Top 10 Wellness Tips for Women

As busy women, it can be hard to prioritize daily wellness and self-care! But even small wellness habits can add up to create better overall health and wellness. I know because I have made these same changes to my wellness habits in order to sleep better, have more energy and feel good again! And the more consistent you can be with these wellness tips, the better results you will experience.

Below are our top wellness tips for women that are easy to implement.

Drink More Water

Our bodies crave water and need continual hydration in order to function well. My work as a pelvic floor therapist has shown me that it is common for women to think they are drinking plenty of water each day but in reality, they aren’t. Everyone is different with how much water they need based on their activity level and body composition.

As a general rule, aim for a minimum of 64 oz of water each day. If you are exercising, you will definitely need more than that. And this is water alone, not fluids in general. Other beverages we drink throughout the day can actually dehydrate us more, like coffee for example. So focus on the amount of water and everything else is just extra.

Limit Screens Before Bed

The blue light that screens emit can disrupt your sleep and circadian rhythm, ultimately impacting your health and wellness. Avoiding screens for at least 1 hour before bed can significantly improve your sleep quality.

Beyond the blue light disruption, spending time on social media before bed can also lead to increased cortisol levels if you are seeing things that upset you. Since it is hard to control what comes across your feed on social media, it is best to avoid scrolling right before bed.

Aim For 10 Minutes of Movement Daily

This can be walking, stretching, or even some basic moves such as squats. The point is that you are intentional about adding in some movement into the day. Doing just 10 minutes a day can help give you more energy, get rid of muscle tension, and enhance blood flow in the body.

Limit Sugar Intake

Sugar is inflammatory for our bodies and has been linked to numerous health issues. It can also disrupt your circadian rhythm, cortisol regulation, and energy levels. Sugar is also in a lot of our pre-packaged and processed foods so it’s important to read the nutrition labels to get a better understanding of how much sugar you are consuming.

When reading the nutrition label, you are looking at grams of “Added Sugars”. A good starting point for better health and wellness is to consume less than 25 grams of added sugar per day.

Prioritize Sleep Quality

Most of our body restoration and recovery occurs during our sleep. But it is easy to jeopardize your sleep in order to accomplish more tasks for the day since women’s “to-do lists” never seem to end. This can lead to hormonal dysregulation, lower energy, impaired cognitive function and mood and many more issues.

In order to help avoid that and support overall well-being, aim for 7–9 hours of sleep each night. It is also helpful to keep a consistent bedtime and wake time in order to regulate your circadian rhythm better.

Practice Deep Breathing Daily

When your body is in a stress state, like when you are stuck in traffic, rushing to kid’s activities, or trying to meet a work deadline, the default is to hold tension and breathe shallowly. This can lead to impaired coordination of the diaphragm and impacts the nervous system because of that. Spending even just 2–3 minutes each day on focused diaphragmatic breathing can help reduce stress, improve focus, and lower inflammation.

Eat More Whole Foods

Think of food as fuel for your body - you want to provide the best quality fuel in order to help your body function optimally. By incorporating more fruits, veggies, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats, you are providing the fuel your body needs.

It will also help you avoid eating more sugar and processed foods that have been shown to have a detrimental effect on our health. And this doesn’t need to be an “all-or-nothing” approach to eating! The more whole foods you can incorporate the better but that might vary for you day to day and that’s also okay.

Nurture Your Relationships

It can be easy to get stuck in the routine of everyday life especially when you find your calendar to be extra full. When we are just moving from one thing to the next, it is easy to push your relationships aside. But the truth is, social wellness is a huge part of overall health because we crave connection. Try to make an intentional effort to spend time or connect with people who lift you up - even if it involves a calendar reminder to do so!

Get Outside Daily

Fresh air and sunlight (even if it’s cloudy) can help regulate your circadian rhythm and boost your mood! Research has shown that nature helps lower your cortisol and stress levels so trying to get outside is such an important wellness tip for women!

And since you might not have much free time each day, it’s perfectly okay to combine some of these wellness tips together. For example, go outside and practice deep breathing or take a walk outside. You’ll still reap the benefits of each activity but can be a bit more time efficient.

Use High Quality Supplements As Needed

When you are experiencing certain symptoms involving your health and wellness, such as fatigue, sleep issues, brain fog, or stress, utilizing the right supplements can help you resolve them. Nothing outweighs a healthy diet of whole foods, but there are times that our bodies need additional help.

There are also certain micronutrients such as Vitamin D and Magnesium that are hard to get adequate amounts from diet alone. The key is that you want to be taking targeted supplements for your health goals that are also high-quality and properly formulated for absorption.

If you want to know which supplements would be best for your health and wellness goals, take our short quiz, Find Your Well, to get a personalized recommendation. 

Conclusion

While these wellness tips may seem simple and easy, implementation is always the hardest part! That’s why I recommend doing 1-2 at a time, get consistent with them and then tackle the next 1-2 wellness tips. Achieving overall health and wellness as women takes time so give yourself patience as you begin to change your wellness habits.