As the holidays get closer, you may also be thinking about your resolutions for next year.
“The end of the year is a great time to assess both how your life has gone over the past 12 months and where you want it to go long term,” says Jennifer Turgiss, DrPH, Vice President of Behavior Science & Advanced Analytics, Johnson & Johnson.
Some key questions to ask yourself: Do I have the energy to pursue all the things I want, including spending time on personal interests and with family? Do I feel like I’m moving forward in life, or are there specific places where I feel stuck in a rut?
“The key to high levels of well-being is to have meaning and purpose in life: enough energy to do the things that matter to you; close personal relationships and meaningful social ties; plenty of positive emotions, especially during trying times; and opportunities for personal growth,” explains Turgiss.
And once you’ve identified areas where you think you might need improvement, you can implement a concrete plan to help you achieve them—turning vague resolutions into well-formed goals.
“Health behavior change only happens when an individual is engaged in their own health journey and empowered with the skills, knowledge and opportunity to do the behavior,” says Turgiss.
In the spirit of a healthy start to the new year, we spoke to leading career, fitness and behavior change experts across Johnson & Johnson for tips on how to head into the new year primed for purpose and wellness.
1.
The Wellness Resolution: Keep Your Mind Sharp
Get better sleep! There is increasing evidence that chronically poor sleep is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline.
“We’re not exactly sure how, but recent research indicates that it may hamper the brain’s ability to clear out pathogenic substances,” says Vaibhav Narayan, Ph.D., MBA, Vice President Research and Therapeutic Area IT, Janssen Research & Development, part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.
Always tired even if you get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep per night? Try monitoring the type of sleep you get through a wearable device with heart-rate tracking. On average, light sleep should take up 50 to 60% or more of your night, with deep sleep accounting for 10 to 25%, and the REM stage making up the 20 to 25% that remains.
If you’re not consistently getting enough deep or REM sleep, see your doctor: You may have an undiagnosed sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea.
Exercise improves blood flow to the brain. It also lowers your risk for such chronic diseases as heart disease and obesity, which can impact brain health.
Be social. Book club, a fitness class, volunteering with the PTA … it doesn’t matter what you do, so long as you are meeting new people, even virtually.
“Some studies suggest that people with less social engagement, less frequent social contact and more feelings of loneliness may possibly have an increased risk of developing dementia, although the evidence is not clear-cut,” says Narayan.
Break a sweat. There is, on the other hand, evidence that physical activity can help stave off cognitive decline, Narayan says.
“Exercise improves blood flow to the brain,” he explains. “It also lowers your risk for such chronic diseases as heart disease and obesity, which can impact brain health.”
Need some ideas to help whip you back into shape? Read on ...
2.
The Wellness Resolution: Get Fit—for Real This Time
Find your motivation. “The first question I always ask clients is why they want to set new exercise goals,” says Chris Jordan, Director of Exercise Physiology, Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute (HPI). “If they give a boilerplate answer, like ‘I want to lose weight,’ I push them a little further. For example, I see being fit as a way of being a good healthy role model to my 4-year-old son. I want to be able to run a 5K with him when I’m 70 or even 80.”
Point being, the more meaning there is behind your goal, the more incentive you have to achieve it. “If I can link running on the treadmill or performing bicep curls to being a better dad, I’m going to stick with it,” explains Jordan.
Set mini fitness goals. “A common mistake people make with resolutions is to go all or nothing,” says Jordan. “But soon, real life will get in the way. If you haven’t been exercising consistently all year, focus on making sure you fit in a minimum of three workouts a week. Once it becomes as instinctual as brushing your teeth, you can ramp up.”
Plan ahead. Pack your gym bag before you go to bed each night and leave it by the door so you don’t forget it. Or lay out your clothes for at-home workouts. Schedule these sessions into your calendar just like any other appointment.
Anything you can do in advance to plan for success will help you stick even harder to your workout goals.
3.
The Wellness Resolution: Find Your Happy (and Healthy) Place
Practice gratitude. Research has consistently uncovered that feeling grateful can improve both your physical and emotional well-being. One study done at the University of California, Davis, for example, found that people who routinely count their blessings report better moods, healthier coping behaviors, fewer physical symptoms and overall more life happiness than those who don’t.
“Gratitude helps us find more harmony with what we have,” Turgiss explains. “It gives us a reality check.”
People who work hard at mastering a new skill report the most happiness long term, according to a San Francisco State University study.
Perform random acts of kindness. Whether it’s checking in with an elderly neighbor or volunteering at a soup kitchen, the act of do-gooding can benefit you in the long run: An Oxford University study completed in April found that when nearly 700 people from 39 countries performed acts of kindness every day for seven days, they reported feeling happier and having more life satisfaction.
“When you practice kindness, you ultimately lift the well-being of both your social group and society at large, and when that happens, everyone benefits,” says Turgiss.
Master something new. Learning is a great way to get yourself out of the rut you may be feeling after years in the same career and life routine, notes Turgiss. In fact, people who work hard at mastering a new skill report the most happiness long term, according to a San Francisco State University study.
4.
The Wellness Resolution: Give Your Career a Kick-start
Identify your passion. In order to move yourself—and your career—forward, you should do some serious self-searching about where you are now. What gets you out of bed every morning to go to work and put in the hours you do? Is it improving people’s lives? Moving a new invention or technology forward?
“So many people make the mistake of focusing on where they want to be in 10 or 20 years, when pinpointing what they want to achieve in the short-term future is even more important,” says Scott Montemurno, Global Vice President of Talent Acquisition and Talent Mobility, Johnson & Johnson. “If what drives you at work each day is simply a paycheck, then you need to be exploring new job opportunities or perhaps even a different field entirely.”
Start adding to your work toolbox. “It’s easy to become complacent about all the skills that you already have, but every time you learn something outside your comfort zone, you become more relevant,” stresses Montemurno. It’s advice he takes to heart: Last year, he taught himself a new coding language.
Seek out—and give—feedback. ‘Tis the season to be candid. So ask your boss or colleagues to meet with you for a casual one-on-one to go over the past 12 months. “This time of year, everyone is looking to set their personal and professional goals for the next 12 months,” explains Montemurno. “It’s a great time to have open and transparent conversations about what you want to accomplish and reevaluate your priorities.”
