Life today can be very hectic and a lot of people are often to busy to do the things in life that make them happier or help them get healthier. There are, however, some small lifestyle changes that we can make to make our lives much happier and healthier. Here are 10 tips for a healthier and happier life.

1 – Eating ‘primally’

There are certain foods that the human race has been eating for hundreds of years. We as a species have evolved and adapted to eat these foods. Various studies have stated that a ‘primal diet’ – one that is consisted of fruits, vegetables, nuts & seeds, meat, fish and eggs – is best for controlling weight and lowering risks of things like heart disease and diabetes.

2 – Eat mindfully

A lot of people are guilty of eating their food too quickly. This is mainly because of how busy everyone is, meaning certain areas of people’s lives suffer as a result of people trying to save time. This also results in people often eating more than they need as they eat so quickly they don’t know when they are full, which also causes them to lose out on culinary pleasure. Eating mindfully is very easy, it doesn’t involve dieting or cutting out foods you like. All you need to do is avoid eating when you are distracted, which means you take more time to eat your food, resulting in you eating less as you get fuller from less food. This will also allow you to chew more thoroughly which means you will be savoring your food while making it easier to digest.

3 – Make sure to get enough sun

Vitamin D from the sun is known to have numerous benefits on the body. For example, it can reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis and osteoporosis. It can also improve your immune function. Vitamin D is not the only important reason as to why you should make sure you get enough sunlight. In the winter, low levels of sunlight can have a serious effect on peoples state of mind. People can often feel sad in the winter, but there are ways of stopping this. For example, there are devices which emulate sunlight for people to use daily so that they get the feeling of sunlight and avoid feeling sad.

4 – Keep yourself fit with resistance exercise and walking

Aerobic exercise such as walking has numerous benefits for the body. For example, it reduces your chances of chronic diseases as well as helping people with anxiety. The nice thing is, you can walk for around 30 minutes a day to get these benefits. If walking isn’t your thing you can take up resistance exercise, which will help you strengthen the body and maintain muscle mass. The nice thing about this type of exercise is that most things like push ups, sit ups and squats can all be done at home. The benefits of this type of exercise is even better as we age as it can reduce the risk of disability.

Aon Employee Benefits have conducted research which shows that over half (55%) of employers have experienced an increase of their employees suffering with stress and mental health related illness.

Despite this, over 70% of employers felt that they had a key role in influencing their employee’s health in 2015. This actually decreased in 2016 to 67%.

What are employers doing to combat mental health issues in the workplace?

This study by Aon did reveal that almost 60% of employers do want to gain a better understanding of the impacts caused by health risks. Over 70% of companies are, however, using absence data and employment engagement surveys to drive and focus their health and well being strategies.  Also, the number of employers that have considered managing a known health risk has almost doubled in the last two years to 48%.

Unfortunately, it is a task that is much easier said than done for a company to set up a competent and understanding strategy to deal with mental health issues. The principal of Aon Employee Benefits, Mark Witte, stated that crafting and implementing an effective mental health plan can be an extremely complicated and daunting task. This is mainly because there are often many underlying issues and influences contributing to the big picture.

This research did show that companies do have some tactics in place to help with health and well being. The most popular options of these tactics are branded wellness programs  and flexible working. Unfortunately, as Witte said, some employers don’t put their attention where it would probably have the most impact.

He said “data from providers such as absence, occupational health, medical and risk benefit claims can be invaluable in helping to understand people risks and inform targeted health initiatives and benefits decisions.”

As much as there has been an improvement in companies awareness for a need for strategies to help employees deal with mental health issues, there are over a third (39%) of employers that have never used early intervention or rehabilitation services provided by their group income protection provider.