Most of us are just too busy to hit the gym for hours or make a nutritious meal from scratch. But luckily, you don’t have to spend the entire day exercising or cooking in order to be healthy. We’ve found ways you can sneak in time for your wellness, whether you’ve got 15 spare minutes—or just one.
15-Minute Tasks
Grab some water
It doesn’t matter if you’re picking up your kid from school or racing on the treadmill—for every 15 minutes that you’re out of breath, you need to be drinking 4 to 6 ounces of water. If that walk to work takes you 15 minutes, do it briskly and carry along a bottle containing a premeasured amount of water. You may have thought that sipping water whenever you’re thirsty will do the trick, but sweating away even a few drops of your body's water weight can make it harder for your heart to beat faster, which will make you feel tired more quickly.
Make over your workspace
Most people spend hours in front of their computer, which can wreak havoc on the entire body, according to the American Optometric Association. Staring at a computer screen all day often results in aching, tired, dry eyes—and even eyestrain headaches. But a few quick changes to your work area can quash the problem. Place your monitor as far away from your eyes as possible without it causing you to squint. If your work allows, replace the fluorescent lights with a low-voltage floor lamp and pop an antiglare screen filter (available at most office supply stores) onto your computer monitor.
Listen to music
Listening to music that has a steady rhythm can lower your blood pressure by a whopping 4 mm Hg if you do it every day for three months, according to a study presented at the American Society of Hypertension. While you listen, inhale and exhale at a rate of 1 to 2 (i.e., your exhalation should be twice as long as your inhalation), and try to relax. The study observed participants who listened to music for 30 minute blocks, but Randall Zusman, MD, director of the division of hypertension at the Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Center, says listening to any amount of music helps lower your blood pressure because the steady beats—combined with your slower breathing—relaxes and dilates your vessels, which is how blood pressure is lowered. Listen to anything with a constant beat that doesn’t aggravate you, whether it's Mozart or Lady Gaga.
10-Minute Tasks
Make your own snacks
It’s easy to stay away from the vending machine if your desk is stocked with prepacked snacks. So start the week off right by filling seven ziptop bags with 69 almonds each. Dieters who snacked on 3 ounces of almonds (approximately 69) daily for half a year were able to slim their waistline by 14 percent, according to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity. Stash these perfect portion sizes at your office, and watch the weight fall off your belly. Plus, almonds have high fiber content and make you feel fuller longer, which will help keep you going until dinnertime, says Michelle Wien, PhD, RD, author of the study and assistant professor at Loma Linda University.
Stretch out
When women add stretching sessions to their workout routines, they triple their muscle strength in just two months, according to a study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The stretching causes small tears in your muscles, and your body becomes stronger as it naturally repairs the tears. If you can’t get to the gym, try taking a 10-minute break from your desk to do some simple stretches, such as leaning over to touch your toes or clasping your hands together behind your back. You’ll feel more energized and stronger with each mini stretching session.
Log on
If you read emails containing weight-loss advice, you’ll be more likely to boost your activity levels and eat smarter—without even thinking about it. Canadian researchers found that when they emailed exercise and diet advice to more than 1,000 people weekly, the recipients started eating healthier and becoming more active. The researchers believe that the convenience of email helps people easily learn about healthy habits. Sign up for the Woman's Day Health newsletter to get our best health advice sent directly to your inbox. Visit WomansDay.com/Newsletters for more information.
5-Minute Tasks
Make some tea
Brew a pitcher of green tea and stash it in your fridge. Studies show that the catechins in the tea will boost your metabolism, and may even prevent some cancers. It takes five minutes to brew and steep the tea, but it will be tasty all week. However, since green tea contains caffeine, some people may find it best to drink it earlier in the day.
Marinate with vinegar
At the beginning of the week, marinate tomatoes and onions in red wine vinegar, and stash them in a container in your fridge. Then they'll be handy when you want to pop a few on your sandwich at lunch. Pairing your sandwich's bread with the vinegar reduces your body’s glycemic response by 20 percent, according to Arizona State scientists. Translation: It’ll reduce the rate at which carbs are absorbed into your bloodstream, and prevent you from gaining too much weight.
Eat a nutritious breakfast
We all know that eating breakfast keeps you fuller longer, and will even help you lose weight. But sadly, a fat-free muffin and a fancy coffee drink aren’t what scientists had in mind when they suggested grabbing a full meal in the a.m. If you don’t have much time in the morning to prepare a wholesome breakfast, try chopping a bunch of vegetables into tiny pieces every Sunday. Divide the vegetables into daily portions, and freeze them individually. Then each day you can just grab one portion and throw it into a skillet with egg whites for a breakfast high in protein and vitamins, says Valerie Waters, a celebrity personal trainer in California who has worked with Jennifer Garner. If you don’t like veggie omelets, toss some fresh or frozen berries into a cup of Greek yogurt each morning, Waters adds.
1-Minute Tasks
Move your vitamins
Most people keep their vitamins in the kitchen or bathroom, but those are the two worst spots, according to scientists at Purdue University. At 86 percent humidity—the same level found in a kitchen where a pot of water is boiling—vitamin C begins to degrade in just seven days, and a multivitamin will instantly become less effective. Move your vitamins to a dry, dark place in your home, such as inside a dresser drawer, to preserve their health benefits.
Soak beans
Before going to bed, toss a bag of dried black beans into water to soak overnight. Reward: cheaper, healthier beans. Canned beans can contain as much as 500 mg of sodium, which is nearly a quarter of your daily recommended sodium intake, according to the American Heart Association. But the dried ones only contain a trace amount of salt. Don't worry if you forget to soak the beans overnight; you can add them to water in the morning so that they soak while you’re at work. Once they’ve soaked, boil them until tender (see package for recommended times). Or simply add them to a pot of water, bring it to a boil, turn off the heat and let them sit for an hour. Whichever way you cook them, you'll end up with a batch of beans that taste better than canned!
Clean your sponge
File this one under the grossest fact ever: Your kitchen sponge is the dirtiest thing in your house. In fact, you’re better off washing your dishes in your toilet than scrubbing them with the sponge, says Charles Gerba, PhD, professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona. Feces from raw meat products and bacteria from rancid food often live inside kitchen sponges. But fortunately, it’s super-easy to clean and disinfect your sponge daily. Simply toss it onto the top shelf of your dishwasher every time you wash your dishes. You’ll be rewarded with a clean (and disinfected!) sponge every time.
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