3 Simple Wellness-Boosting Tips For Women In Their 30s

Congratulations, you have made it to your 30s! There has never been a better time for you to look after and pay attention to your body.

In fact, now that you are in your 30s, I hope that you can do yourself a favor and really get to know and love your body. While we are on the topic of wellness, make sure you schedule regular friend dates, practice mindfulness, have more (safe) sex, get outside regularly, and treat yourself to the best massage.

Here are three simple wellness-boosting tips and how to make them a practical reality.

1. Get enough sleep.

Hopefully, by this point in your life, you have realized how significant getting a consistent amount of sleep is (however, just because you recognize it doesn’t mean you are instantly able to make it a reality). Most likely, you are managing numerous responsibilities that don’t fit neatly into a strict sleep schedule.

Getting an average of eight hours of sleep a night is essential for improving your mental clarity and well-being. So the next time you tell yourself it is okay not to sleep, remember that lack of sleep has been associated with various health conditions, including heart disease, obesity, stroke and more aggressive breast cancers later in life.

How To Do It: Get into the habit of going to bed at the same time every evening and switch off all electronic devices at least an hour before. If you are having trouble staying asleep in the night, keep a journal by your bed so you can jot down any worries or anxieties you are having, and then deal with them in the morning.

For longer-term solutions, consider adding a session of therapeutic massage to your weekly schedule.

2. Adopt an exercise program.

Everyone (and her friend) knows that exercise improves your mood, makes you sleep better, helps you maintain a healthy weight, and a whole lot more; but that still doesn’t mean it is easy to make it a consistent part of your life. Once men and women hit their 30s, they tend to see up to 8 percent of their muscle mass diminish each decade — something that dramatically affects your metabolism.

Muscle burns three times as many calories as fat, so strength-training sessions (think: sit-ups, planks, and lunges) are the most effective workouts to combat the metabolism slow-down.

How To Do It: Finding a workout you enjoy is vital because you are not going to keep up with something that you despise. Even just a couple of 30-minute sessions a week will be worth the effort. Schedule workouts into your calendar like you do a business meeting and treat it with the same amount of importance!

3. Make better food and drink choices.

Making better food and drink choices is the easiest way to make changes to your wellness habits (although that is, of course, easier said than done).

First of all, drink more water. Drinking more water can help you lose weight and improve your mood. It even helps maintain the balance of your body fluids, energizes your muscles, keeps your skin looking good, and helps your kidneys.

On the other hand, alcoholic drinks should be kept to a minimum. U.S. dietary health guidelines state that you should consume no more than seven drinks a week and no more than three in one day.

If you drink more than this regularly, it can lead to short-term issues such as low energy and blotchy skin, as well as long-term issues such as strokes and certain cancers.

When it comes to food and battling your slowing-down metabolism, you should aim to eat 200 calories less than you did in your 20s. Drinking green tea is a great way to boost your metabolism, as the tea contains catechins, an antioxidant that triggers the release of fat from fat cells and helps speed the liver’s capacity for turning fat into energy.

Other tips? Avoid diet soda, eat broccoli and salmon, eat enough protein daily, eat full-fat foods, and snack on yogurt.

Solely trying to get your nutrients from supplements and vitamins is another no-no. Recent studies have linked supplements to adverse health consequences, and it is clear that getting your vitamins and minerals from your diet is far better than relying on pills.

How To Do It: If you are struggling with drinking more water, try adding your own flavor to the mix like watermelon chunks and mint. Use an app like Waterlogged or Water Your Body to set a few alerts on your phone to prompt yourself to drink a glass/bottle of water throughout the day. To improve your diet, learn how to cook a few delicious but healthy dishes. And please, please swear off extreme dieting.

But remember that no-one is 100% perfect all the time (not even Gwyneth Paltrow!). So don’t beat yourself up if you make a wrong decision, or slip up on your wellness goals. Be kind to yourself, learn from the situation, and create a plan for doing it differently in the future.

AUTHOR BIO
Marc Innes is the Owner and Principal of the School of Natural Therapies, a training school for Massage & Holistic Therapies located in London. Marc began his career in the NHS, working in a number of managerial and training roles within the Ambulance Service in London. He spent much of that time educating and coaching medical staff. Over time, he developed an interest in all things complementary to Allopathic Medicine, in particular, Reiki Healing and EFT, which culminated in running a successful teaching and ‘energy healing’ practice. Marc is passionate about the massage and complementary therapy industry.