s important to do your research and find the best model – after all this is the air you and your family are breathing in!

So while in some instances, going cheap is a good option, when it comes to your air quality, you need the best – and in particular to ensure the model you choose is up to the job and doesn’t emit chemical agents into the air.

2) Exercise and eat healthily

The most important foundation to good health (aside from quality sleep) has to be exercising regularly and eating healthily. And as obvious as this may seem, it’s easy to slip into bad habits.

If you ever need any motivation to maintain good habits, just look at the recommendations for avoiding many diseases and health conditions and you’d be hard pushed to find many that don’t mention a healthy diet and exercise.

Eating healthily and keeping active doesn’t just help your physical wellbeing – it can also have a significant impact on the symptoms of anxiety and depression.

The secret to maintaining a healthy lifestyle isn’t embarking on a dramatic lifestyle overhaul, but slowly introducing new habits over time. It’s important that the habits work for you too. For example, if you HATE running with a passion, then deciding you’ll jog every morning is gong to be a short-lived resolution. Instead, find some kind of physical activity – even if it’s just walking – that you do like.

Likewise, don’t embrace a strict new vegan diet unless you love the foods it includes (and have researched that you’re getting all the right nutrients from it). Instead, simply switch unhealthier choices with new, improved versions. Find healthy foods you want to eat, and you’ll have a diet that won’t make you feel miserable – and that you’ll want to stick to for life.

3) Network and meet friends

If you look at the basic needs we all have in life in order to be mentally healthy, so many of them involve other people. Healthy, reciprocal relationships with positive people are essential for a good quality of life.

And yet, it’s all too easy to get sucked into the weeds of every day life – and the many work and home responsibilities we have – and relegate our relationships to an occasional nice-to-have.

In order to protect your mental wellbeing and enjoy your life, you need to prioritise your relationships and make time in your busy diary for family and friends.

In a non-lockdown world this means meeting up with those who live near you, and visiting those further away. But just because that’s more challenging now – if not impossible – it doesn’t mean that you can’t still nurture and enjoy your personal relationships.

A socially distanced walk with a friend or relative can make a significant difference to your day. And technology like Zoom and WhatsApp video calls mean that you can still enjoy face-to-face conversations. Just because you may be psychically apart doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy shared experiences and strengthen the bonds between you and those you love.

Photo by Sincerely Media