Healthy Habits: The Ultimate List of Healthy Lifestyle Activities For Kids

We have all heard that having healthy habits such as eating well, staying active, and staying on top of our health screenings is really important.

But have you ever really thought about why these things are so important, and how they all work together?

The good news is it's not hard to build healthy, positive activities into your life.  No matter how old you are or how bad your former habits have been, you can systematically introduce small changes into what you do daily. You don't have to do all of these, but feel free to review this list and find the ones that best fit your personal situation. First, let's start with a quick definition.

A healthy habit is any activity or behavior that can benefit your physical, mental, or emotional well-being. ​At first, these small changes might not seem that effective.  But when put together dozens of these tiny habits you can create a framework for a healthy life.  

It is important to remember that healthy habits can be created in stages. What might be an unhealthy habit for one person today may be a healthy habit for someone else.

For example, pretend you have an unhealthy habit of eating two bowls of ice cream every night. Cutting this down to one bowl or even just half a bowl is making progress towards the healthy habit of cutting down on unhealthy food. However, for someone who doesn't eat these foods to begin with, eating a bowl of ice cream a night would not be considered a healthy habit.

Getting physical activity benefits both your body and your mind. It helps keep your weight in control, fights off chronic diseases, reduces stress, improves your mood, and gives you a sense of accomplishment.

Getting physical activity does not have to involve hours at the gym. Instead, there are many ways that you can make small changes throughout the day to make your life less sedentary and get your body moving.

You can even involve your friends or family in your physical activity so you can have some time to interact with the people you love while also benefiting your body. There are so many types of physical activities that you could add to your day, it is just important to find one that you enjoy and stick with it.

Forgiveness (Healthy Lifestyle)

While forgiveness may seem like an antiquated notion our rushed and quick-to-react society, there are many health benefits to it, even today. When you are consciously able to let something go, even without an apology, it reduces your anger, stress, and tension.

Choosing to not forgive someone increases your anger and contributes to a feeling of loss of control. Holding onto a grudge can increase muscle tension, heart rate, and blood pressure, which are all harmful to your health.

Being able to forgive someone will also improve your sleep. You will not spend time lying in bed at night ruminating over something that happened in the past, or planning what kind of retaliation you want to make. If you can meditate and fully forgive someone else, you can focus more on you and your own well-being.

Finally, being able to forgive can strengthen your relationship with your friends and family. Avoiding deep-seeded strains in close relationships is an important part of feeling connected to those around you and living life in harmony with people who cross your path. Maintaining healthy relationships is a key component of living a healthy lifestyle.

Preventive Health Care Screening

People tend to go to the doctor when they become ill, or when an unfamiliar symptom pops up. From there, the doctor works with the patient to treat the problem in hopes that it will go away. But what if the problem never happened in the first place?

For example, if you notice a small mark on your skin that has seemingly popped up out of nowhere and you don't know what it is, this could be a sign of skin cancer that can rapidly spread throughout your body. Don't ignore these things and hope they will go away. Instead, be proactive and visit a dermatologist every year to get checkups so they can look over your skin for anything that they may find suspicious.

Adequate Sleep (Healthy Living)

Sleep plays a very important role in maintaining general well-being and a healthy lifestyle. Getting enough deep sleep at night can help protect your mental and physical health, your overall quality of life, and your safety.

How you feel while you're awake is greatly dependent on the quality of sleep you are getting at night. While you are sleeping, your body is replenishing itself to support healthy brain function and optimize your physical health. Sleep also plays a large role in the growth and development of children. There are many bedtime stories to read for your children which leads to developing a good relationship with them.