New year, new resolutions? Yes, but resolutions that lighten the mental load to feel good and even better than last year. And resolutions without pressure… not too difficult to keep!
It is customary to make good resolutions every new Year. But there is no question of setting unattainable, frustrating goals… in short, counterproductive. No, we make easy-to-follow resolutions that will allow us toimprove our mental and physical health (without that we take too long). Examples.
1. Go to bed earlier and take naps
According to one investigation carried out by Opinonway for MGEN and the National Institute of Sleep and Vigilance (INSV), the French sleep on average 6 hours 41 minutes during the week and 7 hours 33 minutes on weekends. It’s not enough. “It is estimated that on average, 30% of the population suffers from sleep debt“ reported Marc Rey, neurologist and president of the INSV on BFM-TV. But sleep is essential to preserve your immune system (therefore being less sick), clean your brain of cellular waste stored during the day, strengthen memory, regenerate our cells, participate in the proper functioning of the heart, regulate your metabolism (appetite, stress, irritability…) and his emotions. So in 2024, your resolution is to go to bed earlier (especially before midnight) and take more naps if you feel the need.
2. Stop dieting
To lose weight, there is no point in depriving yourself or falling into the trap of diets at the beginning of the year. What you need is to get back into good habits. “Ditch the tempting diets, they showed their ineffectiveness in the short and long term. Finally, you end up with more kilos and morale at zero. First of all, start by learning to listen to your body and follow your own diet. It is simply a matter of regain simple sensations of hunger and satietyi.e. eat when you are hungry, stop eating when you are fulldo not snack by automation. In short: learn to respect your own pace and your own needs“, explains Dr Boris Hansel, endocrinologist and nutrition specialist.
3. See a doctor to try to quit smoking
No pressure. “My first advice is to consult a health professional, either your doctor or a tobacco specialist. The latter will be able to determine through tests your levels of physical dependence and motivation and measure carbon monoxide in exhaled air. Depending on your smoking profile, he will adapt the treatment. Patches and/or oral nicotine substitutes (lozenges, gums) taken over a long period of time double the results at three months. On a daily basis, there are various tips to resist the urge to smoke: drink a large glass of water, brush your teeth or call a friend“, recommends Dr Philippe Guichenez, tobacco specialist.
4. Go (again) to see your dentist
“It is essential to do one scaling per year to perfectly remove tartar. Dental plaque is made up of saliva, food debris and bacteria. When it is not completely eliminated by brushing, it calcifies until it forms tartar. Irritating and rich in germs, it promotes the development of gingival and periodontal diseases“, explains Dr. Christophe Lequart, dental surgeon. And in the long term, the tooth loss.
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5. Walk more often
It is excellent for the heart, for burning calories and increasing muscle mass. Go for a walk alone or with friends during 20 to 30 minutes, 3 to 4 times a week or opt to be sporty: an invigorating walk with friends, a bit of cycling, swimming sessions are suitable. Another piece of advice: cardiovascular prevention also involves a healthy lifestyle and stress management. Avoid stimulants like cigarettes, alcohol or coffee and even tea. Relax, relax, learn to breathe better and be positive!
6. Eat more slowly
It may be a boat, but “eat more slowly and moderately : a single dish is enough. Opt for a hearty breakfast, a balanced lunch, why not a mid-afternoon snack and above all a light dinner so as not to store fat at night. What to eat ? Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, white meat, fish…“, recommends Dr Jean-Loup Dervaux, author of “Infarction and cardiovascular diseases in women”.
7. Don’t deny yourself pleasure foods
Good news : “You should not deny yourself foods that make you happy. They are a pick-me-up against the stress and worries of daily life, they are good for your morale” supports Dr Pierre Azam, nutritionist. “On the other hand, rather than binging on squares of chocolate all afternoon, eat some for breakfast. This is THE meal where fat is burned most quickly. So you’ll start the day off right!“The doctor also advises eat enough at three meals a day to avoid snacking. “Eat three full meals a day. Often people nibble quite simply because they don’t eat enough, or even skip meals. As a result, they are hungry all day long.” However, snacking, we know, is bad for your health and for your figure.
8. Get your eyesight checked
After 40 years, visual problem or not, it is necessary see an ophthalmologist every two years. This check-up helps detect eye diseases that develop with age, presbyopia in particular, and to take stock of the risk factors which may have a impact on eye health (hypertension, diabetes, smoking…). “The first thing to do when you notice regular discomfort in front of your computer, is to go see the ophthalmologist to check your visual acuity. We wrongly blame the screens. In fact, they often only reveal a lack of visual correction“, explains Dr Jean-Michel Muratet, ophthalmologist. If you wear lenses, know that you must consult them every year because they can damage your eyesespecially if they are worn incorrectly or too much.
9. Take up a sporting activity without constraints
Before youregister in a club or take out a swimming pool membership card, Ask yourself the right questions. Are you motivated by this activity ? Can you get there without too much hassle? To last over time, you must be able to easily get to the place where the activity is carried out sporty and at a time that suits you. Then, set achievable goals. “My first thing is “anti-rust” : we leave every morning with a pedometer around our wrist or attached to our key ring and we forget it. In the evening we look at how many steps we have taken. Your goal: at least 35,000 steps per week (approximately 5,000 per day). At the same time, I advise doing A minimum of 10 minutes of endurance activity per day : walking or cycling, what matters is doing it at the right intensity, that is to say with motivation but without running out of steam neither. It’s good for the heart and for weight. The icing on the cake is that you can add to these daily habits a sports activity during your leisure time : swimming, a dance class, tennis games….“, explains Dr Boris Hansel, endocrinologist and nutrition specialist.
10. Check your chest more often
Self-palpation of the breasts must be carried out by the woman once a month outside of menstruation, rather after when the tissues are more flexible. It is recommended to always carry out this examination at the same period so that the comparison is relevant. This self-palpation aims to look for a hard, painless, fixed and irregular mass. It is also necessary to consult when there is a discharge from the nipple or when appeared recently an umbilication of the nipple irreducible. If you have over 50 years old and you haven’t had a mammogram recently, now is the time to schedule one. THE organized breast cancer screening every two years targets all women aged 50 and over. Of course, you can have a mammogram before age 50, especially if you have risk factors. It is also necessary to provide a make an appointment with your gynecologist to benefit from a regular clinical breast examination, at least once a year.