How Your Midday Habits are Affecting Your Wellness

Imagine committing to being outside for at least one hour every day. Not that it has to happen all at one time, yet you have developed a habit of one hour total each day is spent outside. Or, what if you had a habit of fasting on Tuesdays? Lastly, what if your friends knew they could not reach you between 2pm - 4pm daily because you take a break from your cell phone at those times every day?  Do you think any or all of these things would make you a person who:

  1. Spends an hour outdoors every day?
  2. Fasts Tuesdays?
  3. Enjoys the benefits of less screen time?

If you are a person who spends at least one hour outside every day, you know you are getting the benefit of walking more, getting more Vitamin D, and will likely get a break from the screen.If you are person who fasts Tuesdays, you know you are improving your:

  • • insulin sensitivity, resetting what “hunger” really is (not just a craving or stress eating)
  • • brain health
  • • immune system
  • • chances for longevity
  • • becoming more aware of your body and its cycles for hunger and craving throughout the day

This is a blog about habits, and not fasting, yet you get my point. If you are a “person who fasts Tuesdays” you identify with this and it becomes more than a goal: it becomes a reality. This is your identity, not just some challenge you learned about on Insta. It is real and you become a real habit master resulting in improved wellness and frankly happiness.And the same goes for the person who makes it a habit to take conscious breaks from the screen. It’s not shocking news to you that screen time has been associated with atrophy of grey matter where our brain processes cravings, and impaired cognitive function, to name a few.  Earlier this month, I introduced the ease with which you can control your mornings and create lasting habits that lead to fulfilling wellness. Next, I raised the concept with you of seriously taking charge of your bedtime with the “reverse alarm.” Today, it’s time to introduce the toughest to develop: the midday habits. Frankly, it’s a longer period of time so there is more room for error. And there are just so many barriers standing in your way. Things like colleagues, team lunch meetings at nice restaurants, airports, good news, bad news, deadlines, you name it. Anything can come between you and your wellness. Especially in the midday.Habits are the way to get you to your wellness, your fitness, and that body you want. Yet, habit (behavior change) scientists know to create a new habit it needs to be:

  • • Easy
  • • Enjoyable

So you choose to take break from screen time between 2pm – 4pm, then start with a break for 15 minutes, master it, and have something you enjoy doing as a replacement.As for fasting, that is a slow road. Take it easy. Fast for breakfast one day and try to get to 10am before eating. Once you master 10am, move back to 10:15am. Master this after a few weeks, and move back to 10:30am. Stick with it for 2 - 3 weeks, then move onto 12pm, and so on. You get the point. Eventually you can add another day and over the course of a year, you slowly, and effectively get to the number of days of which you choose.So, ladies, recognize developing new healthy habits – especially in the middle of the day – is tough. Take stock of what new healthy habits will replace, ones that are not leading you to your optimal fitness and wellness. Take it slow and connect with me here to learn more about how my Concierge Wellness Program is helping others like you conquer your day for you and your wellness 

Adrien Cotton

See all posts

ADRIEN COTTON believes the greatest gift you can give to yourself is the gift of wellness.

After serving in high-leverage professional roles, including being one of the youngest Communications Directors in the US House of Representatives, Adrien pivoted her career focus to helping clients capture their strength in all areas of life. An accomplished speaker, entrepreneur, corporate wellness educator, menopause expert, and wellness coach, Adrien has proven success in designing and implementing innovative wellness programs. 

With a Master’s in Public Policy from Georgetown University, Adrien sharpened her professional skills by working with individuals from all walks of life. This unique background allows her to tailor her services for each and every client, with optimization and long-lasting success as the goal. Her effectiveness is rooted in a solid foundation of growth-oriented principles, a proven history of helping clients transform their lives, and a deep level of relatability gained from her personal wellness journey.

Since founding her wellness enterprise, Adrien leverages her fitness and wellness background to guide people from a state of giving up to a place of proactive self-care. Her work extends beyond nutrition and exercise, emphasizing lifestyle and high-impact areas of focus visually represented in her Wellness Wheel. Incorporating strategies in stress resilience, sleep, calendar management, mindfulness, and menopause, she’s helped transform hundreds of lives.

Adrien is living her mission to support clients in shifting their mindsets and helping them leverage small habits that yield lasting results.

Previous
Previous

 With Me from the Start

Next
Next

Our Top Picks for the Week of March 9, 2020