A Holiday Reading Guide: The Best Articles on Healthy Living, Psychology and Making Your Resolutions Stick
What’s more relaxing on a lazy summer day than getting lost in a good beach read? While I do prefer reading fiction from paper books when I’m on holiday, there’s a lot of great info online about health and psychology that’s worth checking out. So whether you’re lying in your hammock, killing time on the airport or simply sitting in your garden with your tablet in hand, here are some of the hottest articles on having a healthy and happy holiday. Enjoy!
Health
On Moving Heroically, Internet Doctors and Your #1 Productivity Hack
- Have you been aiming to walk 10,000 steps a day in order to get enough physical activity? Apparently, that magical pedometer number is a myth. (But don’t worry, getting off the couch as often as you can is still a good idea.)
- Amen to that! “Do you want to get a lot done? Here’s your productivity hack: Go the f*ck to sleep.”
- And when you wake up the next morning, set the tone for the entire day with these one of these 30 joyful wellness rituals.
- Did you know that your heart rate variability gives you a clear picture of your overall health? Rebooted Body shows you how to track this biomarker to maximize your health and performance.
- Getting educated about your health is important, but remember: The Internet Is Not A Doctor. “People believe whatever is ranked more highly. They think there is some omniscient god-like entity that has evaluated every single website in the world and these are the best . (…) The internet is the biggest source of misinformation about mental health that has ever been created.”
- Bad news for most of us: What staring at a screen all day is doing to your eyes. Make sure you scroll down and check out the 20-20-20 rule to protect your eyes when you’re heavily reliant on computers and reading.
- Jonathan Mead believes that “no matter what type of body you were born with, no matter what your age, posture or body composition, you can achieve incredible things with the body you were born with.” Have a look at his ultimate guide to superhuman movement to learn how to rehab your movement environment, correct your kinks and get your essential movement nutrients every day.
Psychology
On Hacking Your Brain, Resilient Minds and Lessons from the Stoics
- Amazing. According to neuroscientists at Harvard University, it’s possible to literally rebuild your brain’s gray matter – especially the areas associated with self-awareness, compassion, anxiety and stress – in just 8 weeks time. By practicing mindfulness every day for 27 minutes over the summer, you could significantly change your brain and improve your quality of life. Would you make time for that?
- Don’t we all want a life with the most peace and contentment possible? Have a look at these 7 ways you could use Stoic philosophy to improve your health and happiness.
- Amanda Lindhout’s harrowing story about being kidnapped in Somalia will give you goose bumps of horror. But it’s also an extraordinary example of what makes a resilient mind. “Resilience is not necessarily doing wonderfully. That’s competence. (…) Resilience means being able to function better than expected after a traumatic experience.” A compelling read on beneficial hardship, an adapted majority and making meaning of what has happened.
- More psychological tricks: 7 Mind-Expanding Lessons from TED-Talks on How to Hack Your Own Brain.
Chronic Illness
On Pain, Limitations and Superpowers
- In a touching essay on chronic illness, Marthe Hagen writes how she turned her mind around from hopelessness to possibility by asking herself one question: “How can I make this limitation my superpower?”
- When you’re in pain every single day, it affects all aspects of your life. The Princess in the Tower has written an extensive article on how chronic pain changes friendships and relationships and what you can do to deal with these challenges.
- On that subject: here’s why you should add listening to your favourite music to your pain-management program.
Healthy Summer Holidays
On Healthy Traveling, Drinking Your Sunblock and Cool Ways to Cool Down
- Packing your bags for a summer vacation or weekend getaway? Here’s a great guide for traveling healthily on a plane. Don’t forget to check out the wholesome travel snacks linked to at the bottom of the page!
- Kris Carr shares how you can protect yourself against the sun without sacrificing the benefits those radical rays offer us.
- On that note: did you know that you can drink your sunblock?! That is, if you whip up Sarah Britton’s version!
- If you’re still looking for some beach reading, check out these 75 classic inspirational books that could change your life.
- My thoughts exactly: Why we should embrace occasional boredom.
- Hot day? Cool down with one of these 10 finger-licking good popsicles or freeze watermelon chunks and use them as ice cubes.
- And if the heat is keeping you from sleeping, try Greatist’s 24 tricks to survive hot summer nights without air-conditioning.
If you’d like to read more in-depth articles on a healthy lifestyle and coping with chronic illness, sign up for free weekly updates from The Health Sessions:
No spam ever.
Have a happy & healthy summer!
