5 Self-Care Tips to Keep You Feeling Great

Here's five small things we can all do each day to help our bodies stay healthier and happier. Selfcare is so important to our health and it's often the little things we can do for ourselves every day that add up to make a big difference to our health.

Drink Lemon Juice in Warm Water

5 to 10 drops of lemon juice in a glass of warm water first thing each morning is a brilliant way to start your day. It improves your digestion and helps to clean your liver ready for the day.

In Chinese medicine, the Liver is one of the most important organs to your health. It is called 'The General' as it directs many of the processes occurring in your body. If your Liver is happy all your organs are happy. But if it is not, it causes a lot of trouble for all of your other organs.

Drink your lemon juice in warm water at least 15 minutes before you eat breakfast to give it time to work its way through your system before you eat.

TIP: use a straw to protect your teeth for the acidity of the lemon juice.

Do Your Exercise First Thing

Do exercise first thing, before your work day starts. Let's face it, how hard is it to come home from a hard day at work and summon the strength to do your exercise then?

Exercise releases endorphins (your body's feel good hormone) to relax you and also widens your blood vessels to temporarily improve blood flow. For most people, gentle exercise is best.

Historically in China, people went for walks or did Qigong to stay healthy. It was all about gentle, stretching movements rather than exhausting yourself. These exercises promote blood flow without wearing your body out.

Remember, half an hour's gentle exercise every day is important for your health.

Good Sleep Hygiene

Your body love routine when it comes to sleep, so train your body to sleep well through good sleep hygiene. A great sleep hygiene would include:

1. A cool room
2. A dark room
3. No screen time before bed
4. A nice quiet room
5. Going to bed and waking at the same times every day (as the body loves routine when it comes to sleep)

Also, get to sleep by 11 pm each night. Your body works on organ repair while you sleep and according to Chinese medicine, 11 pm to 3 am is the time it works on your Liver and your Gallbladder, both of which are critical to your health. Circadian rhythm theory also dictates good routine with your sleep.

TIP: Soak your feet for 5-10 minutes in a bucket of warm water containing Epsom Salts just before bed (or have an Epsom Salts bath). This is an old Chinese medicine insomnia remedy.

Drink Enough Water

Most people are chronically dehydrated. Hydrate your poor dehydrated body! We tend to drink a lot of tea and coffee which are diuretics and dry us out even more. Good hydration leads to better blood quality, which is incredibly important to our sleep and our health. Drink at least 2 liters of water a day to stay hydrated.

TIP: buy a 2-liter bottle and make sure you get through it each day. This way you'll know how much you drank.

Get Some Nature Time

Nature cleanses and heals. Get out into nature every day. Trees and oceans are both ideal. Kill two birds with one stone by doing your exercise in either of these environments. Or at lunchtime, get out for a walk in the local park. Nature is healing. Enjoy nature every day.

Plan to do these 5 simple things each day to help promote your health.

Author Bio:

Dr. Bruce Stafford (Chinese Medicine) is the owner and founder of Emperor's Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine in Melbourne, Australia. He has trained with some of the world's best-know Masters in Australia, Taiwan, and the USA. Bruce has presided over the treatment of 50,000 patients.