Three “super lame” habits that keep me healthy

I recently had a birthday, and it really got me reflecting on how different my life looks now in my early’ish 40’s than it did even just 10 years ago.  I had to laugh when thinking about a few newer lifestyle habits of mine in particular that definitely won’t be earning me any cool points anytime soon.

Since I began my health journey over a decade ago, I’ve consistently promised myself that I’ll do whatever it takes to remain flare-free from my autoimmune disease, Ulcerative Colitis.  The more I’ve learned along the way about how to heal and stay healed, the more I’ve applied to my own life.

As a result, in the name of health and wellness, I’ve purposefully implemented a lot of lifestyle habits over the past few years that would have looked pretty boring, or even super lame to me in the not too distant past.  

And you know what?  I LIKE IT.

If being less and less cool as I get older means that I will remain healed and healthy as I get older, then BRING IT.  

Here are three of my totally uncool yet totally health-promoting lifestyle practices that I’ve come to warmly embrace, and would encourage you to consider trying out too, if you dare….

1. GO TO BED EARLY

The older I get, the more protective I am of my sleep, because I’ve come to understand just how incredibly important it is.  I talked about the benefits of sleep here, and how it is absolutely essential for a healing lifestyle.  Beyond the all-important health benefits, I’ve come to love the feeling of being rested, alert, and energetic throughout the waking hours.  It’s simple math – I’m in a season of life where I need to get up early, so therefore, I must go to bed early.  It’s all about making sleep the priority it has to be.  For me to stay up well past my bedtime now, it has to be something that’s going to be absolutely worth it, and these days that’s a rare thing.

2. CUT BACK ON ALCOHOL

I explained here the many reasons why we all should consider reevaluating our relationship with alcohol, but speaking for myself, I’ve found that my life is so much better without it.  Besides saving myself from the obvious (Hangovers! Carcinogens! Anxiety! Embarrassing Behavior!), I've found many benefits from making drinking a rare thing.  Better sleep is the most obvious thing I've noticed, but I also just feel better in general, my skin looks better, and I have more mental clarity.  It’s been a long time since I was a frequent drinker, but even going from being a moderate drinker to just an occasional drinker has made a clear difference.  

3. JUST SAY NO (TO EXCESSIVE SOCIAL ACTIVITIES)

I find myself just saying no to a lot of social invitations and opportunities in this season of life, instead choosing to prioritize family time with my teenager who is growing up super fast.  Being an extrovert who is always looking for fun, I used to say yes to everything, but that often came at the cost of overextending myself or getting my priorities way out of whack.  Now I make more of my own fun, mostly with my family and close friends, and in ways that don’t take me out of my health-promoting routines.  Even the biggest extrovert can benefit from consistent time at home with loved ones, and I’ve truly found these moments to be a much more fulfilling way of spending my time than anything else.  And now when I do say yes to something, it’s more enjoyable because it’s more special!

So now that I’ve fully bought into these more “mature” habits, am I just an old, sad, lonely, bored loser??  I sure don’t think so, and if anyone else does, who cares?!  If I have indeed turned into a boring loser, then I’m having too much fun enjoying my health to even notice!  

In reality I’m actually happier, more functional, and more content than I've been in my whole adult life.  And most importantly, I’m still healthy and have remained flare-free from my chronic disease for 12 years and counting.  So that tells me all I need to know about my choices.  Of course I still have some problems, but being sleep deprived, hungover, or overscheduled aren’t any of them.  

I again encourage you to also consider adding a few more nerdy yet healthy habits to your life.  When we feel good, life is good, no matter how LAME it may sound to the cool kids!