Health Preventive Health 6 Small Lifestyle Swaps for a Healthier You by This Time Next Year Think simple swaps to your lifestyle won’t get you anywhere? Think again. By Marty Munson Marty Munson Marty Munson is the health director of Men's Health Magazine and has over 35 years of experience in journalism. She wrote health articles for Real Simple starting in 2017 and is the author of the book, Living Well with Diabetes. Marty has been a health editor for Marie Claire, Shape, and other publications. Highlights: * Over 35 years of journalism experience * Current health director of Men's Health * Former digital content director at Shape * Former multimedia content director at RealAge * Former deputy editor at Marie Clair * Former dance critic for The National Endowment for the Arts * Former managing editor at Prevention Magazine * USA Triathlon Certified Level 1 Coach * US Masters Swimming Certified Swim Coach * Author of Living Well with Diabetes Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines and Maggie Seaver Maggie Seaver Maggie Seaver is the digital health and wellness editor at Real Simple, with seven years of experience writing lifestyle and wellness content. She spends her days writing and editing stories about sleep, mental health, fitness, preventive health, nutrition, personal development, relationships, healthy habits, and beyond. She loves demystifying complicated health topics, debunking wellness fads, and sharing practical, science-backed solutions for healthy living. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Updated on January 18, 2023 Fact checked by Isaac Winter Fact checked by Isaac Winter Isaac Winter is a fact-checker and writer for Real Simple, ensuring the accuracy of content published by rigorously researching content before publication and periodically when content needs to be updated. Highlights: Helped establish a food pantry in West Garfield Park as an AmeriCorps employee at Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center. Interviewed Heartland Alliance employees for oral history project conducted by the Lake Forest College History Department. Editorial Head of Lake Forest College's literary magazine, Tusitala, for two years. Our Fact-Checking Process Share Tweet Pin Email If your goal is to be happier and healthier, you can achieve it gradually (and surprisingly easily) by making small, sustainable adjustments to your lifestyle. Over the course of a year, tiny changes, like taking the stairs, or choosing olive oil over butter; can have a significant impact inside and out, without feeling overwhelming. Make minor tweaks like these to your daily routine and reap healthy rewards before you know it. 8 Resolutions You Can Actually Stick to for a Happier, Healthier 2022 01 of 06 Choose the stairs. Taking the stairs for a whole year sounds like an impossible lifestyle swap, but hear us out. By next year, your body will have worked nearly twice as hard (in a good way) by choosing stairs over the elevator. Beyond getting your heart rate up, blood flowing, and metabolism kicked into gear; you'll help combat a tendency toward sedentary behavior, or too much sitting still. Research published in 2019 confirmed a higher mortality risk among adults who engaged in minimal-to-no physical activity. Little changes, like taking the stairs between floors or walking home from the grocery store instead of driving, are easy ways to add some low-impact exercise into your daily routine. RELATED: This Quick Full-Body Stretching Routine Will Help Loosen Stiff Muscles 02 of 06 Rethink your snack choices. Snacks aren't all bad, but those cookies in the break room or chips in the cupboard probably are. What your body really needs is sustenance from whole, balanced snacks. Between-meal energy dips and cravings are a signal to reach for protein-packed, nutrient-rich munchies. Try a handful of almonds, yogurt and berries, a banana and peanut butter, or a plate of crunchy veggies and hummus. Trade your midday candy bar or bag of chips for a snack that's actually nutritious. 03 of 06 Call one old friend a month. By this time next year, you'll have rekindled or strengthened a friendship with 12 people. An Australian study published in 2005 found that people with stronger personal bonds are more likely to outlive those who are less social. Of course, there's no magic number of phone calls, emails, or coffee dates that can protect you; so to stack the deck, check in with one friend (new or old) every week—or even every day. RELATED: How to Make Friends in Your 20s and 30s 04 of 06 Go to bed one minute earlier every night. Yes, one minute will do it. Going to bed a minute earlier every night for just two months racks up an extra hour of sleep rather painlessly. There are several compelling reasons to get sufficient sleep (other than spending less on coffee): Sleep deprivation is associated with a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and heart problems, as well as a decreased ability to pay attention, increased likelihood of car accidents, and diminished memory capacity. RELATED: How Well You Sleep Matters More Than How Much You Sleep—Here's How to Boost Your Sleep Quality 05 of 06 Choose oil over butter. Choosing oils over butter may reduce your risk of heart disease by 19 percent in a year's time. A 2010 review published in PLOS Medicine noted this drop in heart disease risk while analyzing research on more than 13,000 participants who swapped saturated fat (as in butter as well as red meat) for polyunsaturated fat (as in soybean and canola oils) for at least a year. RELATED: The Top 7 Healthiest Cooking Oils—and Which Ones to Avoid 06 of 06 Stand up and move every 20 minutes. Sadly, it's true: Sitting for prolonged periods can shorten your life. A 2010 study revealed that women who logged six hours of sitting time during nonworking hours were 37 percent more likely to die earlier than peers who sat for just three hours a day (outside of work). Sedentary men, meanwhile, were 18 percent more likely to die earlier than their more-active peers, according to the study. Researchers posited that sitting can suppress enzymes involved in fat metabolism; or may indirectly (and adversely) affect cholesterol, glucose, blood pressure, and other health markers. Going to the gym isn't enough to change the stats: The key is to find ways to stand and move more during the day. Some experts recommend getting up from your chair at least every 30 minutes. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources Real Simple is committed to using high-quality, reputable sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts in our articles. Read our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we fact check our content for accuracy. Stamatakis E, Gale J, Bauman A, et al. Sitting time, physical activity, and risk of mortality in adults. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019;73(16):2062-2072. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2019.02.031 Giles LC, Glonek GF, Luszcz MA, et al. Effect of social networks on 10 year survival in very old Australians: the Australian longitudinal study of aging. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005;59(7):574-579. doi:10.1136/jech.2004.025429 Sadeghmousavi S, Eskian M, Rahmani F, et al. The effect of insomnia on development of Alzheimer's disease. J Neuroinflammation. 2020;17(1):289. doi:10.1186/s12974-020-01960-9 Medic G, Wille M, Hemels ME. Short- and long-term health consequences of sleep disruption. Nat Sci Sleep. 2017;9:151-161. doi:10.2147/NSS.S134864 Mozaffarian D, Micha R, Wallace S. Effects on coronary heart disease of increasing polyunsaturated fat in place of saturated fat: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PLoS Med. 2010;7(3):e1000252. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000252 Patel AV, Bernstein L, Deka A, et al. 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