Five Science-Backed Daily Habits to Improve Your Summer Routine
Although New Year’s Day is the typical time of year for resolution-setting, life often gets in the way of our plans. But losing momentum toward achieving a specific goal doesn’t have to mean that all hope is lost! Mid-year is also a great time to reevaluate your routines and goals, especially with shifts in lifestyles as we enter into summer.
Longer days mean more time to introduce and get comfortable with healthy habits. I’ve slowly implemented the following five habits into my days and have found vast improvement in both my physical and mental health. This list isn’t aimed at any specific end goal, but instead includes evidence-based, common-sense choices that are quick and easy to fold into the busiest of days. Plus, they can be completely free.
01. Rise early to prepare for your day
Examples of “perfect” morning routines abound, including everything from at-home workouts and a relaxed coffee with a book to healthy breakfasts eaten in tranquil silence or getting a leg-up on the work day. Just as there isn’t one morning routine that works for everyone, neither is there one that works for every day of your life. Some days simply have different needs than others.
What is helpful is choosing a wake-up time that is early enough for you to have time for yourself before meeting the demands of the day. Waking up early is causally related to better mental health outcomes. When choosing your wake-up time, consider a few key tasks that will help set you up for a good day, leaving room for a buffer, should the unexpected arise.
I’ve found the most success in setting my morning intentions before I go to bed the previous night. This varies from day to day, as my priorities change depending on if I have a work deadline approaching, want to get a workout in before my toddler wakes up, or just want to slowly enjoy my breakfast with a novel in hand.
One element of my morning routine that never changes is making sure I have a plan for my day. Planning gives a boost to productivity, even if it’s a quickly written to-do list scribed before beginning the day. Having planned routines can also have benefits for your mental health, especially if you have a high amount of stress.
02. Prioritize protein, especially at breakfast
Speaking of breakfast—eat it! Skipping breakfast is associated with a number of negative health outcomes, especially for women. Not having breakfast primes the brain to seek out junk food later in the day and has an association with higher inflammation. There are even hormonal differences in women who eat breakfast versus those who do not.
However, not all breakfasts are created equal. A standard American breakfast of pancakes, cereal, or a bagel is not ideal for setting up your eating patterns for the day. Insulin sensitivity is at its lowest in the morning, which means that carbohydrates at breakfast have the highest impact on your blood sugar. To put it more simply, if you’re going to go for a more savory and lower-carb meal at any time of the day, make it breakfast.
Eating more protein at breakfast not only decreases your cravings for the rest of the day, it also keeps you fuller longer and impacts muscle building more than the protein you eat later in the day. There are plenty of ways to have a breakfast that prioritizes protein (and fat!) over carbs, with eggs being one of the top choices for both satiety and blood-sugar balance.
A breakfast that I’ve found keeps me full well into the lunch-hour is a couple of eggs cooked in grass-fed butter with chicken sausage, sometimes served with a small piece of sourdough toast or fruit, if I’m extra hungry. I also like to add collagen peptides to my coffee for a protein boost.
03. Walk outdoors
Summer 2023 was the season of hot girl walks, when young women took to the Internet to chronicle their experiences of walking outside. Whether or not you call your outdoor amble a “hot girl walk,” this is an easy-to-implement routine that has benefits far beyond social media clout.
The mere act of going outside is massively restorative to mental health, giving you greater peace and a heightened sense of reasoning. Plus, research tells us sun exposure is the “most optimal” way of obtaining vitamin D, in which 41% of Americans (and up to 82% of those with darker skin) are deficient, due to our mostly indoor modern lifestyles. Vitamin D is complex and affects multiple facets of our health, and more time outdoors is a great way to begin addressing a deficiency.
Combining the mental rejuvenation of being outside with the physical benefits of walking make for an incredible endorphin-boosting activity. Research has found that taking 7,000 steps in a day reduces risk of cardiovascular disease by over 50%, and all-cause mortality is greatly reduced by increasing your daily steps to around 9,000. If you have a mostly sedentary lifestyle, this amount of steps will be difficult to achieve unless you purposefully plan for walking.
There is joy in all kinds of walks: short and quick jaunts around the neighborhood in the morning, slow and leisurely strolls with loved ones, and multi-mile long walks with the company of a good podcast. Try to incorporate a walk into different parts of your day, and see what suits you best.
04. Have a family dinner around the table
In a time when only 30% of Americans are regularly sitting down for dinner with their families and evenings are often packed with activities and outings, many of us are missing out on a crucial time of day to connect with those we love. Regular family dinners are associated with improved mental health outcomes and higher rates of resilience and self-esteem. They’re also crucial for kids and their socio-emotional development.
Even if you are not married or have children, there are still immense benefits from having a sit-down dinner with someone such as a romantic partner, friend, or roommate. Eating alone uncouples the social aspect of breaking bread with someone else, which is associated with health risks. There is even data to suggest that communal eating improves the diet quality of the diners, especially in a family setting.
If you don’t have someone to eat dinner with every night, try and slow down to truly savor your food rather than scarfing it down on the couch. Eating slowly helps digestion and makes you feel fuller, which could help with binge-eating or other unhealthy practices. Aim to make dinner time a peaceful and restorative experience, gathering with those you love whenever possible.
05. Wind down in the evening by unplugging
I know you’ve heard countless times that you should not look at a screen before bed, as the blue light emitted from our devices is counterproductive to sleep quality. It is definitely key to unplug yourself from all tech before you sleep (especially interactive devices like smartphones or tablets, which do even more damage to sleep than television). But how?
The first step is to decide on your bedtime. Having a prescribed bedtime might make you feel like you’re back in elementary school, but people who consistently fall asleep and rise at the same times every day receive better sleep than those who do not. Yes, even on the weekends. The ideal is to aim for around eight hours of sleep per night, so decide on a bedtime accordingly.
Once you have your bedtime established, subtract another hour from that time and deem that your unplug time. Set a timer on your phone if you need to, and stick to it. Unplug time means getting off all devices, which also includes turning off Netflix. Have a plan for what you’re going to do in this last hour of your day, which should be an hour aimed at self-care and relaxation.
One option is to take an Epsom salt bath. Epsom salts are a form of magnesium that can be absorbed into your skin, providing relief for sore muscles and relaxation. Another choice is to read a book—preferably something light and simple, like a self-help book or feed-good novel. Or perhaps you like to unwind by writing in a journal. A daily journal habit is a great way to improve mental health, especially if you focus on gratitude.
Habit building can be difficult, but remember, change doesn’t have to happen all at once. Even small and easy steps towards a better, more fulfilling lifestyle can pay dividends in the long run.
I hope you’ll pick a routine that seems most applicable to your situation right now and either try it for just a week or commit to it for just the summer months. You may be surprised—over time, big things can happen when we aim to get just a little bit better each day.
